A Guide to the Perplexed

by Gilad Atzmon, Philip Simpson (Translator)

The year is 2052, and the state of -Israel has been defunct for 40 years, the majority of its citizens having become refugees overseas. Gunther loves European, especially German, women and soon leaves Israel to find fame, fortune and fornication in Germany, whose collective guilt-trip is a goldmine for the licentious professor. A darkly funny reflection on the dangers of racial purity and the position of the outsider in Western Europe, A Guide to the Perplexed marries the playfulness of Nabokov with the sexiness of Philip Roth. It is an angry rant on the effects of ethnic cleansing both our bodies and our minds. Gilad Atzmon was born and grew up in Israel. An outspoken anti-Zionist, he now lives in London.

Genres: Fiction

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

Reviews

[J.M. Hushour · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much is made of Atzmon's rejection of Zionism and emigration out of Israel, so much so that it tends to dominate discussions of his work with a lot of name-calling and hand-wringing on the part of his fellow Israelis and/or Jews elsewhere. What happens then is the obscuring of his craft, which is quite superb.
"A Guide" is the semi-memoir of an academic who perfected the craft of voyeurism-as-philosophy-and/or-Weltanschaaung. "Peepology" he calls it and this inarticulate, ambiguous framework, serves as the backdrop for the novel itself, which isn't much in a narrative sense but bristles with erotic hilarity. Basically the narrator discusses women he's had sex with, the natures of their vaginas and whatnot and, in a grander sense and this is where Atzmon shines, who they are to him, the most sublime act of voyeurism being the look into the soul.
Yes, there's a lot of excoriation of Israel, which the novel sees as a kind of worthless, macho posturing that disregards anyone else, and Israel is gone, replaced by a Palestinian state that so badly wants to include everyone in it and make everyone get along that its government comes up with a scheme where Jews and Arabs take turns raping each other, depending on the day.
Hilarious stuff.

[Victoria · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover, sometimes reading the back blurb is all you have to go on. Well, this book is not about what it says on the back - although it is still enjoyable. A little racy but I think that the story still holds it's own.

[Ruben · Rating 1 out of 5]

Tries too hard to be provocative, but it ends up being just dull and gross.

[Foreign]

French editor: Daniel Arsand

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bewildering, especially when compared to Atzmon's other brilliant books.