Muck

by Dror Burstein, Gabriel Levin (Translation), Assaf Cohen (Reading)

“Those who lament that the novel has lost its prophecy should pay heed and cover-price: Muck is the future, both of Jerusalem and of literature. God is showing some rare good taste, by choosing to speak to us through Dror Burstein.” ―Joshua Cohen, author of Moving Kings and Book of Numbers

In a Jerusalem both ancient and modern, where the First Temple squats over the populace like a Trump casino, where the streets are literally crawling with prophets and heathen helicopters buzz over Old Testament sovereigns, two young poets are about to have their lives turned upside down.

Struggling Jeremiah is worried that he might be wasting his time trying to be a writer; the great critic Broch just beat him over the head with his own computer keyboard. Mattaniah, on the other hand, is a real up-and-comer―but he has a secret he wouldn’t want anyone in the literary world to know: his late father was king of Judah.

Jeremiah begins to despair, and in that despair has a vision: that Jerusalem is doomed, and that Mattaniah will not only be forced to ascend to the throne but will thereafter witness his people slaughtered and exiled. But what does it mean to tell a friend and rival that his future is bleak? What sort of grudges and biases turn true vision into false prophecy? Can the very act of speaking a prediction aloud make it come true? And, if so, does that make you a seer, or just a schmuck?

Dramatizing the eternal dispute between poetry and power, between faith and practicality, between haves and have-nots, Dror Burstein’s Muck is a brilliant and subversive modern-dress retelling of the book of Jeremiah: a comedy with apocalyptic stakes by a star of Israeli fiction.

Genres: Fiction, Israel, Jewish, Historical Fiction, Fantasy

Audio CD

First published November 13, 2018

About the author

Dror Burstein (דרור בורשטיין) was born in 1970 in Netanya, Israel, and lives in Tel Aviv. He first became a fully qualified lawyer, then he left the legal field and started studying literature. He received a PhD in Hebrew literature from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 2001 and now teaches there as well as at Tel Aviv University. He also edits programs for Israel Radio`s music station and writes literary and art reviews. Burstein has been awarded the Jerusalem Prize for Literature (1997), the Ministry of Science and Culture Prize for Poetry (2002), the Bernstein Prize for his novel, Avner Brenner (2005) and the Prime Minister`s Prize (2006).

Reviews

[Siv30 · Rating 3 out of 5]

לסקירה מפורטת בעברית, קישור לבלוג שלי -

https://sivi-the-avid-reader.com/טיט-...

[Bandit · Rating 1 out of 5]

Originally I downloaded this book from Netgalley to further my international reading. But then something about it made me put off reading it time and time again. And that’s how I should have left it, but no…I decided to check it out after all. Well, let’s just say the book lived up to its tile precisely. It’s a muckity muck of a novel. Ok, no, let’s say more about it, because it was such a spectacular waste of time, finished purely on OCD fumes. From the very first chapter I suspected this might not be for me, but the first chapter actually showed something, some glimpse of a promising quirk, alas one the book wasn’t able to sustain or actually one that wasn’t able to sustain the book. The plot is difficult to summarize, it’s essentially about a young man who becomes a prophet and foresees the momentous changes in Israel’s future and it’s all set in a sort of dystopian version of completely redrawn geopolitical version of the Middle East. The plot wasn’t as much of a challenge as the rambling style or the denseness of the narrative, though, the sort of virtually paragraph free self indulgent longwinded wooliness of it all. Interestingly, the writing itself wasn’t terrible, but that forest all but disappeared for the trees. It dragged, plodded, slogged. Impossible to enjoy and a chore to finish. And yet…here’s the thing with books you hate, there seems to be two kinds. One that’s pretty much objectively sh*t and you can’t imagine anyone enjoying it, the other is just something that really really isn’t for you, but it’s possible that there is the right audience for it out there. And this book is definitely of the latter camp. The author is very popular and widely acclaimed in Israel. This book might be too. There’s quite possibly a readership out there for this sort of post modern genre challenging cacophony. But reviews are very much a subjective business and this one was for me a subjectively loathsome read. And no, it isn’t hypocritical to complain about a paragraph free text in a paragraph free text, because I have the decency to wrap it up around 400 words and Muck went on for over 400 pages. I had to speed read just to get through it and it still wasted so much time. No redeeming features. One of the crappiest reads of the year. Never should have read it, then again…international reading Israel…check. Thanks Netgalley.

[Racheli Zusiman · Rating 4 out of 5]

סיפור-מחדש מודרני וחצי פנטסטי (מלשון פנטזיה) של הספר התנ"כי על ירמיהו הנביא. מאוד רלוונטי ומאוד מהדהד אירועים מימינו, כגון השחיתות, ההון-שלטון, הנטייה להקשיב למה שנוח לנו במקום לאמת... הכתיבה היא לא ממש הסגנון האהוב עליי (המון המון המון המון מלל), אבל אהבתי מאוד את המקוריות, וגם את התיאור הפסיכולוגי של מה שמתרחש בנפשו של הנביא שנאלץ להשמיע נבואות חורבן ולספוג את היחס הקשה מסביבתו.
מסוג הספרים שלא קלים לי לקריאה, אבל בזכותם אני מרחיבה אופקים (כהקדמה, הלכתי וקראתי על ירמיהו הנביא ועל התקופה, כדי להבין לפחות חלק מהרפרנסים...) ולכן שווים את המאמץ.

