Περιπλανώμενο αστέρι

by J.M.G. Le Clézio, Γιάννης Στρίγκος (Translator)

Το καλοκαίρι του 1943, σε κάποιο μικρό χωριό της νότιας Γαλλίας που έχει μετατραπεί σε γκέτο για τους Εβραίους, η έφηβος Εσθήρ, ανακαλύπτει τι σημαίνει να είναι κανείς Εβραίος εν καιρώ πολέμου και βιώνει το φόβο, το θάνατο και την ταπείνωση. Μετά τη λήξη του πολέμου, μαζί με τη μητέρα της, επιβιβάζεται σ' ένα υπερφορτωμένο από κόσμο πλοίο, με προορισμό το νεοσύστατο κράτος του Ισραήλ, όπου θα ανακαλύψει τη θρησκεία και τη δύναμη της προσευχής. Φτάνοντας, θα συναντηθεί φευγαλέα, σαν μέσα σ' ένα όνειρο, με τη Νετζμά, ένα κορίτσι της ηλικίας της, που αναγκάζεται ως Παλαιστίνια να εγκαταλείψει τον τόπο της και να πάρει το δρόμο της εξορίας για κάποιο προσφυγικό καταυλισμό. Η Εσθήρ και η Νετζμά, η Εβραία και η Παλαιστίνια, δεν θα συναντηθούν ποτέ ξανά. Θα 'χουν ανταλλάξει μονάχα ένα βλέμμα αλλά η καθεμιά, στη δική της εξορία, δεν θα πάψει να σκέφτεται την άλλη.

Με δεξιοτεχνική όσο και ποιητική γραφή -η αφήγηση περνά διαδοχικά από την Εσθήρ στη Νετζμά και από το πρώτο πρόσωπο στο τρίτο- ο νομπελίστας Λε Κλεζιό, σε αυτό το βιβλίο του, που θεωρείται από τα καλύτερά του, αφηγείται μια απλή και ανθρώπινη ιστορία, καταφέρνοντας ωστόσο να συγκλονίσει τον αναγνώστη του.

Genres: Fiction, Nobel Prize, Historical Fiction, France, French Literature, Literature, Novels

301 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clézio, better known as J.M.G. Le Clézio (born 13 April 1940) is a Franco-Mauriciano novelist. The author of over forty works, he was awarded the 1963 Prix Renaudot for his novel Le Procès-Verbal (The Interrogation) and the 2008 Nobel Prize in Literature.

Reviews

[Sawsan · Rating 2 out of 5]

أفضل ما في الرواية هي الفكرة العامة عن الاضطهاد بمختلف أنواعه
لوكليزيو يحكي عن استير الفتاة اليهودية وعن معاناة اليهود فترة الحرب العالمية التانية
الخوف والقهر والهروب فترة النازية, والرغبة في الهجرة إلى فلسطين أرض الميعاد
ومع وصول استير لفلسطين ننتقل في جزء صغير من الرواية
لنجمة الفتاة الفلسطينية التي تُطرد هي وأهلها من بيوتهم وأرضهم
رحلة العذاب والتهجير وحياة البؤس والمعاناة في مخيمات اللجوء
ولأجل أن تجد استير مكان جديد تستقر فيه يكون على نجمة أن ترحل عن وطنها
السرد مُطول ومتفاوت ويسوده الملل أحيانا

الكاتب استفاض في الكتابة عن اضطهاد الألمان لليهود
الأكيد ان الظلم والاضطهاد واحد لكل الطوائف والجنسيات والأديان
لكن الفرق واضح بين الحالتين في العموم
الفرق بين اضطهاد طائفة بسبب العرق أو الدين وبين اغتصاب وطن واحتلال بلد بكامله

[Rita · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clézio – Prémio Nobel da Literatura, 2008
"autor de novas partidas, aventura poética e êxtase sensual, explorador da humanidade além e sob a civilização regente"

J.M.G. Le Clézio é um escritor/ensaísta franco-maurício que nasceu em Nice em 1940. Ficou famoso aos 23 anos quando foi seleccionado para o prémio Goncourt e obteve o prémio Renaudot.
A sua carreira é dividida em dois grandes períodos. De 1963 a 1975 dedicou-se a publicar trabalhos experimentais, a partir do final dos anos 70 passou a abordar temas como infância, adolescência e viagens, atraindo um público mais amplo.

Não conhecia Le Clézio, não fosse a necessidade de encontrar um escritor das Maurícias e acho que continuaria sem o conhecer. Bendita volta ao mundo em 198 livros 🙏🌍

Estrela Errante é a história de duas jovens mulheres, uma desenraizada pelo Holocausto – Esther (judia) - e a outra pela fundação do Estado de Israel – Nejma (palestiniana), abrange um período de aproximadamente 40 anos (1943-1982) e é uma obra poderosa, esmagadora, mas também desoladora e angustiante.

No final da guerra, Esther e a sua mãe fazem uma árdua viagem para Jerusalém, e no caminho cruzam-se com um grupo de refugiados deslocados onde se encontra Nejma, uma rapariga cuja história de vida nos campos equilibra a própria história de sofrimento e sobrevivência de Esther. Esther e Nejma nunca mais se encontram, mas nunca mais se esquecem.

