Schmuel Agnon

[JBI]

Has anyone here read his works? I read his works in Hebrew while I was still living in Israel. He is a major figure in Israeli fiction, and his works have been translated to English, so I am wondering whether or not anyone here has read his works, and what are your opinions?

[PrinceMyshkin]

Has anyone here read his works? I read his works in Hebrew while I was still living in Israel. He is a major figure in Israeli fiction, and his works have been translated to English, so I am wondering whether or not anyone here has read his works, and what are your opinions?

Shalom rav l'kha (o lakh), No I haven't read Agnon. Which novel of his would you recommend to begin with? THe last Israeli novel I tried to read was Freidman's File: Under Love, but it was much too dense and convoluted for me. Before that I read something by AB Yehoshua...

I spent some time once in Kfar Blum, many years ago, and returned to Aretz maybe 25 years later when my first-born turned 13 & I took him there in lieu of a bar-mitzvah (since he is technically not Jewish).

[JBI]

Either Shira or Only Yestorday.

Shira is about a guy going through a midlife crisis in the thirties in Israel, and becoming obsessed with the nurse who delivered his son to him and his wife.

Only yesterday is about a young lad moving to Israel at the beginning of the 20th century seeking to work and cultivate the land. When he arrives he experiences some very interesting things.

He has others, and his short fiction is extremely good.

[JBI]

And by the way, I am not a Rabbi.

[JuLe]

Well, we must read his novels here as part of the lit. program in school,so I need to read at least one of his pieces, I think I'll start with "Hameahev" (The lover?).
Has anyone read it?

[JBI]

If you are reading a novel, I would recommend reading Only Yesterday since it is probably his simplest and most autobiographical piece. I am unfamiliar with the piece you mentioned, and cannot find any reference to it anywhere. Perhaps it is one of his lesser known stories that made it into an English anthology, but is not widely known in the Hebrew world.

Personally, if you are reading Agnon, I would suggest looking into what the story is about beforehand. A lot of his stuff is very rabbinical, and he likes to stick many illusions to scripture and midrash, as well as Talmud.

[JuLe]

Sorry, I thought you talked about A. B. Yehoshua. And I am from Israel by the way.