[Robert Wechsler · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s hard to refer to something so apocalyptic as an entertainment, but that’s primarily what it is: a brilliant, entertaining display of imagination and literary (including translation) skills. This novel is singular in many ways, including the way Burstein melds together the biblical and contemporary. It is also a critique of present-day Israel (amazingly, with an omission of Palestinians that is not right-wing, because Jeremiah lived in an era of tribes far smaller than Palestinians; politically, it’s making fun of the right’s insistence of seeing the land of Israel in historical terms — when does this stop?)

However, what makes this novel is not the politics, but the author’s amazing imagination, his equally amazing chutzpah, and his ability to create something new out of a text that is not only very old, but extremely repetitive, annoying (God at His most jealous and vindictive), and apparently out-of-date. Burstein does a great job of filling in the Book of Jeremiah's blanks with characters that are cartoonish, but sympathetic (or not). Of course, the fun can’t last, and the ending is painful and bleak. But what else is new. A 4.5.

[Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Around the World Readathon' - Isreal
A puppet King, Zedekiah (rather, insert current politician's name of your choice) is installed by a far smarter and more powerful King, Nebuchadneezer (again, insert politician's name). Zedekiah is incompetent and clueless and destroys the atmosphere, health care, anything and everything. Zedekiah's wife, Noa (insert lovely lady's name) is 'redone' head to toe by 'court physicians' and made into a glorious beauty, but Zedekiah hates her anyway. Jeremiah (Special Investigator, for example) screams and screams the truth, but he's just tortured and put in a pit of muck (what's left of the destroyed environment). Then Nebuchadneezer (yes, the guy in the Bible) invades and destroys what used to be a great country. You can find this exat story in the Bible (Book of Jeremiah) so many, especially really 'good Christians' know it and have read it many times. So at least 40% of America will be overjoyed at this magnificent portrait of Zedekiah (?????). But a majority of Americans will be horrified. This is a beautifully written take on that Biblical story, very contemporary, and extremely relevant to our world today.

[Katarzyna Bartoszynska · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this big, bizarre, delirious book. A bold, outlandish retelling of a Biblical story (that I am, alas, unfamiliar with), it's a vertiginous cacophony of ancient and modern, a surreal and parodic tale laced with unease, melancholy, and absurd humor. The sweep of the world calls to mind the great masterpieces of modernism, but the prose is much friendlier. A strange and wonderful novel.

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

What if the Jeremiah story happened with today's traffic, transportation, and technology.
Burstein plugged in the names, the prophecies and the royalty but updated everything else. It is true- nothing different happens under the son.
This book was hilarious and would be even better as a discussion because i missed a lot of historical nuances.

[David Dunlap · Rating 2 out of 5]

A modern retelling of the Old Testament book of Jeremiah. Many of the original historical figures of the book are present -- Jeremiah, Hilkiah (his father, here a doctor instead of a priest), the kings (Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, Zedekiah, even a brief appearance by Nebuchadnezzar), etc. -- and large 'chunks' of the prophecies as they appear in the Bible. The author is particularly adept at creating the feeling of political unease and unrest that must have been present during the biblical period in this region, as the Kingdom of Judah was little more than a pawn of the great powers of the time (Assyria, Egypt, Babylonia) -- and his updating the story serves to underline the fact that this portion of the world still experiences the same unease and unrest (albeit in different ways). The almost free association of parts of the text made the story difficult to follow at times and the story seemed to backtrack upon itself in ways that make it a challenge for the reader to determine what-happened-when. There are bits, too, that border on a slapstick that seems incongruous with the underlying seriousness of the story: King Jehoiakim, for example, seeing the Babylonians coming from a distance to punish him for having suspended vassal payments, chooses to commit suicide by leaping head-first into a huge vat of hummus. -- Were I permitted to do so, I would give this book 2½ stars...but since that is not possible (and I do not think this book will have a wide appeal to many), I will grade it at 2.

[Rachel Cordasco · Rating 5 out of 5]

SFT review

[Michael Milgrom · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is one of the strangest books I've ever read. It is a sort of retelling of the books of Second Kings andJeremiah, with the main characters being the last three kings of Judah and the prophet, with appearances by Nebuchadnezzar and several of his officers, and other historical figures. It is set in present day Jerusalem so there are references to the light railway, there's a biggest bowl of hummus Guinness world record, and Jehoyachin (second of the three kings) is off being a concert pianist in Italy. The prophet grapples with his calling and with the kings who don't like his prophecies, though this theme gets sidetracked frequently, while the kings try to figure out whether to submit to Babylon or ally with Egypt. Sometimes the prophet speaks in direct quotes from the books of Jeremiah and Lamentations. As an attempt to make the characters relatable, as opposed to sketchy biblical figures, this book sort of succeeds. As a fantasy, it's a failure. Putting the actions in present day Jerusalem was unnecessary to the character development. Meanwhile, the fantasy is poorly realized and, since it defies logic anyway, never really works. It's just sort of sardonic. I kept wondering if the whole thing was a metaphor but never could find one. There's the occasional clever scene, like the hummus thing, but mostly it just drags. I finally decided that it's just entertainment. As entertainment, it's really a slog. I read it in Hebrew and am surprised that there are no reviews in Hebrew. The author is supposed to have a pretty good following in Israel.

