Ode To Joy

by Shifra Horn

Following a terrorist explosion on a bus in Jerusalem, Yael, a married mother who narrowly escaped the attack, is haunted by the last image she recalls before the a little blonde child waving to her from the window of the bus, and the sound of Beethoven's Ode To Joy, which was playing on her car radio.

Genres: Fiction, Israel

274 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Shifra Horn was born in Tel Aviv. She lives in the Old Malcha neighbourhood of Jerusalem and in Auckland New Zealand. After majoring in Bible Studies and Archeology - BA (Hons)- at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, she earned an MA in Bible Studies. Horn also studied mass communications and completed a teaching degree.

Horn worked as an educational officer for the World Union of Jewish Students, and helped to organize the airlift of Ethiopian Jews to Israel. Horn also participated in the campaign to free Soviet and Syrian Jews, producing films and written material.

In the course of her work with Jewish students from oppressed communities around the world, she discovered a village of Jewish Marranos who had kept their Jewish identity secret for over 500 years. Horn's activity in the village of Belmonte in northwest Portugal resulted in the entire population converting fully to Judaism .

Horn was a spokesperson for the Israel Absorption Ministry until her departure for Japan, where she served as Far East correspondent for the Israel Defense Forces Radio station and Ma'ariv daily newspaper for five years. Horn worked as the director of the Tokyo Jewish Community Center and taught Bible Studies and Hebrew at the Bible College in Ginza, Tokyo.

Upon her return to Jerusalem, she opened a public relations firm, and lectured on Japan and literary topics. Her books have been translated from Hebrew into English, French, Dutch, German, Italian, Greek, Mandarin and Turkish.

Reviews

[Siv30 · Rating 1 out of 5]

יעל אנתרופולוגית העוסקת במינהגי קבורה, נקלעת לפיגוע שלאחריו היא סובלת מפוסט טראומה. היא מחפשת ילדה שישבה בספסל האחורי של האוטובוס שהתפוצץ לפני מכוניתה ומגלה שהילדה היא בעצם ילד.

יעל, מתוסכלת מנשואיה לנחום שאינו שת לליבה מפתחת רגשות כלפי אבשלום אביו של הילד ההרוג ובאופן מודע וגם כזה שאינו מודע מוצאת הזדמנויות לפגוש באב האלמן החרדי.

גם כך העלילה לא מבטיחה גדולות ונצורות אבל הפרובוקציות העלובות לא נגמרות: לא מספיק שיעל רודפת אחרי האלמן החרדי ומפתחת פנטזיות על הידים שלו, לא מספיק שהיא תופסת את אמא האלמנה שלה עם השכן, לא מספיק העסקת הערבי רמי כעוזרת בית, החברה האם החד הורית שהרתה ממבחנה על כל זה התעסקות במנהגי קבורה וגם חברה שעוסקת במינהגי המילה של בנות אצל הבדואים ועל כל אלה ספר פשוט משמים. אני רק יכולה להאנח לנוכח ניסיונות הפאטתיים של הסופרת להכניס איזה עיניין ופרובוקציה בספר.

כל אלה לא עוזרים להרים את העלילה ואין לי שום אמפטיה ושום רגש ליעל. הספר הזה פשוט משעמם, חסר מעוף ובאופן כללי עברתי את מחצית הספר ואני לא מאמינה שיכול לקרות משהו שישנה את דעתי. בכל מקרה, גם אם משהו ישתפר בהמשך אני נגד ספרים וסופרים שמייבשים את הקוראים במהלך ספר שלם ואז נזכרים שצריכה להיות עלילה בשני הפרקים האחרונים, אז מבחינתי גורלו של הספר נחרץ.

ואכן כפי שחשבתי שום הפתעה. חבל על הזמן פשוט מיותר.

