An Armada of Cats: Travels in Israel

by Sam Aronow

When Sam Aronow decided to move from the US to Israel, the only travel books he could find about it were more interested in religion or politics than an actual place. Naturally, he would have to write his own. The result is an eclectic and irreverent journey to almost every corner of his adopted homeland, from major cities to forgotten wildernesses, from battlefields to blizzards, and from ancient artifacts to the annoyances of modern life.

Genres: Travel

208 pages, Paperback

Published July 23, 2019

Reviews

[Jake]

I chose to read this book as both a fan of Aronow's Youtube channel and someone who is travelling to Israel soon, and really liked it. In every place he travels to, he blends his own anecdotes with interesting pieces of trivia effortlessly in a way that is characteristic of the genre (it didn't come as a surprise to learn that Bill Bryson is Aronow's "travel-writing idol" in the penultimate chapter.) There are some places where Aronow slips into simply describing his actions in a relatively flat way, as is often the case with travel books, but that's excusable, especially considering this is his first book.

It's funny as well, but not in the sense that the book is filled with the long, winding anecdotes and antics that can be funny but can also be excessively grating that appear in many of these kinds of books. Instead, the book is filled with understated, golden little lines that you'll miss if you blink, one of my personal favourites went:

"I ended up leaving Old Caesarea by crossing a moat (the best way to exit a city)"

I find Aronow's goal (that he very much achieved) of writing a book about Israel that presents it as a normal country deeply admirable; not the untouchable Holy Land or the colonialist Apartheid state or the war-stricken military state or any other bizarre fantasies that western minds have invented of Israel. He pulls back the curtain on Israel to reveal it, shockingly, for the relatively normal country it is. Israel certainly isn't the only country on Earth that has been twisted beyond recognition by all manner of stereotypes in the Western imagination, and so books like these are travel writing at its best, writing that peels away all the stereotypes the reader may have of a place and showing it not only to be wonderful and fascinating, but also much more like home than you may expect.

(Although I must say that, for a book called An Armada of Cats, there were disappointingly few actual mentions of cats.)

[Arnav]

The author spent a lot of time narrating conversations with locals. Sure, these conversations were great additions, but in my opinion, he should have also spent more time discussing the history, climate, and cuisine of the place.

For history, he could have talked about events leading to the founding of the city and how her leaders and residents subsequently shaped the place. I would like to know how the weather is in the city usually and when’s the best time to visit.

When talking about food, I would have liked to learn about how the ingredients are grown or made, where they can be bought, how dish is made, how it’s changed, and it’s cultural significance.

The author also spoke about his time in Israel on Birthright, but I would rather he had written a separate book for the same instead of sprinkling titbits in this one. However, the book was still fun to read, and I hope a sequel is released.

[Ben]

I was made aware of this book through the author's YouTube channel which features an excellent and currently-ongoing series on Jewish history. Mr. Aronow's memoir is an enjoyable journey, especially through the lesser-known locations, which really is most of Israel to me. I found the author's perspective interesting, although I wonder if secular Zionism is ultimately just another type of metaphysics, resting on un-challengeable assumptions and overly romanticized ideals and histories. As a kid raised with a healthy (or unhealthy?) dose of both Judaism and Zionism, and an adult with a couple of mixed bag Israel trips under my belt, the resulting confluence of various cognitive dissonances definitely brings up many complex emotions that lit up my neurons while reading this book. Ultimately though, I appreciate learning much more about this land of my heritage and alleged (and sometimes tempting) birthright than I had known before.

As something of a peer, and considering that this book appears to be self-published-which I have great respect for, I feel like it would be acceptable to offer some editorial critique to Mr. Aronow:
(1) Firstly, I really, really like the cover art.
(2) Mr. Aronow cites both Anthony Bourdain and Bill Bryson in his book, although this book doesn't go as hard as the former (despite the author being a bit of brooder-I can relate!) nor get as funny as the latter.
(3) Many of the anecdotes presented felt like they were missing bits from the beginning, middle, or end. For instance, in the introduction, the author cites an Israeli girl dressed similarly to himself on the subway as part of his inspiration for moving. However, it may have been funnier to offer more detail on what was being worn and just how surprising was it? And it would have been more insightful to know what exactly about that encounter was so inspiring.
(4) I did not notice the Notes section until I got to the end. It was not substantial and footnotes would have been much more preferable.
(5) Typo: Los Angeles was spelled as "Los Aneles" somewhere in the middle of the book, if I recall correctly.

[Jack]

Charming and a window into how I also travel—is it sad to easily identify with solo, generally-unimpressed exploration? Refreshing to engage with the area as a place instead of an idea. Makes me want to go back especially in shaky domestic times. לשנה הבא בירושלים

[Lawrence]

An exceptional book that perfectly portrays the spirit of Israel without delving into politics or religion as books on the region all too often do