
A Tale of Love and Darkness
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Narrated by:
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Stefan Rudnicki
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By:
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Amos Oz
About this listen
Tragic, comic, and utterly honest, this extraordinary memoir is at once a great family saga and a magical self-portrait of a writer who witnessed the birth of a nation and lived through its turbulent history.
It is the story of a boy growing up in the war-torn Jerusalem of the 40s and 50s in a small apartment crowded with books in 12 languages and relatives speaking nearly as many. His mother and father, both wonderful people, were ill-suited to each other. When Oz was 12 and a half years old, his mother committed suicide - a tragedy that was to change his life. He leaves the constraints of the family and the community of dreamers, scholars, and failed businessmen to join a kibbutz, changes his name, marries, has children, and finally becomes a writer as well as an active participant in the political life of Israel. A story of clashing cultures and lives, of suffering and perseverance, of love and darkness.
©2016 Amos Oz (P)2016 Blackstone Audio, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
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What listeners say about A Tale of Love and Darkness
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- Alex
- 02-18-24
Personal and Special
Oz captures the personal history in a time of upheaval. One of the most intense, funny, deeply tragic and unique stories.
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- Jill Steinberg
- 06-21-24
The writing is unbelievable. The use of language and descriptions is like nothing I have ever read.
I loved the individual stories but because it was not chronological sometimes I got confused as to where we were in the sequence of events. I listened rather than read it so that might have been part of the problem. It is a book that could definitely be read or listened to more than once because of the beautiful language.
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- Eliot Kaplan
- 10-21-24
A portrait of a young Israeli in the years around the creation of the State of Israel..
A lovely listen! At times funny, touching, and profound, woven with the lives of his family and the birth of the State..
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- philip carr harris
- 11-06-22
Compelling
The author takes me with him into the winding alleys of his and his country's coming of age.
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- Laura R. Perera
- 11-05-20
A masterpiece
A beautiful story told in the most lovely way. I takes you to the profound psyche of a boy as he grows up. The story and history of Jewish people narrated with passion and magnificent details.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Lizabeth I. Flores
- 04-24-21
could not put it down
excellent. description of characters brought them to life..narrator
was clear telling the story .
would recommend with enthusiasm
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- Book of Odds
- 05-15-23
Extraordinary record of a life and time
Oz grew up in Jerusalem under the Mandate and Mufti, the Israeli War of Independence and Palestinian Nakba. This is a memoir of his coming of age and to prominence and the terrors of post-Holocaust Palestine, his polyglot family, the trauma of his mother’s suicide. In the setting and time of his novel, My Michael, this could be a gloss to that fine work. So many memorable characters, often writers storytellers or scholars, in this profound and truthful telling.
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- michael petro
- 08-07-20
An excellent literary work by Mr. Oz
I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this book. His use of language, literary devices, and a love of words made me purchase a hard copy so that I could follow along. The reader’s voice complemented my visualization. I am looking forward to my next book by Amos Oz.
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1 person found this helpful
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- John Zoetebier
- 02-19-19
Interesting autobiography placed in Isreal
Story gives interesting background of Israel in the 1940-1960 era like the declaration of the state. Striking is the constant danger people had to live in. A thread in the story is the life and death of his mother.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Laura G. Marcantoni
- 05-04-19
Good but a little too long.
It is a very good book but could have used some trimming. There are things that pop up several times for , at least in my opinion, no apparent reason and, in my opinion again could have been edited.
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