Como diz o Le Figaro
“Uma lição de humanidade”


23/198 - Maurícia

[Ahmed · Rating 3 out of 5]

نوبل 2008.
لن نتعمق فى نوايا الكاتب ولا دوافعه لكتابة هذا العمل لأن هذا لا يعنينى بصراحه , فالمهم هو العمل بين يدى .
اهدى الكاتب عمله إلى : الأطفال الأسرى.
عمل انسانى بامتياز.تتساوى أمامه وبداخله كل الجنسيات والأديان والعقائد.
هيلين (إستير) اليهوديه الجميله ونجمه الفلسطينيه الساحرة
حياة بالكربون : تتشابه مع بعضهما جدا باختلاف الظروف وحتى اختلاف المجتمعات والعقائد.
إستير : تحت اضطهاد فاشية الحرب العالميه الثانيه ضد اليهود فى هذه الحرب والتى نجحوا فى تطبيق هذا الاضطهاد عندما واتتهم الفرصه فى تطبيقه على شعب أضعف منهم
بغض النظر عن كلا الموقفين , وبغض النظر حتى عن الشخصيتين فقد نجح الكاتب فى رسمهما بصورة جيده تظهر لك الفارق والتشابه بين حياتيهما.
لن أتعمق كثيرا فى الحديث عن خصوصية الموقف الفلسطينى وتفرده , وان تحدثنا عن اضطهاد اليهود فى فترة الحرب العالميه فلن تسعفنا مجلدات.
ورغم ان العمل مترجم فاللغه قويه متماسكه اظهرت ديناميكيه أدبيه عاليه
شخصيات العمل جميله جدا تربطك بها علاقة حب من خلال كلمات الكاتب
الشخصيات الثانويه من اجمل ما تكون.
الأحداث: واقعيه بامتياز
أفضل ما فى العمل من وجهة نظرى بعد الحس الانسانى البديع هو الوصف: فقد كان الكاتب كرسّام يقوم بعمل لوحة عمره ليقدمها لنا لنستمتع بها .
وكعادة أعمال كتاب نوبل : عمل أكاديمى ومحترف للغايه, استطاع فيه أن يوظف الكاتب كل مقومات العمل الناجح ليقدمه لنا , قد تشعر بانه ممل أو أنه ثقيل ولكنك لن تسطيع أن تنكر ما تتركه على نفسك من أثر جميل
عمل ممتاز

[Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Não encontrei a minha luz nas lições de liberdade
nem a recebi de meu pai.
Mordi-a na minha própria carne,
talhei-a no meu próprio coração."
— Hayyim Nahman Bialik

Há livros que quase me fazem acreditar na existência de deuses. Só alguém tocado por eles poderá escrever assim...

Fui ao Goodreads saber de quem teve o privilégio de ler, e sentir, este livro. Encontrei a Ana. E, com as suas lindas palavras, voltei a emocionar-me. Apenas não concordo com as estrelas. Eu também queria mais de Nejma mas ela partiu por uma "estrada sem fim onde o sol brilha, bem alto no céu, para todos."
Obrigada, Ana.

[Silvia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scrittura piana e delicata, un ritratto vivo e magistrale di una ragazza ebrea a partire dal 1943 ed una giovane araba in fuga da Acri; due destini che si incrociano, momenti terribili eppure risuona la speranza...Avrei dedicato un ulteriore capitolo al racconto dei profughi arabi per bilanciare la trama.

[Aylin · Rating 5 out of 5]

II.Dünya Savaşı’nda Almanların yaklaşması üzerine Fransız Saint Martin kasabasından kaçan yahudilerin yaşadıkları Esther’in hayat hikayesi çerçevesinde anlatılıyor. İlerleyen sayfalarda da bu kez 1948 Arap-İsrail savaşına ve sürgün edilen Arap kızı Nejma’ya uzanıyor hikaye…

Olanı olduğu gibi anlatıyor Clezio, politik bir yorum katmıyor, savaşın anlamsızlığı ve vahşeti üzerine büyük cümleler kurmuyor…Anlatıyor…Bize de Esther’in ve Nejma’nın hikayelerini sanki onların yanı başlarında onlara eşlik ediyormuşçasına izlemek düşüyor. İyi edebiyatın gücü bu kitapta kendisini sessizce gösteriyor. Bir bakmışsınız ki sürgün edilmiş, vatanına kavuşma isteği ile sefalet çeken kişilerin ortasındasınız, olumlu bir gelişme karşısında derin bir iç çekip seviniyor, aranızdan biri öldüğünde çöküyorsunuz…

Bu kitap, kendi çektiğim Petra/Ürdün fotoğrafı ile aynı kadraja sahip kapak fotoğrafı nedeni ile ilgimi çekmişti. İyi ki de dikkatimi çekmiş👌🏻Kitabın içeriği ile Petra’yı çok bağdaştıramamış olsam da kapak en azından bir okur kazandırdı.

[Ana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Da Segunda Guerra ao conflito israelo-palestiniano, num relato contido e intimista que nos faz sentir as personagens como pessoas de carne, osso, sangue e alma. E a escrita é de uma fluidez e de uma elegância que abrilhantam o conteúdo. Foi um livro que me tocou bastante, que me deixou melancólica e a pensar em quão pouco sentido pode fazer, e quão distorcido pode ser, o mundo que os homens e os seus jogos de poderes fabricam.
O anti-clímax: o desmazelo recorrente do trabalho editorial, sendo possível ler nesta edição coisas como "camiães", "prescrutar"... e outras que já me esqueci.

