מגדלורים של יבשה

by Judith Katzir, יהודית קציר

Three novellas, constructed as three exciting travel stories to real places, represent emotional journeys to the depths of memory. In all three novellas the heroes abandon their wild, perhaps dangerous, dreams in favor of a stable and secure lifestyle. In the first novella, which exhibits both a rare psychological sensitivity and the ability to critically observe social situations, Katzir describes the private odyssey of Reuven as he is about to retire. He goes to Tel Aviv and wanders the city's streets. His life flashes before his eyes, along with the Israel of years gone by, the Israel before the Rabin assassination and before the (right wing) Likud Party was elected. The novella, which includes an attempted suicide at sea, is an allegory of the Zionist dream. As in The Odyssey, where the mythical hero is "born" from the sea's waves, Reuven returns to shore to seek out the widow of his friend and partner in the Moroccan immigration operation.
In the second novella, a married woman, aspiring to become a painter, returns to her home city of Haifa in an effort to reunite with her past. There she meets her painting teacher, with whom she had had an affair. While in Haifa, she also helps her aunt, now at the end of her life, commit suicide. The dealings with death and old age and the memory of her good friend who has disappeared, bring the heroine back to life and instill hope that there is both continuity, and hope for a new child.
The third novella tells of the writer's journey into her family's past, where she discovers the story of her grandmother's passionate love for a deceitful man during the 1930s in Eretz Israel and Europe. The failed love affair brings the heroine's grandmother to near death but eventually she, along with the other heroes in this impressive volume, regains her strength and reclaims her hold on life.

Genres: Middle East

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Born in Haifa in 1963, Judith Katzir (Hebrew: יהודית קציר) studied literature and cinema at Tel Aviv University. At present, she is an editor at Hakibbutz Hameuchad/ Siman Kriah Publishing House and teaches creative writing. Katzir, a bestselling author in Israel, has published collections of stories and novellas, novels and children's books. In addition to literary prizes for individual stories, Katzir has received the Book Publishers Association's Gold and Platinum Book Prizes (1995; 1996; 1999; 2004), the Prime Minister's Prize twice (1996; 2007), the French WIZO Prize for Matisse Has the Sun in His Belly (2004) and the Culture Minister's Zionism Prize for Tzilla (2014). Her work has been translated in 11 languages.

Reviews

[Yaari · Rating 2 out of 5]

האמת? מאכזב מאוד.
הספר הזה מורכב משלושה סיפורים - מגדלורים של יבשה, העננים נוסעים נוסעים ומכתבים לעמינדב. ככל שמתקדמים בספר, הסיפורים נעשים פחות ופחות טובים ויותר ויותר מבולבלים. ובפירוט: מגדלורים של יבשה היה חמוד והזכיר את סוגרים את הים. העננים נוסעים נוסעים היה עמוס בנוסטלגיה החיפאית המתוקה שמאפיינת את יהודית קציר אבל היה מבולגן והסיום שלו לא היה אמין. מכתבים ליהונדב היה פשוט גרוע ומבלבל.
אוף.

[Vera Novitsky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Спокойный, уверенный и надежный стиль, только иногда скучноватый. В книге 3 повести, и все - про жизнь после жизни. Как жить, когда все самое важное уже позади. Впереди может быть брак, пенсия, семейная жизнь и рождение ребенка, но самое главное уже за спиной. И поэтому все три повести грустные

[Hermien · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm normally not a great fan of short stories, but I loved all three, especially the first two.