In the "Messiah of LaGuardia," author Elisha Porat collects six stories of modern Israeli life. For readers acquainted with Israel's turbulent yet exhilarating history, thhese stories present novel, sometimes disturbing images of familiar figures and events. Thepeople who made terrible sacrifies to build and preserve the country are here-soldiers, intellectuals, farmers, immigrants and kibbutzniks- but not as heroes and giants. Instead, the soldiers lose limbs and the intellectuals their inspiration, the farmers forsake their land, the immigrants long for their countries of origin and the kibbutzniks stray from their ideals. Yet the land of Isael, vividly and lyrically described, remains the home of the Jews.
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Editorial Reviews
Language Notes
Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Hebrew
Original Language: Hebrew
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Provoking writing,
By A Customer
This review is from: Messiah of Laguardia, The (Paperback)
In "The Messiah of LaGuardia" one meets a simple auto-body worker and reserve soldier who tries to save his country from itself. "At the Little Bridge Below Ufana" presents a poignant love triangle complicated by the mysterious military death of the husband. "The Three Stages of Perfection" portrays the efforts of a commune (kibbutz) member to enthuse his comrades with his own quixotic idealism. The protagonist in "The Guardian of the Fields" finds brief happiness with a foreign woman yet cannot transcend the traumas of his East European childhood and Israel combat youth. The principal figure in "The Farming Instructor" struggles to keep both his wife and his land. And "the aging poet" in the story of that same title behaves, alas, as so many of us do, and must reconsider and accept the realities.In sum, brevitatis causa, Porat's collection of stories is engaging, poignant, sensitive, thought-provoking writing.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of the best israeli writers,
This review is from: Messiah of Laguardia, The (Paperback)
Elisha Porat is one of the best kept secrets of Israeli literature. He is one of its best poets, dealing with the attrocities of war and the despair and agony of memory, and a very fine storyteller. I hope a publisher will decide to publish his poems in English, so that english readers will be able to read them (in the meantime you can find him all over the web, in ezines and other sites, worth searching). This book is a very good translation of some of his best stories. Read it and spread the word...
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Little Uneven but the High Points Redeem,
By Eric Maroney (Trumansburg, NY) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Messiah of Laguardia, The (Paperback)
Elisha Porat's collection of stories, The Major of LaGuardia, is a bit uneven, but the very accomplished stories tend to redeem those which work less effectively. By far the most powerful story is "At the Little Bridge Below Ufana." There, Porat seems to marshal most of his literary talents, creating a story about memory, loss, love and hope that is both gripping and a compelling. The Farming Instructor is also powerful; Porat renders the main character in stunning detail. His life and lack of love is a sad contrast the moving and vibrant world around him. The rest of the collection is a bit flat. Porat does not end his stories effectively or evenly, and this often scuttles an otherwise well crafted piece.
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