[Kaptan HUK · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yağda Yüzen Cümleler
Çevirmen Aysel Bora'ya ithafla...

Dünya Edebiyatı'nın en güzel çocuk karakterlerinden biridir diyebileceğim Esther bu romanın ismi de olmalıydı. Sadece Esther. Kitabın kapağında ise Esther'in on üç, on yedi ve otuzlu yaşlarındaki portleri yan yana, altına da ellerde bavullar başlar düşük siyahlara bürünmüş Yahudi kafilesi.       Göçmen Yıldız'ı Esther'in sürgün acısını anlatıyor. Yaklaşık altmış sayfalık arada da Nejma'nın Filistin Kampı günlüğünü okuyoruz.       Göçmen Yıldız'ı beş bölümden oluşuyor: Héléne bölümünde üçüncü tekil anlatımla Fransız köyü Saint Martin'deki yaşantı,Yahudi kafilesinin köyü  terk edişi ve devamında çileli yolculuğu on üç yaşındaki Esther üzerinden 126 sayfada anlatılıyor. Sadece Héléne bölümü novella anlamında kitaplaştırılsa benden üç yıldız alırdı ama yine de çok iyi sonuçlar verirdi. Müthiş bir bölüm. Héléne Esther'in köydeki ismi, Almanların dikkatini çekmesin diye annesi Elizabeth takmış. İkinci bölüm Esther adını taşıyor ve "On yedi yaşındayım^ diye başlıyor. Yahudi kafilesinin Kudüs'de biten çileli yolculuğunu Estner bizzat kendisi anlatıyor. Üçüncü bölüm Nejma'da hayvan barınağında beter Filistin Kampları gerçeğini Arap kızı Nejma'nın günlüğünden okuyoruz. Dördüncü bölüm Güneşin Oğlu'nda Esther yine mikrofona geçip savrulduğu Montreal'deki-yıllar önce terk ettiği köye takılı-hüznünü anlatıyor. Elizabeth bölümü anneye ayrılmış. Aylar süren yürüyüşte kafile durduğunda her defasında yere kıvrılıp uyuyan Elizabeth'in hüznünü anlatmak yine kızı Esther'e düşüyor.        Roman özetle böyle. Nejma anlatısı karambole gelmiş. Çıkar Nejma'yı plandan, roman daha iyi duracaktır. Çünkü mikrofon Esther'de. Merkez Esther. Nejma'nın günlüğü muhabir işi gibi olmuş. Filistin Kampı'ndan haberler veriyor! Arka kapak yazısı üzerinden beklentim sürgünlük acısı çeken bu iki karakterin bir şekilde tanışmaları ve kısa ya da uzun bir süreci birlikte yaşamalarıydı.Yine çünkü; bu iki kızın temsil ettiği hayatlardan birinin var edilmesi diğerinin yok edilmesine bağlı. Esther'e Kudüs'de yaşam alanı Nejma'nın evi yıkılarak sağlanıyor. Yani buyur! Çok güzel bir açı yakalanmış aslında. Şu sahne mesela: Yahudi kafilesi kamyonlarla Kudüs'e gidiyor. Bir ara yol kenarında perişan halde yürüyen Arap kafilesine rastlıyorlar. Kamyonlar duruyor. Esther "siz n'apıyorsuruz burda, nereye gidiyorsunuz" diyor. Çıt yok tabii. İki tarafta da başlar önde. Sonrası yok. Esther ve Nejma tanışacaklarına kesişiyorlar (dokunarak bakışıyorlar). Sonuçta Nejma'nın Filistin Kampları anlatısı yerini anlamını bulmuyor. Çeviri esnasında anlamı kaybolabilir veya durumu ben çakamamışımdır veya yazar anlatılmıştır veya... Bunlar da var. Ama şimdilik Nejma olmamış diyoruz.       Bir diğer husus: Kadını yok sayma kültürleriyle meşhur Doğu (İslam) toplumunda okuma yazma öğrenen Nejma yazarlara parmak ısırtacak yetkinlikte günlük yazıyor. Ne iş?       Ya şu hususa ne demeli: İnsan tasvirli konuşur mu? Hadi üçüncü tekil anlatımda Fransız Edebiyatı'nın 19. yüzyıldan kalma tasvirli anlatım geleneğini çalıştırdın, peki Esther'i tasvirli konuşturmak neye hizmettir? Lé Clézio deney roman mı yazmış? Sen gerçeklerden bahsediyorsan ben de inandırıcılık ararım. Tasvir dediğin nedir, yağdır; romanın yağıdır. Ayarını yaparsan nefis bir roman olur. Göçmen Yıldız'ında ayar mayar yok, cümleler resmen yağın (tasvirlerin) içinde yüzüyor. Yani olacak şey değil. Öhö öhö bile tasvirli. Şaka gibi. Esther gece pencereden şehri seyrediyor. Poyrazın uğultusu odanın sessizliğini doldurdu diyor. N'apiğim ben şimdi arkadaş! Bu yaşta pencereden mi atlayayım yani. Romandan bir iki tasvir numunesi alıp şuraya yazmayı akıl edemediğimi mi sanıyorsun? Dayanamıyorum ki. Tasviri görmeye dayanamıyorum, nasıl yazaca��ım. Yağlı yemek mideye lök diye nasıl oturuyorsa tasvirli metin bende zihne aynen öyle çöker. Bunca şikayetten sonra niye okuduğumu düşünüyorum da, kafa mı kaldı bende! Göçmen Yıldız'da beni Aysel Bora çevirisi tuttu. Yirmi sayfada bir trenden atlamayı (kitabı bırakmayı) düşündüm durdum ama Aysel Bora çevirisi her defasında "otur yerine salak. Türkçenin keyfini sür" dedi. Fakat yıldız meselesinde gözüm kararır; Bora'yı da Esther'i de dinlemem. İki yıldız.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve had a mixed experience with Nobel Prize winners that I’ve recently read. The Piano Teacher by Elfriede Jelinek was challenging to say the least, and Auto-da-Fe by Elias Canetti was bizarre. On the other hand, Beloved by Toni Morrison was a revelation, and The Double by José Saramago was very entertaining. But Wandering Star aroused intense feelings of melancholy about the Arab-Israeli conflict and of anger about international indifference to the persisting plight of refugees all over the world.

