Customer Reviews

Mr. Mani

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Told from the perspective of the people who encounter the Mani family throughout the generations this book is amazing. WHile it takes a few pages to get used to the fact that the Mani men will not be speaking for themselves, once that is accepted this book moves along making you think and feel for these people that you only encounter through the perspective of strangers. What's even better is that you see a character in one generation from one perspective and then in the next chapter the character is considerably younger and there is some one else's perspective. So the father about to commit suicide and who is the mission of the first narrator becomes a child Jew that is an inconvenience to the Nazi character with a conscience of the second chapter. Where most experimental literature is only experimental, this book shows that storytelling and style don't need to be mutually exclusive.

I stopped to write a review only because I saw that all five stars were not fully checked. One can like or not like the content of the book, but as a exposition of writing craft it is - bar none - the best book in the world. (Allright, I'll be circumspect, maybe one of the best). It will blow you away and change the way you think about the novel as a literary form. A genius at his best, no less.

I concur with other readers that "Mr. Mani" stands in a class of its own. The book, which spans centuries, manages to do so while remaining riveting and vivid. That I remember it years after re-reading it, that I am now trying to write my own novel allows me to now see how truly masterful this book is. If you don't write you may not realize how much had to go into the leaping stories, the profundity of character and the great subject this author took on and completed. Maybe a few on this earth are as blessed with the gift of creation, but they are very few indeed.

Unlike most, if not all "experimental" novels, which rely on a technique for delivery their story, Mr. Mani never allows the technique to control the novel's story, even as it shapes and molds its contours. Perhaps this is one of the most powerful endorsements of Mr. Mani as a masterpiece of a novel. Rather than becoming a confining element, the experiment (which is confining in its scope and shape) gives the novel a massive reach and scale. For in this novel, A.B. Yehoshua has done nothing less than chart the course of modern Jewish history, both in Palestine, the State of Israel, and the Diaspora. But at the same time, while attaining this mighty reach, the novel is extremely intimate. The Mani family and their connection to Jerusalem is unforced and natural. Yehoshua is telling us something about the naturalization of Jews in the Holy Land. Simple categories of identity fail to capture all the nuance of this unique connection. In fact, all binary oppositions are melting into one shade of marvelous gray in this very masterfully written work.

This is a book that is unforgettable. I read it five years ago and I still have dreams about it. I still find myself in the scenes and epochs that Mr. Mani traverses. I am a professor of literature and so I must read more than most. This book has the hand of God on it. It stands out. Buy it and love it.

I read this book about 8 years ago and I still remember it as a favorite. Really the literary device of telling the story backwards in a series of five one sided conversations about the Mani family works wonders in offsetting and bringing you into their lives. You want to know more about them, but you also think that you have heard enough. And the narrators themselves are fascinating. There's the pregnant girl that thinks she is saving the Mani family and there's the Nazi who is making deals with his commanding officer as well as the British soldier whose sending them back to Europe.

Throughout the book the ironic twists and turns make for compelling reading and even though you are reading it backwards and even though the backwards motif is almost played out by now (Irreversible, Ju Rei, Yellow Raft in Blue Water), it works here.

I never read the original Hebrew version, but I rather liked the English version. A.B. Yehoshua is pretty hit or miss for me, but in the case of this book definitely a hit.

In a nutshell, this book was: brilliant, original, and haunting. I couldn't put it down, but when I got to the end I wished I had not read it. The ending was more horrible than I could have imagined.

Each character is intense and unique; the historical details span centuries and the globe. In those ways, the book is quite a literary feat.

This book follows the genius and madness of the Mani line. It was both wonderful and shocking, giving much food for thought. Where did the madness originate? With each succeeding generation, is it passed on to it's innocent victim only to surface in a different form? What combination of genius and madness will be produced and which will prevail? What is cause and what is affect? Is this the story of mankind? Is this the story of sin and it's affects? When will it end and how?

Since I am not a sholar and probably don't appreciate greatness when I see it, I could only give this book 4 stars because it was a bit too radical for me. I found the ending too shocking, even though it tied the whole book together. Looking for an escape from the madness of real life in the imaginary world of literature, I was not pleased to find that this book only injected a fresh dose of it into my private world.

This book perhaps could be put in the category of contemporary or modern art. Even if you don't like the style or subject, it's great artistic value cannot be argued.

Yehoshua tells the story of 6 generations in reverse historical order using the interesting technique of reporting conversations but with only one side of the conversation recorded. Like other readers I found this style a bit infuriating at first and I was about to put the book down several times except the author then introduces some other interesting and yes, gossipy, detail and I felt compelled to carry on.

Of the various Mr. Manis described I found the middle segments of the book strongest and the opening and closing segments the weakest. The reader should be advised of the time line at the back of the book which should keep each of the individual Manis sorted out, especially as there 3 different Yoseph Manis. The segment that takes place in WWII where the speaker is a Nazi soldier talking to his estranged mother is perhaps the most interesting, followed by the middle segments that take place in and around Jerusalem, esp. the young Joseph Mani who flits from group to group as if he were a secret agent working to create a destiny for the future trying both hopefully and desperately to bring it about.

Its probably not the kind of a book you can hand to a friend and tell them to read but it's good literature and if you persevere with the style it grows on you and is quite excellent.

The story of the Mani family through six generations, moving backward from 1982, as told by an Israeli woman, a Nazi soldier, and doctor (among others). The story is revealed through a series of conversations, in which only one side of the dialogue is printed. A largely experimental novel, it is a fascinating one, and a significant literary accomplishment.

To read more reviews check out Void Magazine's website.

This is an unusual written book. Until You read,You won't understand. It was a pleasure to read it.