Panther in the Basement [Paperback]

Amos Oz (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1998

From “a great and true voice of our time” (Washington Post Book World), comes this story of Proffy, a twelve-year-old living in Palestine in 1947. When Proffy befriends a member of the occupying British forces who shares his love of language and the Bible, he is accused of treason by his friends and learns the true nature of loyalty and betrayal. Translated by Nicholas de Lange.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Set in 1947 Jerusalem, Oz's (Don't Call It Night, LJ 6/15/96) delightful story of a 12-year-old boy addresses the concepts of friendship, betrayal, and the meaning of loyalty. As second-in-command of a make-believe underground unit fighting the British domination of Palestine, Proffy is willing to make heroic sacrifices in the struggle to create a Jewish state. The trouble is that he also develops a friendship with a rather shy, gentle British soldier interested in learning Hebrew?the discovery of which leads his comrades to accuse him of treason "because you love the enemy....Loving the enemy, Proffy, is worse than betraying secrets....[It] is the height of treachery." Filled with marvelous word play ("What connection is there between defect and descent...saboteur and stabber, mole and rat?") that has been admirably rendered by the translator, this novel makes us stop and consider the meaning of the words themselves. Highly recommended for both public and academic libraries.
-?David W. Henderson, Eckerd Coll. Lib., St. Petersberg, Fla.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews

A wonderful short novel from the increasingly acclaimed Israeli author. This time, Oz (Don't Call It Night, 1996, etc.) offers the first-person narrative of an imaginative and intelligent 12-year- old boy nicknamed Proffy (short for ``Professor''), living just outside Jerusalem in 1947, the final year of the British ``mandate'' (occupation). Determined to grow up to fight for his people's independence, Proffy joins two comrades in forming a make- believe underground resistance movement he calls FOD (``Freedom or Death''). He imagines himself a ``panther in the basement,'' silently crouching and biding his time awaiting an opportunity to ``pounce on'' the hated British. But while out one night beyond curfew, Proffy is apprehended by the unprepossessing Sergeant Dunlop, a clumsy British policeman who turns out to be sympathetic toward Jews and deeply enamored of their culture. He and Proffy meet secretly in a local cafe, exchanging Hebrew and English lessons, and bringing Proffy to a paradoxical reevaluation of himself as ``a young Hebrew Underground fighter, whose life is devoted to driving out the foreign oppressor, but whose soul is bound up with his. . . .'' This amazingly compact novel features several vivid supporting characters (including Proffy's severe scholarly father and forthright mother, his judgmental friends Ben Hur and Chita, and Ben Hur's grownup sister Yardena, a woman wise beyond her years) and such marvelous set-pieces as Proffy's long rhapsodic description of the books in his father's study, and a moving climactic moment of understanding between father and son on the eve of the formation of the state of Israel. Oz expertly blends together an ingenious allegory of the Israeli resistance movement, a shimmering portrait of life in postwar Jerusalem and environs, and an unforgettable characterization of its sentient young hero- -who's thoroughly believable both as a confused preadolescent and as the mature writer looking backward on his, and his country's, youth from the vantage point of middle age. Another triumph, and further evidence of Oz's increasing claim to serious Nobel Prize consideration. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Mariner Books; 1 edition (October 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0156006308
• ISBN-13: 978-0156006309
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #488,236 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A deceptively simple meditation on ethnic hatred., December 14, 1998

By 

Kathleen T. Choi (Hilo, Hawaii) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Panther in the Basement (Hardcover)

1947 Jerusalem - "Proffy," age 12, spends his days recreating famous battles on his living room floor and plotting with two friends the overthrow of the British occupation. His firm conviction that all British are evil, however, is shaken when he meets Sgt. Stephen Dunlop. Dunlop is an overweight, asthmatic, lonely man who loves Israel and longs to speak her language better. Convincing himself that teaching Dunlop Hebrew is a form of espionage, Proffy begins regular meetings with Dunlop.