J.M.G. Le Clézio was awarded the 2008 Nobel Prize in Literature as an ‘author of new departures, poetic adventure and sensual ecstasy, explorer of a humanity beyond and below the reigning civilization’ – and I bought Wandering Star, the only one of his books available in English, shortly afterwards. Now that I’ve finally read it, I understand why he won the prize.

Alison Kelly’s review at The Guardian explains that Le Clezio wrote experimental fiction in his first phase as an author, but that Wandering Star reverts to using ‘conventional modes of storytelling complete with familiar devices such as characters, settings and plots’. Since I haven’t read any of his unconventional works, I can’t comment on the full scope of this author, but (despite the pedestrian translation) this book shows a writer in great command of his powers. In this novel he has tackled that most intractable of geopolitical issues, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from the point of view of two young girls, both of whom are ‘wandering stars’ in search of a home. Esther is a Jewish refugee in post-Holocaust Europe, and Nejma is a dispossessed Palestinian. Their parallel stories illuminate the anguish of exile.

To read the rest of my review please visit http://anzlitlovers.wordpress.com/201...

[Ana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Que delícia foi ler esta obra! Pode parecer contraditório afirmar isto, porque muito pouco em Estrela errante nos coloca um sorriso na cara, nos faz pensar cor-de-rosa ou ser otimista, mas tudo isso torna-se supérfluo quando esbarramos com palavras, parágrafos, capítulos tão bem delineados, tão bem escritos. Vezes sem conta dei comigo com o olhar preso em determinada passagem, presa ao poder das palavras, como que perdida entre a beleza e o deleite dum amontoado de letras, que combinadas pela mão genial do escritor, nos permitem tomar o lugar da personagem, enroscar no seu íntimo e ver os que os seus olhos veem, pensar o que o seu intelecto pensa, sentir o que seu coração sente, desfrutar o que os seus sentidos desfrutam. É esta a magia e a força da leitura :)
Esther e Nejma são as protagonistas desta obra. São duas adolescentes marcadas por experiências terríveis. Uma é judia, conseguiu escapar às garras dos nazis, mas na fuga perdeu o pai, a inocência e a noção de casa, de pertencer a um lugar. A outra é palestiniana e também ela se vê obrigada a fugir da sua cidade, do mar e das ruas que sente como suas para não sucumbir, para não perder a vida. A errância e a casualidade fazem com que os passos de uma se cruzem com os passos da outra, que Esther e Nejma se olhem nos olhos, se toquem e troquem muito mais dos que os seus nomes, já que nunca mais se esquecerão desses breves momentos, desse diálogo mudo, dorido que recordarão em alturas fulcrais ou insignificantes das suas vidas.
A força, a determinação, a coragem, o crescimento forçado por circunstâncias terríficas, a inocência que espreita em lugares desoladores e sobretudo a capacidade de olhar, de observar e de ainda desfrutar da magia da natureza fizeram com que me rendesse sem reservas às duas meninas-mulheres que erram, vagueiam ao longo das 290 brilhantes páginas da obra. Foi impossível não me identificar com as fugas de Esther, que tenta enganar a realidade de guerra e de terror, evadindo-se, indo ao encontro de refúgios, de locais mágicos, onde a água, os sons que produz, o choque térmico que lhe eriça a pele, o seu irrevogável curso alimentam os seus sonhos, a sua esperança. Foi ainda pungente e aflitivo acompanhar Nejma nos intermináveis dias de um campo de refugiados, no qual o calor abrasador, a falta de água potável, a perda de quase tudo o que nos define como humanos a impeliam a afastar-se de todos, a pôr o olhar no horizonte e a desafiar a morte.
Estrela errante é assim uma obra pouco ou nada indicada para quem não quer mergulhar na dor, no desespero, na desolação, naquilo que faz enroscar e querer desaparecer. Contudo, para quem busca – tal como eu – com desespero e agonia uma obra que nos toca, que nos faz crescer, que nos alimenta o vício de querer ler mais e mais, que nos leva a agradecer a existência da literatura, deve mergulhar no mundo deste autor francês, galardoado com o Nobel em 2008. A sua deliciosa escrita (pelo menos nesta obra, que é a única que li dele) é contemplativa, contida, carregada de lirismo, sensorial e alcançou aquilo que eu pretendo de uma leitura – fez-me viajar, arrebatou-me, extasiou-me, enlevou-me.
É, por fim, uma obra que glorifica o feminino. É um hino às mulheres como um todo, como um ser único e especial que somos.
Antes de terminar, tenho que agradecer à Verinha “Gastabromas” por me ter emprestado o livro. Gracias, Verinha, proporcionaste-me cinco dias de uma leitura “terriblemente exquisita” :) :)

