Customer Reviews

Black Box

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I first became aware of Amos Oz as an Israeli intellectual of the left who is a proponent of reconcliation and peace. I knew he was a well known author, but had read none of his work until I finally picked up this fine book that delicately examines forces operating within Israel even as the author tells the compelling story of a man and woman who were unable to sustain their relationship as husband and wife.

The husband, Alex, is a stunted human being, unable to sustain intimacy yet fully capable of leading Israeli soldiers in battle. Illana, the former wife and mother of a child who becomes centerpiece of their renewed relationship, is a passionate woman who has found solace in the arms of an immigrant who is committed to his religious faith and equally absorbed in the opportunities to make a profit under the umbrella of occupation of the West Bank and Gaza.

The title "Black Box" comes from the device found in airplanes which become the source of information when there has been a crash. Illana initiates contact with Alex after years of separation out of concern for their son, but as their correspondence continues, it becomes clear that both parties are trying to understand the failure of their relationship. In fact, the entire story is told through indirect communication in letters, telegrams and scholarly footnotes.

I'll say no more about the story so the reader may discover for him or herself the feelings of the main characters and where those feelings lead them. But I encourage readers to note the play between the second husband and his enthusiasm for building upon his faith and the opportunities created by sudden wealth and the first husband who is re-examining the whole arc of his life. These two men represent the forces presently at conflict in Israel where the right continues its self-righteous mission of taking control of the land while the left ponders the wisdom of the actions of their country's leaders during the first six decades of Israel's existence.

Amos Oz writes beautifully! I look forward to reading more from the land of Oz.

Mr. Oz manages to tell a story of great passion without a hint of sentimentality. He sets this amazing story within the political context of 1970-s Israel and perfectly places each character within this scene. The characters in this novel are memorable for their failings as much as their strengths. Brilliantly writing in each of their voices, Oz reveals their ties, lies and love for each other. I encourage everyone to read this beautifully written book of letters from a truly gifted author.

This chef of prose serves up the interminable bond of two wildly intelligent though socially- maladroit people long after their marriage ends in letter form. Oz is tremendously gifted at telling a story and seldom while reading this excellent piece, will you not desire to step in as the peacemaker to rectify the wedge and reunite lost love.

One of Oz's greatest creations, in my humble opinion. The charchters are described sharply, without mercy, showing the different faces of the Israeli society. The cruelness that covers their words hides the true pain they feel. The cheating wife, the arrogent Husband, the rebeller son, the Zionist - aall hurt themselves and their beloved ones in their strugle for existence in a mercyless country, our country.

Black Box is an epistolary novel, composed of letters of the main and minor characters. Oz uses this form to great advantage. Rather than having one stable viewpoint, either from a first or third person narration, the reader gets the benefit of multiple perspectives. This allows Oz to show the unique virtues of each character, even thought they come from divergent backgrounds and have different moral and intellectual strengths. The overall impact is a deeply humane novel, where Oz allows no one character to be a villain, even as they recount their villainous deeds. In this way he accomplishes what Tolstoy does in Anna Karenina: every character is given full reign to do both good and evil, but the totality of their experience makes them likeable, even loveable. In Black Box, the simple act of writing a letter becomes a vehicle for delving deep into the human experience.

What first pops in one's mind after seeing the title of Amos Oz "Black Box" is a plane accident. And that is exactly what the book is about. But it is not an aircraft as we know it, in the novel, the vehicle is a marriage, but in a more broad scope, the black box records the fail of relationships. From the book, the reader can conclude that all relationships are designated to fail, and people in them aren't able to see until much later.

As a plane black box, this black box records, but can't help the accident. We, as a privileged audience, can see the destruction from the beginning and from far. But no that far as not to be hurt by it. Oz is a smart writer to bring his reader inside the heart of his novel from the start. He can say, `this people will be hurt, and so will you'. Some readers may decline this invitation, but the brave ones who go until the end will never regret.

Oz has a special gift to convey sentences into beauty and sometimes pain. His characters are deep and well developed. Since he has so many people telling their own point of views, it is fundamental for the writer be able to create different voices. And in "Black Box" the reader can find as many voices as characters. Not only is Oz able to create different characters, but also he can make believable their evolution, specially Boaz Gideon, the son of Illana and Alex, whose marriage fell apart some years ago. At first the boy is violent and unruly, but as the narrative moves on, he changes, and not to something specifically better.

"Black Box" may not be a book for everyone. It is the highbrow kind of literature that will please those who look for something more than killing some time with a book or something to read in a flight. This novel is more than food for thought as well.

and that is not a crowded place!

"Black box" is certainly one of the best ten books I have read. It is masterfully written (surviving a translation to Portuguese well enough to be appreciated by a native Spanish speaker is already something), it is a pleasure to read, it makes you smile, and tears your heart and, above all, makes you think.

I have never seen a better portrait of human complexity. The book solely consists of letters exchanged between five people: ex-husband, ex-wife, current husband, son of the first marriage and lawyer. Most of them lie most of the time, and there is nobody there to sort things out for you... same as in real life!

A very unique book. Once you get into it you just cannot leave the plot. I first read it, three month ago - and Just last week finished the second reading. If you want to know a new world of people and the life of a family that will make your day - this is the book for you.

The title of this book is quite well chosen. It's the black box of a relationship which have suffered havoc. In the book you witness, in letter form, the various parties involved in the wreckage of the relationship and you get to hear about how life proceeds in the wake of the break-up. Amos Oz, I think, is a narcissistic person, and you get to hear about his glory and his follies, from his ex-wife and the other parties. If you have broken up with someone, and you are filled with angry feelings, bitterness and regret, then reading this book can possible have a cathartic effect upon you. But I found it a little boring.

Readers who have grown to know and enjoy Oz through his later works should most definitely turn to this imaginative treatment of the epistolary novel. Oz offers a brilliant treatment of the Israeli psyche as well as memorable characters who are fully realized individuals but also highly representative of the ethnic and political polarities of Israeli society.