[Alan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A modern-dress retelling of the book of Jeremiah.
Translated from the Hebrew, this takes place in both modern and ancient times and is quite funny. Admittedly, it’ s not an easy read and I had to look up Jeremiah as well as some Babylonian kings but how can you help liking a book where the world’s biggest bowl of hummus competition is taking place?

And the king commits suicide by falling into it.

Kudos to the translator.

[Zach · Rating 5 out of 5]

Calling it early: one of my favorite books I’ll read this year.

That isn’t to say it’s flawless. It’s difficult, odd, half a retelling, a quarter reinvention and a quarter satire.

The kind of book that deserves re-reading. 400 pages that read quickly. Muck is not for everyone, but for the remnant, it’s an interesting and, at times, profoundly moving work.

[Michelle Hogmire · Rating 4 out of 5]

First book I've read by this author, and I'd certainly read another. By setting the novel in an odd hybrid of ancient and modern Israel, Burstein deftly points out repeating cycles of history--a sad warning about the future. We get prophets dueling it out on public transport, dogs that selectively talk and serve as angels, a brash literary critic who beats poets over the heads with their keyboards and volunteers for the cops, a stadium-sized bowl of hummus, and some expertly crafted scenes of marriage, suicide, siege, and apocalypse. Good slow burn built by establishing a sympathetic character, and then making him King of Judah--doesn't take long for greed, corruption, and forced plastic surgery to take over. Tons of laughs, but the ending is dour, as should be expected: this is based on the book of Jeremiah, after all. In other words, the main character here also lands in a pit. (Pub Date Nov 13)

[John Stults · Rating 5 out of 5]

Modern retelling of end of Judah and Jeremiah

A bit of satire a bit of historical fiction a bit of a modern story. This follows the main points of the biblical story and yes does not end with a happy note. The story is updated (machine guns trains helicopters) and a bit of satire seems almost to be CA with no plastic bags free range chickens mandatory recycling I especially liked the king compared to Ray Charles and also the home gov going after their own people. All in all this novel will make you think. Perhaps a reading of the last few chapters of 2nd Kings and Jeremiah and Lamentations might help but even a slight familiarity with the basic story will allow one to enjoy the novel. I recommend this if you are looking for a bit of a challenge and a book that makes you think.

[E · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a modern-day retelling of the book of Jeremiah. Sounds like it would be right down my aisle, right? Except that it is an unsympathetic retelling. Basically, everybody's an idiot except the Babylonians. Now, that might have been true for the most part, but I'd hate to put Jeremiah into that category. And what about Yahweh? Oh, he never appears in the book. Not once. Jeremiah loves hummus more than his Lord, for crying out loud. I thought the title of this book referred to the bottom of Jeremiah's cistern. Turns out it refers to a lot more than that. Was it entertaining? In parts. Did he help me get a grasp for like what life in Jerusalem must have been like 2600 years ago? You bet. Worthwhile? Not by a long shot.

[Shahar · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.45 In Jerusalem of nowdays exist the kindom of Yehuda in its last years before Babel exile.
This book belongs to the crazy books , the ones that have internal logic but dont follow day to day logic. I am happy such books exist and yet find it hard to like them. It has parts of ingenious and parts the train goes of the rail completely. It can be funny and touchy and it can be tiresome.
Its a retelling ( of sorts ) of the book of Jeramaih and it made read about the Prophecies and the last kings of Yehuda - it actually sticks to the biblical book and for that i am in awe. Maybe if i had more biblical background i would have found it more Genious then tiresome.
Recommanded to those who wants to read something different.

[Kathleen Gray · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one takes some investment. It's a big book for one thing and for another it's based on the book of Jeremiah, which does not, if you recall it, go well. Burstein has, however, hit a chord with his rework of the take to today, sort of. There's a lot going on, some of which seems really out there, but there's also a very sympathetic character or two. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. This isn't one I would have naturally picked off the shelf nor do I know who specifically I would recommend it to, but it's a good read that's worth your time and patience.

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Muck is a very challenging read. It is a chaotic, cacophonous, apocalyptic story about a reluctant King who doesn't listen and a reluctant prophet who no one hears.

[Marat Parkhomovsky · Rating 5 out of 5]

A masterpiece

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

re-reading full review to come

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

My review appears in New York Journal of Books.

[Joe Huennekens · Rating 5 out of 5]

The adventures of a light-rail commuting, vessel breaking, latter-day prophet. A wildly inventive near-future/ancient-past hybrid.