NOTA – 09/10 (não lhe dou a nota máxima, apenas porque queria mais de Nejma…)

http://osabordosmeuslivros.blogspot.pt/

[Maryam Abdelhameed · Rating 2 out of 5]

<<ألا تشرق الشمس على الجميع؟؟>>
هذا هو المنظور الذي يعالج منه الكاتب القضية،، قضية فلسطين وإسرائيل واللاجئين والأسرى
منذ البداية يسعى لوكليزيو الحائز على نوبل 2008 إلى وضع الشعب اليهودي المستضعف المقهور...الخ -من وجهة نظره- في نفس السلة مع الشعب الفلسطيني الذي تم تهجيره من أرضه وسلبه حقوقه..
والحل هو: ألا تشرق الشمس على الجميع؟

خصص الكاتب 60 صفحة من أصل 318 للفتاة العربية نجمة لتحكي قصة تهجيرها القسري من بلدتها وحياتها البائسة في المخيم ثم هربها منه الى الأردن وباقي الصفخات 260 صفحة لـ (إستير) الفتاة اليهودية الفرنسية التي تعرضت للاضهاد العنصري وفقدت والدها في الحرب العالمية الثانية ثم قررت أن تهاجر برفقة يهود آخرين إلى الأرض الموعودة لشعب الله المختار - أورشليم!
وبالتالي تفقد الرواية القدر المعقول من الاتزان في عرض وجهتي النظر وإن كانتا غير متعارضتين من وجهة نظر الكاتب، فنجمة وإستير (التي تعني نجمة أيضاً بالعبرية) في نفس الجانب، رغم احتواء الرواية على اشارات بليغة تكشف عن انحياز الكاتب للجانب الصهيوني،، فمثلا عندما تشعر استير بالشفقة على طابور الفلسطينيات وأطفالهن الذاهبات إلى المخيم، ترد عليها إحدى النساء اليهوديات بأن هؤلاء أرامل وأمهات من يقتلوننا!!
وتبدو إستير مقتنعة بصواب هذه النظرة فتتساءل (والأطفال)؟!!!!

[Aslıhan Çelik Tufan · Rating 5 out of 5]

2008 Nobel Edebiyat Ödülü sahibi bir kalemle merhaba.

İki kadın iki ülke koca yaşlı adaletsiz dünya. Öyle içe dokunan bir hikaye ki. Esther ile Nejma 'nın yurda dönüş, yurttan kovuluşunun kesişen hikayesi.

İkinci Dünya savaşından 1948 İsrail - Arap savaşlarına uzanan, ayrıntısı değişse de ana görüntüde tıpa tıp aynı olan acılar, kederler, kayıplar.

İnsan dediğimiz topraktan gelmiş, tutacak kök salacak bir yer arıyor koca kainatta, kitapta da insanın mekana bağlılığı son derece başarılı işlenmiş.

Nobelli bir yazar daha kütüphaneme eklemiş olmanın mutluluğunu ile sizlere de tavsiye ederim.

Keyifli okumalar 🌼

#readingismycardio #aslihanneokudu #okudumbitti #2021okumalarım #okuryorumu #kitaptavsiyesi #neokudum #göçmenyıldız #canyayınları #jmgleclezio #nobellikitaplar #nobelödüllüyazarlar #çağdaşdünyaedebiyatı #fransızedebiyatı

[Catherine Bracy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't love this book. It was a little too self-absorbedly, righteously French for me, I found myself rolling my eyes a lot at the descriptions. I can just picture the author chain smoking at some Parisian cafe while he was writing this.

Some background: it's about two girls, one Jewish (Esther) and one Palestinian (Nejma), who briefly cross paths in the midst of the 1948 war. My original thought that the handling of Nejma's story was...odd. It seemed oddly placed in the middle of the book, it was much shorter than Esther's sections, and it ended quite abruptly. I didn't get the sense that the author treated her with the same respect he did Esther.


But after discussing it with my book club, I changed my mind a bit. We started talking about conflict in general and the human toll inflicted, and I got to thinking that all people really want at the end of the day was to be paid their respect, for wrongs against them to be acknowledged, to be heard, etc. It seems, and this may be controversial, that Jews were paid that respect after WWII (rightly so), but that Palestinians are still waiting for some closure. My wild hypothesis is that the different treatments of Esther and Nejma's stories could be a metaphor for how the two groups have been treated over time. Esther gets to tell her whole story, finds closure, etc. Nejma is treated in a second-hand way, loose ends are not tied, there's no acknowledgment of the suffering, etc.

Anyway, I'm not sure I'd recommend this book but it definitely got me thinking about bigger global issues (especially timely given the current Gaza crisis) and how they affect individual lives, what it means for human dignity, etc.

