Customer Reviews

Foiglman

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This latest work of Aharon Megged to be translated into English is a haunting and beautifully woven novel that delves into the tension of modern day Israel and the remnants of Eastern European Yiddish culture and the Holocaust. Foiblman, a Holocaust survivor who writes poetry in Yiddish and lives in Paris, represents the tragic loss of the vibrant, heimishe world of Yiddish culture. The protagonist whom he befriends, Professor Tzvi Arbel is an Israeli researcher of Eastern European Jewry -- living in Tel Aviv while delving into Petliura in Ukraine. The story of their interaction and its effect on Tzvi's wife is revealed in flashbacks creating a fascinating mosaic of time and place. This novel is not only a pleasure to read for its language and descriptions; it also opens the painful issue of Israelis in their relation to the tragic history of the Jewish people, their languages and their tolerance for suffering.

Aside from the rich cast of characters and the moving personal stories which are at the heart of this novel , the novel is enriched by having its background a profound and sympathetic view of Jewish history. In fact it seems to me at some point that the reading of history at some point is so powerful as to overwhelm the personal stories of the main characters. Megged is deeply knowledgeable about Israeli life, and Jewish diaspora life. His descriptions of the two worlds not only ring true but have an ironic poetic quality often inspired by the sadness and loss which pervade the work.
A deeply moving novel that could not be more highly recommended.