OverDrive would like to use cookies to store information on your computer to improve your user experience at our Website. One of the cookies we use is critical for certain aspects of the site to operate and has already been set. You may delete and block all cookies from this site, but this could affect certain features or services of the site. To find out more about the cookies we use and how to delete them, click here to see our Privacy Policy.
Revelatory talks about art and life with internationally acclaimed Israeli novelist Amos Oz In the last years of his life, the writer Amos Oz talked regularly with Shira Hadad, who worked closely with him as the editor of his final novel, Judas. These candid, uninhibited dialogues show a side of Oz that few ever saw. What Makes an Apple? presents the most revealing of these conversations in English for the first time, painting an illuminating and disarmingly intimate portrait of a towering literary figure. In frank and open exchanges that are by turns buoyant, introspective, and argumentative, Oz explains what impels him to begin a story and shares his routines, habits, and challenges as a writer. He discusses the tectonic changes he experienced in his lifetime in relationships between women and men, and describes how his erotic coming of age shaped him not only as a man but also as an author. Oz reflects on his parents, his formative years on a kibbutz, and how he dealt with and learned from his critics, his students, and his fame. He talks about why there is more humor in his later books and gives his exceptional take on fear of death. Resonating with Oz's clear, honest, and humorous voice, What Makes an Apple? offers unique insights about Oz's artistic and personal evolution, and enables readers to explore his work in new ways.
Revelatory talks about art and life with internationally acclaimed Israeli novelist Amos Oz In the last years of his life, the writer Amos Oz talked regularly with Shira Hadad, who worked closely with him as the editor of his final novel, Judas. These candid, uninhibited dialogues show a side of Oz that few ever saw. What Makes an Apple? presents the most revealing of these conversations in English for the first time, painting an illuminating and disarmingly intimate portrait of a towering literary figure. In frank and open exchanges that are by turns buoyant, introspective, and argumentative, Oz explains what impels him to begin a story and shares his routines, habits, and challenges as a writer. He discusses the tectonic changes he experienced in his lifetime in relationships between women and men, and describes how his erotic coming of age shaped him not only as a man but also as an author. Oz reflects on his parents, his formative years on a kibbutz, and how he dealt with and learned from his critics, his students, and his fame. He talks about why there is more humor in his later books and gives his exceptional take on fear of death. Resonating with Oz's clear, honest, and humorous voice, What Makes an Apple? offers unique insights about Oz's artistic and personal evolution, and enables readers to explore his work in new ways.
Due to publisher restrictions the library cannot purchase additional copies of this title, and we apologize if there is a long waiting list. Be sure to check for other copies, because there may be other editions available.
Due to publisher restrictions the library cannot purchase additional copies of this title, and we apologize if there is a long waiting list. Be sure to check for other copies, because there may be other editions available.
About the Author-
Amos Oz (1939–2018) was a world-renowned novelist, essayist, and short-story writer. His many books include A Tale of Love and Darkness, Scenes from Village Life, and How to Cure a Fanatic (Princeton). Shira Hadad is an acclaimed editor of contemporary Israeli fiction and a screenwriter. She edited works by such writers as Amos Oz and Zeruya Shalev, and created TV dramas for various networks. Jessica Cohen is the translator of Amos Oz's Dear Zealots and of works by such writers as Etgar Keret, Ronit Matalon, and Nir Baram.
Reviews-
December 15, 2021 Perspectives on life and literature from one of Israel's most celebrated authors. In 2014, Hadad edited Judas, the final novel by Israeli novelist Oz (1939-2018). After that, their conversations continued periodically during the final four years of Oz's life, resulting in "dozens of recorded hours" of occasionally contentious conversations. In these six chats, Oz lyrically addresses such topics as his motivations as a writer, writing process, views on sexuality, decades on a kibbutz, and the ways in which his writing changed from early successes to later works such as A Tale of Love and Darkness (2005). Ask an opinionated person like Oz for opinions, and one is likely to get provocative answers, but most of his responses are benign, as when he states that writing never gets easier: "writing is like driving with one foot on the gas and one on the brakes the whole time." More disturbing are comments on "militant feminism" and his fear that the #MeToo movement "is in danger of sliding down the slippery slope from understandable and justifiable revolutionary zeal to Bolshevik cruelty." In another conversation, Oz complains that much of modern literature "is nothing but agendas or a cunning attempt to disguise agendas" and executed with a "totalitarian steamroller," a shift that makes the teaching of literature "like being an explosives specialist neutralizing a suspicious object." Readers can decide for themselves whether they concur with him or, like Hadad, strongly disagree. Fortunately, most of the book consists of witty observations on writing and more, and Oz shares a reassuring analogy for writers who get frustrated when the work goes poorly: "What you do is actually similar to a grocer's job. You come to work in the morning, you open up the shop, you sit there and wait for customers. If there are customers, it's a good day. If there aren't, you're still doing your job by sitting there waiting." Memorable viewpoints guaranteed to evoke strong feelings.