[Stephen Durrant · Rating 4 out of 5]

J.M.G. Le Clezio just won this year's Nobel Prize for Literature. Francoise, my hyper-literate French wife, has never ranked him among modern France's greatest writers, but others would disagree. The announcement of his award made less of a splash in France this year than I would have expected, perhaps some indication of his ambivalent reception in his native country. This was only my second Le Clezio book, the other read in French (L'Africain). I am not sure "Wandering Star" is a great novel, but it is a very noble and big-hearted novel. Le Clezio tells the story of Esther, a young and highly sensitive Jewish girl who is driven by Nazis from her home in Nice to the Maritime Alps and then to Italy. After the war ends, she migrates with her mother to Israel. Le Clezio mixes his portrayal of the cruelty of the Nazi pursuit of the Jews with powerful glimpses of genuine humanity. And the later migration to Israel and proclamation of the state of Israel is not an end, but a continuation of struggle and conflict. In a quite daring and, I think, effective move, Le Clezio introduces a young Arab woman, a kind of double of Esther, and uses this character and her story to tell of the tragedy of the Arab camps during the early years of the Israeli state. This novel has been criticized as "disjointed," but the politics are spot-on and the profoundly humanistic tone moving. I should note, too, that Le Clezio belongs with other French writers like Laurent Gaude, who are expansive and romantic, rather than with the "small" writers, often brilliant in their own right, who focus intensely on sometimes claustrophic personalities or situations (Modiano, Ernaux, Jauffret, etc.). So, anyway, I have to read more Le Clezio!

[Dalila Guemri · Rating 3 out of 5]

الرواية تحكي قصة معاناة لجوء نجمتين؛ نجمة عربية فلسطينية ونجمة يهودية.
في الجزء الاول هيلين أو استرليتا، النجمة اليهودية تروي معاناة اليهود في مخيمات اللاجئين الفارين من وجه الألمان من جميع أنحاء أوروبا، تصور لنا القحط والذل والألم والرعب الذي عاشه اليهود والأمل بالوصول لأرض الميعاد. 
ومع دخولهم القدس في شاحنات عسكرية، توقفت الشاحنات لتسمح بمرور مواكب المهجّرين ا��عرب من النساء والأطفال، حيث أبصرت استرليتا الرعب والألم في عيون النسوة والأطفال وهو نفسه الذي أبصرته في مخيم لجوء اليهود في سان مارتان، نزلت من الشاحنة مقتربة من صفوف المهجّرين لتخرج طفلة فلسطينية من بين الصفوف مدت لها كراسا كتبت في أعلى صفحاته اسمها " نجمة " لتكتب لها استرليتا اسمها في كراسها، تحمل الطفلة كراسها بين ذراعيها وتسرع عائدة إلى الصفوف المنهكة من الألم والذعر و السير دون وجهة وتعود استرليتا إلى الشاحنات، لتتسائل عن سبب هجرتهم. تصمت أمها اليزابيت بتجاهل وعندما تكرر سؤالها بإلحاح عن سبب هجرتهم، فكان الجواب من امرأة لم تطأ قدماها أرض فلسطين إلا منذ يومين فقط " أنهن زوجات وبنات من يقتلونا!" كانت طريقة الجواب العدائية كافية لتمنعها من النقاش. 
وأما الجزء الثاني فالنجمة الفلسطينة تروي معاناة المهجّرين الفلسطنين في مخيمات الشتات.

[Stephanie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Le Clezio recently won the Nobel Prize, hence my interest in his books. Multnomah County Library system had only one of his books in an English translation: Wandering Star.

I felt the author's voice was too strong; I never forgot that a man was writing it. The protagonist is female. His characters do not seem realistic. Also, he left minor plots unfinished. Perhaps this is simply a poor translation or not one of his better works. I did not find this novel to be of Nobel prize winning standard, not like Saramago.

[Natia Morbedadze · Rating 3 out of 5]

მზე ყველასთვის ერთნაირად უნდა ანათებდეს - საფრანგეთში მცხოვრები ებრაელების ქალიშვილი ესტერისთვის, არაბი ნეჯმასთვის, იტალიელი მარიოსთვის... ვარსკვლავებს არ უნდა უწევდეთ ხეტიალი აღთქმული მიწის საძიებლად და სიკვდილი არ უნდა სდევდეთ ფეხდაფეხ. ბავშვებს, ახალგაზრდებს, მოხუცებს ომის საშინელებები არ უნდა ჰქონდეთ მთავარ მოგონებად... ოდესმე ეს დღეც დადგება დედამიწაზე...

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A story of two young women transformed by war into "wandering stars." As a girl, Esther is hiding from the Germans in a mountain village while her father risks his life guiding other Jews to safety. After much suffering, Esther and her mother embark on an arduous journey to Jerusalem. But as she finally near the promised land, they pass a stream of newly displaced refugees, among them a Palestinian girl, Nejma. Based on this solitary connection, the story then cycles to Nejma who chronicles the misery of a refugee camp and her escape. However, I felt the book was unbalanced in its two narratives and we only find the later parts of Nejma’s story in Esther’s imaginings. The author is a Nobel Prize winner and the book is a work of art, but it is rather static art – a series of beautifully crafted word paintings in which the story dwells and takes occasional leaps. I was surprised to find that the author, who goes by his intitials, is a man, since the book is finely tuned to the mysteries of birth and death.

[Ιωάννα Μπουρνουσούζη · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5 🥰

[Vernon · Rating 5 out of 5]

It would be foolish for me to say this is the "best" novel I've ever read, that it is better than "Crime and Punishment," or "The Trial," or "The Three Musketeers." It is not. But I'm willing to state that "Wandering Star" is on that same exalted level. There is a difference between "good" or "very good," and "great," and "Wandering Star," in my opinion, is a great novel, and after reading only this one work by Le Clezio (something I'll be changing in the very near future)...well...it is good to know there is (at least) one writer at work today putting out fiction of this caliber. The Nobel Committee got it right in 2008!

