32 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The gripping magic of cold grey dawns, June 20, 2000
Written in 1967 , when Oz was only 28 years old, "My Michael" is still considered by many to be Oz's best novel ever.The plot takes place in the 1950's,Israel is still young, and Jerusalem is an old decaying city of stone and rusty fences. Hannah and Michael are a young couple and The story, as told by Hannah , takes us along several years of their married life. As the plot progresses we witness the two characters become distant and disharmonic. Hannah, who has a very turbulent soul feels suffocated with the everyday life ,with the jerusalem streets and with Michael who is a very unexciting person.She becomes more and more drawn to her fantasies and daydreams about a dramatic and heroic world where she is a princess being captive in the boring everyday world.With a cold ,misty and rainy Jerusalem as background and with the outstanding power of expression and depth "My Michael" is a book that hypnotizes and enchants the reader.If you have to read one Oz novel- That should be the one!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"Deception always gives itself away. It is like a blanket which is too short.", June 3, 2007
This review is from: My Michael (Paperback)
Hannah Gonen, thirty years old and living in Jerusalem in the late 1950s, has been wife for ten years to Michael, a man she pursued and married when she was in her first year at the university and he was a graduate student. Michael, who describes himself as "good...a bit lethargic, but hard-working, responsible, clean, and very honest," eventually earns his PhD. in geology and begins work at the university. Hannah, who has given up her literature studies upon her marriage, soon finds married life--and Michael himself--to be tedious.
Writing in short, factual sentences, which come alive through his choice of details, author Amos Oz, often mentioned as a Nobel Prize candidate, creates the story of a marriage which may or may not survive. Hannah and Michael married in 1949, shortly after Israel gained its independence, and the author often uses Hannah's battles for independence and control to parallel the growing pains of a new land determined to defend itself. As their family backgrounds unfold, the behavior of Hannah and Michael within the marriage are seen in a wider context. Hannah yearns for excitement, often drawing on her store of vibrant childhood memories to escape into a dream world. Michael, hard-working and pragmatic, remains a geologist, firmly connected to the earth.
Mired in depression after the birth of their son, Hannah gradually becomes more and more unstable until she makes herself physically ill, a condition which she sees, ironically, as offering her freedom. As the marriage and Hannah's sanity deteriorate, the author's use of symbols gives depth and universality to the story. Hannah often imagines a glass dome over herself and her family. She remembers, as a child, dominating Arab twins in her neighborhood, and she now fears they will wreak vengeance on her. Her platonic relationship with an innocent Orthodox teenager turns into a power struggle, and she creates a new personality--that of Yvonne Azulai, a young woman who leads an exciting life. Even the changing seasons often parallel Hannah's state of mind.
Rich with imagery, dense with symbols, and psychologically true, the novel is as pertinent today as it was when it was written in 1968, achieving rare universality, even though the reader may not empathize completely with the self-indulgent Hannah, or with Michael, who, though reliable and honest, has little imagination. Beautifully realized, My Michael, which shows Hannah's need for control in its choice of title, depicts an immature woman who does not know herself when she joins her life to that of someone else. (4.5 stars) n Mary Whipple
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Madness, Marriage, and a little bit of history, February 10, 2007
This review is from: My Michael (Paperback)
This is definitely a book which was difficult to put down, because of the sense of anticipation the reader develops. It was an excellent look at the devastating effects of mental illness on a victim and her family, told more subtly than in other literary works. Though I am unfamiliar with Amos Oz's autobiographical work, it does become evident that the author's development of Hannah's character and the first person voice can only be derived from personal experience. Michael's character is also developed brilliantly. Descriptions of Hannah's mad dreams and illusions are quite laborious and it is difficult to associate the details in them with Hannah's real world. The early days of the State of Israel serves as a historical backdrop for the novel. I believe there is symbolism in the novel which would be more apparent to Israelis and those reading the novel in its original language, Hebrew.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