COPYRIGHT(2021) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
January 31, 2022 Six conversations between Israeli novelist Oz (1939–2018) (A Tale of Love and Darkness) and screenwriter Hadad come together in this pleasant if scattershot collection. Their chats touch on such topics as Oz’s childhood (“I was an only child and I did not have any friends”), his adult relationships, writing habits (“My main ritual is to have everything in its place”), and the Israel-Palestine conflict (Oz calls “reality strikes” such as intifadas and bloodshed much more influential on how people see the situation than op-eds). Among the most memorable commentary is on the writer’s craft; in reflecting on his writing, Oz says that “no writer... can write about a person more intelligent than him or her,” nor can they persuasively depict someone with a better sense of humor than themselves. These two limitations notwithstanding, Oz suggests that he relishes writing about characters who are different from him. Though there are many such insightful comments, it’s hard to tell what the point is—at times the only thing holding the conversations together is Oz’s personality, which won’t be enough for those not already enamored of the author’s work. For his fans, though, this works as a quick fix.
Kirkus Reviews
"Perspectives on life and literature from one of Israel's most celebrated authors. . . . Oz lyrically addresses such topics as his motivations as a writer, writing process, views on sexuality, decades on a kibbutz, and the ways in which his writing changed from early successes to later works. . . . Memorable viewpoints guaranteed to evoke strong feelings."
Publishers Weekly
"Among the most memorable commentary is on the writer's craft. . . . For [Oz's] fans. . . this works as a quick fix."
Title Information+
Publisher
Princeton University Press
OverDrive Read
Release date:
EPUB eBook
Release date:
Digital Rights Information+
Copyright Protection (DRM) required by the Publisher may be applied to this title to limit or prohibit printing or copying. File sharing or redistribution is prohibited. Your rights to access this material expire at the end of the lending period. Please see Important Notice about Copyrighted Materials for terms applicable to this content.
Please update to the latest version of the OverDrive app to stream videos.
Device Compatibility Notice
The OverDrive app is required for this format on your current device.
Bahrain, Egypt, Hong Kong, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the Sudan, the Syrian Arab Republic, Tunisia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen
You've reached your library's checkout limit for digital titles.
To make room for more checkouts, you may be able to return titles from your Checkouts page.
Excessive Checkout Limit Reached.
There have been too many titles checked out and returned by your account within a short period of time.
Try again in several days. If you are still not able to check out titles after 7 days, please contact Support.
You have already checked out this title. To access it, return to your Checkouts page.
This title is not available for your card type. If you think this is an error contact support.
There are no copies of this issue left to borrow. Please try to borrow this title again when a new issue is released.
| Sign In
You will be prompted to sign into your library account on the next page.
If this is your first time selecting “Send to NOOK,” you will then be taken to a Barnes & Noble page to sign into (or create) your NOOK account. You should only have to sign into your NOOK account once to link it to your library account. After this one-time step, periodicals will be automatically sent to your NOOK account when you select "Send to NOOK."
The first time you select “Send to NOOK,” you will be taken to a Barnes & Noble page to sign into (or create) your NOOK account. You should only have to sign into your NOOK account once to link it to your library account. After this one-time step, periodicals will be automatically sent to your NOOK account when you select "Send to NOOK."
You can read periodicals on any NOOK tablet or in the free NOOK reading app for iOS, Android or Windows 8.