Sometimes I'd find myself so lost in the beauty and flow of words it would be necessary to go back and reread a paragraph or page so as to understand what was actually being said! It was difficult to pick an excerpt to share, but I wanted to give an example of the flowing beauty omnipresent in this wonderful work. (Even though there are names included, I don't think they qualify as "spoilers"--it's not that kind of book.)

"....They went to the center of the room, facing the lights, speaking their strange language. Esther looked in astonishment at their long white shawls draping down on either side of their faces. As they entered, the light grew brighter, the voices louder. Now they were chanting and the women in black were answering with softer voices. Inside the room, the alternating voices made a sound like the wind, or the rain, that slowly died away, then rose again, echoing loudly off the too narrow walls, made the flames of the candles flicker.

"All around her, the teenage and younger girls, faces turned toward the light, repeated the mysterious words rocking their bodies back and forth. The smell of the soot from the candles mingled with the smell of sweat, the rhythmic chant, and it was like being drunk. She didn't dare move and yet, without even realizing it, she started swaying her bust forward, backward, following the movements of the women around her. She tried to read the strange words on people's lips, in the language that was so beautiful, that was speaking deep within her, as if the syllables were awakening memories. As she watched the star-shaped flames of the candles in the half-light of that mysterious cave, she was overcome with a feeling of giddiness. Never had she seen such a light, never had she heard such a chant. The voices rose, rang out, faded, then surged up elsewhere. At times, a voice spoke alone, the clear voice of a woman, chanting a long phrase, and Esther watched her veiled body rocking back and forth even harder, her arms slightly spread, her face stretching toward the flames. When she ceased speaking, a low murmur rose in the crowd saying amen, amen. Then a man's voice responded elsewhere, bellowed out strange words, words like music. For the first time, Esther knew what prayer was. She didn't know how it had come to her, but she was absolutely certain: it was the muffled sound of voices, suddenly bursting forth with the incantation of language, the rhythmic rocking of bodies, the star-flamed candles, the warm darkness filled with smells. It was the vortex of words.

"Here in this room, nothing else could be of any importance. Nothing could be threatening anymore, not Mario's death, or the Germans who were coming up the valley with their armored vehicles, or even the tall figure of her father walking toward the mountains at dawn, disappearing into the tall grass, like someone sinking into death.

"Esther rocked her body slowly forward, backward, her eyes trained on the lights, and deep down inside of her the voices of the men and women called out and responded, high toned, resonant, saying all those words in the mysterious language, and Esther could soar over time and over the mountains like the black bird her father had pointed out to her, all the way to the other side of the seas, to the place where light was born, all the way to Eretzrael."

[Liana · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is surely a very lyrical translation. I found myself much absorbed in the description of the vast, grassy landscape, the mountains, the trees, the desert, the rivers, the life and death of it. I really wish I didn't think of the word "dull" when trying to describe this book. It's actually got a sort of fragile beauty to it; a tenderness that can be easily be overturned by ambivalence if you let it.

[Rlmteacher marcus · Rating 5 out of 5]

So far, this is an intriguing book that provides some insight from the children's perspective of what it was like to be in a country, like Italy, when Germany was marching throughout Europe. Some of the children are Jewish, others are not.

[Marko Suomi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Äärettömän surullinen kirja pyrkimyksestä löytää joku paikka maailmassa, katsottuna sekä nuoren juutalaistytön että nuoren palestiinalaistytön elämien ja kasvamisen näkökulmasta vuodesta 1947 alkaen. Ja kuten uutisista näkee, ikävä kyllä asetelmat eivät ole hirveästi muuttuneet.

[Marcy · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is no wonder that J.M.G. Le Clezio was the winner of the 2008 Nobel Prize in Literature! Wandering Star is a magnificent story of two young women, Esther and Nejma, one Jewish, one Palestinian, both fugitives, living in one place, then moving to another place, trying to find peace in a war torn world.

Esther's story begins when she is a young girl living in Saint- Martin, a small village in the mountains near Italy. Italian soldiers were in charge, checking Esther's family and other Jewish families in each morning as they received their daily ration cards. Esther's father was helping Jews escape over the mountains to freedom. When the German replaced the Italians, Esther's father, and all the fleeing refugees were killed as Esther's dad led Jewish refugees to freedom. Elizabeth, (Esther's mom), and Esther began their journey, from one village to another in order to escape the Nazi terror. Years passed. Esther thought many times that her memories would be left behind, and hope would be in the future.

It was in the boat that crossed the ocean to arrive in Palestine where Esther met her future lover. When Elizabeth and Esther finally arrived to the land of their dreams, Palestine was changed to the land called Israel, and war was upon them once again. As they were being taken in a truck to Jerusalem, the truck stopped, Esther hopped off, and she came upon a young woman named Nejma, walking in a group away from Jerusalem to find freedom and peace. They exchanged knowing looks, their eyes connected and spoke their similar stories. Nejma's story begins as a girl turning to a young woman, walking from one refugee camp to another. "Does the sun not shine for us all?" was a repeated song a man in one of the camps used to sing. "..the sun was high in the sky, scorching the hopeless earth, scorching the faces of the children, beating down ruthlessly on the dying dog's coat. I had never felt like that before, as if there were a sort of curse, a merciless force in the light that shone on a world where life is broken and lost, where each new day takes something from the day that precedes it, where suffering is immovable, blind, impossible to understand..."