[Gary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yael Maggid, a young married mother who works at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, has recently experienced the passing of her father, a Greek-born holocaust survivor and is doing research on the culture of the ultra-orthodox Haredi communities.
Driving to work one day she is distracted by a game of peekaboo with a beautiful blonde child at the back of a bus, while listening to Beethoven's Ode to Joy on the radio.
Moments later the bus, filled with children, is destroyed in a horrific terrorist homicide bombing.
This trauma put's Yael's life into turmoil, and is not helped by the lack of sympathy by her husband Nachum.
She meets Avshalom, who has lost his small son and wife in the massacre.
She believes that her love for Avshalom may help excise the ghosts haunting her, while she struggles to raise her little son Yoavi and sort out her problems with her husband and her relations with her friends and colleagues.
The book tells us about Yael's life and background, about her childhood about her marriage and motherhood, friends and colleagues.
Just before the birth of her son, she attended a rally of the far-left Women in Black movement, and a women cursed Yael that she would lose her son in a terror attack the same way that she lost her own son.
She believes that marrying Avashalom will excise the curse, because his loss was in place of that that she would have suffered as a result of the curse.
This is a story of how terror and conflict affects the lives of ordinary Israelis and a story of pain and loss, of love, struggle and hope.
It takes a look of the lives and struggles of people in Israel, of families, women and children, as well as those commonly experienced by people the world over.

[Rita · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beetje zeurderig was het wel, en de 'verliefdheid' op de orthodoxe jood was moeilijk in te voelen. Maar toch wel mooi en goed verteld verhaal.

[Blodeuedd Finland · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a strange read in a way. I started reading, and then I though, no, let's stop, but I couldn't. So I read some more, and then more. I can't say what pulled me in, but something did.

I think it was the realism of the story. There is nothing pretty about this book. It is every day life. No sex lust, taking car of her kid that wets his bed, arguing with her mother, doubting her love for her husband. Fantasizing about another man. Going on with life. A lot of small things that gave it that feeling that this could haev happened.

Then there is the bigger part, the trauma. Yael is driving her car and waving to a kid. The next minute every thing is on fire and people are screaming. She comes out of it unharmed but her soul has shattered. None of her friends, or her husband understands why she keep on dwelling in the darkness. They want her to snap put of it, but the shock hit her hard and she keeps on thinking of that kid she waved at. Which leads to her finding the father and falling for him. A love that can never be.

There was no right or wrong in this book, I liked that. It stayed neutral in the way and if it brought something up it looked at it from both points of views. It is because she kind of caught in between it all, and gets called a leftist a lot. But I liked it because I wanted the story and not getting into something else, and yes I could pick my own battles in the book. But I will not bring that up here. Never talk about religion or politics.

I liked this book, but do not ask me why. The story had me reading, what would happen? Would she get better, and get over her fears. It is a strong book in a way, and I know that I would be to afraid to live where she did. It also deals with her thoughts about her dad who was a survivor.

Blodeuedd's Cover Corner. Simple
Reason for Reading: Library book
Final thoughts: Nice book

[Lani · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book definitely didn't live up to my expectations. I thought the story was good in theory and the main character, Yael, was very well delivered and explored, but the writing was poor. I especially didn't connect with Yael's relationship with Avshalom. It wasn't explored enough. For such a good idea, it could have been done a lot better. I didn't like the authors descriptions and felt that she was describing the wrong things throughout the book. I would still recommend the read, though, because as I said, I did like the story line and felt that it was a good inside into the psychological after-affects of witnessing such a trauma.

[Jacek · Rating 2 out of 5]

The second Intifada. Everyday life of Yael switches to another, unexpected direction following a tragic terrorist attack in a bus in front of her car. The first part reads very well. Unfortunately, later on it is going less smooth. The psychologic portait of the hero is interesting, but not deep enough and not really probable. The hero seems to understand both Palestinians and religious Jews. Too much of such understanding makes real understanding difficult.

[Naomi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was an amazing look at how people's lives are affected after exposure to psychological trauma---and how others often don't really understand the recovery process.

[Elina · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was ok. It beautifully described Jerusalem and had well developed characters but the narrating character was not likable to me.

[Shifra · Rating 5 out of 5]

A sensitive book. must read.