Proffy's friends, however, declare the meetings treason. This forces the intellectual boy to think long and hard about what constitutes an enemy and why wars begin in the first place. Both Proffy and Dunlop love the Bible. In fact, Dunlop's greatest desire is to read the Bible in Hebrew. He shares Proffy's conviction that God wants Israel belong to the Jews. How can such a man be an enemy?

Oz is one of Israel's most famous authors. Clearly this novel is as much about Israel's present conflict with the Palestinians as it is about the wars of his youth. Proffy's friend said, "Loving the enemy is the height of treachery." Yet that is what Jesus commanded. Panther in the Basement, then, is a novel as much for Christians as Jews, and I heartily recommend it. Kathleen T. Choi, HAWAII CATHOLIC HERALD

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A novel for that speaks to the past and the present!, June 19, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Panther in the Basement (Paperback)

Attack in Jerusalem...Suicide bombings...Reoccupation of West bank...Bush proposal for Palestinian State...

Yes - the headlines are horrendous... and, as an American Jew, there are times when I find myself questioning my feelings toward the situation in Israel. ...That is until a book such as this, as told through the eyes of the 12-year-old son of 2 Holocaust survivors, comes along reminding me of the importance of Israel to Jews all over the world!

Panther in the Basement is set in in 1947 British-occupied Palestine. While a real Underground is actively working toward the formation of a "Hebrew State", 12-year old Proffy and his friends are operating a make-believe underground movement. This first-person narrative tracks the growing pains of Proffy, from his "traiterous" relationship with British Sargeant Dunlop to his crush on his friend's older sister and, most importantly, to his understanding of a true need for a Jewish homeland as made evident through his relationship with his parents.

Once I got used to his style of writing, I found Mr. Oz poetic in his prose and I look forward to reading some of his other works.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "Anyone branded a traitor is a traitor forever", December 29, 2004

By 

Luan Gaines "luansos" (Dana Point, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Panther in the Basement (Paperback)

The state of Israel created in 1948 has given birth to new warriors, to young men and women who refuse to entertain the annihilation suffered by their relatives led to slaughter. The land is in flux, anxiously preparing for the end of the British Occupation.

Proffi lives in a time of epiphany, the fears and caution of his childhood soon to turn into self-reliance and pride. Proffi's summer is pivotal, the simplicity of childhood but a chapter in his life, a boy who already registers the nuances, the many facets of human behavior, even in the British occupiers.

Surrounded by history, Proffi lives in an environment that venerates the written word, the accumulation of knowledge; his father's bookshelves reach to the ceiling, smelling of must and old paper, a most heady perfume. A solitary child, Proffi daily recreates great military battles, using whatever is handy to plan each new siege once his parents have left for the day. And every day, an hour later, Proffi's two friends, Ben Hur and Chita Reznik arrive to assist in strategizing campaigns and plan forays aimed at the British Occupation, the boys members of a secret organization, FOD, Freedom or Death.

Life is good, Proffi's world defined by sundry battles and a newly awakened curiosity about the female sex, until he discovers an accusation painted on the wall: traitor. Required to appear before the FOD the next afternoon, Proffi must answer the serious charge. "Instead of a panther in the basement, they saw me as a knife in the back." Indeed, the boy is guilty of fraternizing with the enemy, one hapless and friendly Sergeant Dunlop. Proffi and the soldier have been meeting at a local cafe, each learning the language of the other, a secret and innocent pleasure.

This is a coming-of-age story set in the fulcrum of history, as a young boy navigates the mysteries of life in a world defined by the Holocaust and the reverberations felt around the globe from that infamous event. Proffi is confronted with the challenges of friendship in a new context, one that requires a different perspective, leaving childhood behind and ushering in a future defined by personal choices and a new-found sense of self.

This small novel is a gem, the brilliant analysis of a pivotal moment in a boy's life caught on the cusp of past and future. The author's descriptions are lyrical and visual, both the emotional journey undertaken by Proffi, the familiarity of a home filled with row upon row of treasured books and a family who understands the impermanence of time. Life awaits, but childhood still beckons seductively. Luan Gaines/2004.