The sensory details that the author uses resonates with the reader. For Esther, the feel and rush of the water throughout the novel provided peace in a world of terror and turmoil. For Nejma, the overbearing heat and drought was prevalent throughout her portion of the novel. Both young women liked the solace being alone in the height of their environments, away from the unbearable disappointments of life below.

Both stories will remain with me, always. Human suffering in time of war is endless. Why doesn't the sun shine for us all?

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written by the winner of the 2008 Nobel Prize for Literature, this is the story of two young women who meet by chance in the turmoil of the Middle East.

During World War II, Esther is a Jewish girl living in a small town somewhere in southeastern France. The residents have an uneasy relationship with the Italian troops occupying the town, but they get along. When the Italians surrender and leave the town, the Jews know that the Germans will send them on a one-way trip to a concentration camp. So Esther, and her mother, Elizabeth, and the other Jews in town undertake a harrowing journey on foot through the mountains, to reach the coast, and passage to Jerusalem. Esther constantly worries that her father, who joined the resistance, will never be able to find them again.

After many days journey, carrying whatever they can, they reach the coast, and board a boat heading for Israel. The ship is halted by the authorities, and sent back to France, where the Jews are held for a time, before actually reaching Jerusalem. There, Esther meets a young Palestinian girl named Nejma, a refugee because of the fighting.

In the early days of their time in the camp, the Palestinians treat it like some sort of temporary setback; after a few days, weeks at the most, they’ll be able to return home. The women gather at the local well and gossip like they are already back home. As reality sets in, and they begin to realize that they aren’t leaving anytime soon (if ever), hope turns into despair and the feeling that they have been abandoned by the rest of the world. The only thing the Palestinians have to look forward to is the occasional arrival of the UN aid truck. Life becomes a daily struggle for survival. At the end, Nejma leaves the camp with Saadi, a black man who loves her, and wants to take her back to his homeland. As one person’s wanderings end, those of another person are just getting underway.

Told in first person by both young women, this is a quiet novel, but it’s also a beautifully written novel. So this is what Nobel-caliber fiction is like. I will make sure to look for more of it.

[Dokusha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ein jüdisches Mädchen flieht im Frankreich des 2. Weltkriegs mit vielen anderen vor den heranrückenden Nazis. Eine bedrückende und entbehrungsreiche Reise steht ihr bevor, bevor sie endlich im gelobten Land ankommt. Auf dieser Reise findet sie auch den Zugang zur Religion, den sie in ihrem kommunistisch geprägten Elternhaus nicht hatte.
Doch auch hier herrscht Krieg, und sie kann ihren Frieden nicht finden. Die Hoffnung der Juden auf ihren eigenen Staat, der ihnen Sicherheit vor der Verfolgung bietet, ist gleichzeitig der Alptraum für die palästinensiche Bevölkerung, die ihrerseits vertrieben wird. Zwischen einer dieser Vertriebenen und dem jüdischen Mädchen findet eine kurze Begegnung statt. Die beiden sehen sich nie wieder, aber die Szene verbindet die beiden Leben, die so verschieden und im Grunde doch ähnlich ablaufen.

Das Buch ist in einem ergreifenden Stil geschrieben, der unter die Haut geht. Man kann hinterher beide Seiten des "ewigen Konfliktes" um Israel besser verstehen, und einmal mehr wird klar, daß Krieg niemlas Probleme lösen, sondern bestenfalls verschieben kann.

[Joanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not only is this book written beautifully, but the author is able to capture multiple voices (from multiple characters and switching from first to third person). The central story is of a Jewish girl and her family who are always one step ahead of the Nazis in Europe until they make their way to Jerusalem and end up in Israel at the time of its founding. Once there she encounters an Arab woman escaping persecution in Israel and fleeing to a refugee camp. At that point the story switches to that of the young Arab woman, only later to go back to the original character coming to terms with her story as an adult. The author writes without bias; he is able to capture the sadness and horror of each situation. It is definitely worth the read.

[Ilana Diamant · Rating 1 out of 5]

Reading this after Curiol's book, I take back all the bad things I said about her. The two novels couldnt be more different from each other in plot, tone and character, but LeClezio's facile insights, sentimentalism and cardboard characters drawn out of popular cliches and stereotypes surpass those of Curiol's by far. This is the worst treatment that writers/artists/thinkers of any sort can give to the cultural worlds and subjectivities they claim to create or represent. No plot, no character, no piece of good writing can be justified when it reproduces cliches when it should be interrogating them.

[Carolinecarver · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice imagery but doesn't seem like a Nobel-prize winner to me. It's not terribly memorable--maybe that's because the characters aren't so well-drawn. It started off so well, and I relished the parts in the village with the families and children and piano teacher, but the ending felt rushed, and I never much got into the Palestinian character. I did give it four stars, and it's certainly readable and well done, but when I heard Le Clezio got a Nobel, I wondered about it and thought it wasn't for this particular book.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quotations from reviews on this book's jacket suggest that it gets beyond the politics of Israel and Palestine. This struck me as being bollox. Since I don't believe any such beyond is attainable. But having read the book, I sort of see what they mean. I see it as trying to create understanding and compassion that should be the place where the politics begin. The brief relationship (it can hardly be called that really) between the Israeli and the Palestinian woman here seemed to me sentimentalized, though, unlike the rest of this pretty hard-hitting novel.