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Human Parts
A novel of ordinary, every day life in Israel during multiple plagues ― deadly flu, economic collapse, apocalyptic weather, and suicide bombings.
“It was an exceptional winter.” With understatement, Orly Castel-Bloom draws back the curtain on her disturbing, revelatory novel set in Israel during the Al Aksa intifada. This is a world already regularly interrupted by terrorist ambushes and suicide bombs. And now it is further plagued―by a Saudi flu that is decimating the population, and by weather that brings a ruinous winter after eight years of drought. The economy is shot to pieces. Hail stones as big as dinner plates are falling from the sky. And yet, against this backdrop of monumental affliction, ordinary people are still trying to lead normal lives.
Kati Beit-Halahmi, an impoverished cleaner, is snatched up by a community television program and given her full fifteen-minutes-of-fame. Iris Ventura, divorced with three children, is wondering how she can afford both to replace her broken washing machine and have some essential dental work done. And the Israeli president, Reuven Tekoa, travels from hospital to funeral, musing on the state of the nation from the back of his limousine.
First published in 2002, Orly Castel-Bloom spins a web of filament-fine connections between her characters. Death or disaster might intrude at any moment, but people still watch game shows on TV, go to the laundromat and train to be beauticians. Holding a mirror up to her country, Castel-Bloom shows us a society in microcosm, struggling for continuity and normalcy in a fractured world. Sardonic, topical and wholly engrossing, this is a novel capturing the maelstrom of contradictions that is life today.
“It was an exceptional winter.” With understatement, Orly Castel-Bloom draws back the curtain on her disturbing, revelatory novel set in Israel during the Al Aksa intifada. This is a world already regularly interrupted by terrorist ambushes and suicide bombs. And now it is further plagued―by a Saudi flu that is decimating the population, and by weather that brings a ruinous winter after eight years of drought. The economy is shot to pieces. Hail stones as big as dinner plates are falling from the sky. And yet, against this backdrop of monumental affliction, ordinary people are still trying to lead normal lives.
Kati Beit-Halahmi, an impoverished cleaner, is snatched up by a community television program and given her full fifteen-minutes-of-fame. Iris Ventura, divorced with three children, is wondering how she can afford both to replace her broken washing machine and have some essential dental work done. And the Israeli president, Reuven Tekoa, travels from hospital to funeral, musing on the state of the nation from the back of his limousine.
First published in 2002, Orly Castel-Bloom spins a web of filament-fine connections between her characters. Death or disaster might intrude at any moment, but people still watch game shows on TV, go to the laundromat and train to be beauticians. Holding a mirror up to her country, Castel-Bloom shows us a society in microcosm, struggling for continuity and normalcy in a fractured world. Sardonic, topical and wholly engrossing, this is a novel capturing the maelstrom of contradictions that is life today.
249 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2002
4 people are currently reading
125 people want to read
About the author
Orly Castel-Bloom
22 books36 followersOrly Castel-Bloom (Hebrew: אורלי קסטל-בלום) is an Israeli author.
Orly Castel-Bloom was born in north Tel Aviv in 1960, to a family of Egyptian Jews. Until the age of three, she had French nannies and spoke only French. She studied film at the Beit Zvi School for the Performing Arts in Ramat Gan.
Castel-Bloom lives in Tel Aviv and has two children.
Castel-Bloom's first collection of short stories, Not Far from the Center of Town, was published in 1987 by Am Oved. She is the author of 11 books, including collections of short fiction and novels. Her 1992 novel Dolly City, has been included in the UNESCO Collection of Representative Works, and in 1999 she was named one of the fifty most influential women in Israel. Dolly City has been performed as a play in Tel Aviv.
In Free Radicals, Castel-Bloom stopped writing in the first-person. In Human Parts (2002) she was the first Israeli novelist to address the subject of Palestinian suicide bombings. Her anthology of short stories You Don't Argue with Rice, was published in 2003. Castel-Bloom has won the Prime Minister's award twice, the Tel Aviv award for fiction and was nominated for the Sapir Prize for Literature.
Israeli literary critic Gershon Shaked called her a postmodern writer who "communicates the despair of a generation which no longer even dreams the dreams of Zionist history."
Orly Castel-Bloom was born in north Tel Aviv in 1960, to a family of Egyptian Jews. Until the age of three, she had French nannies and spoke only French. She studied film at the Beit Zvi School for the Performing Arts in Ramat Gan.
Castel-Bloom lives in Tel Aviv and has two children.
Castel-Bloom's first collection of short stories, Not Far from the Center of Town, was published in 1987 by Am Oved. She is the author of 11 books, including collections of short fiction and novels. Her 1992 novel Dolly City, has been included in the UNESCO Collection of Representative Works, and in 1999 she was named one of the fifty most influential women in Israel. Dolly City has been performed as a play in Tel Aviv.
In Free Radicals, Castel-Bloom stopped writing in the first-person. In Human Parts (2002) she was the first Israeli novelist to address the subject of Palestinian suicide bombings. Her anthology of short stories You Don't Argue with Rice, was published in 2003. Castel-Bloom has won the Prime Minister's award twice, the Tel Aviv award for fiction and was nominated for the Sapir Prize for Literature.
Israeli literary critic Gershon Shaked called her a postmodern writer who "communicates the despair of a generation which no longer even dreams the dreams of Zionist history."
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
February 3, 2024
AMABILI RESTI
Dopo otto anni di terribile siccità, all’inizio del terzo millennio (e quindi in un anno che appartiene già al passato), Israele è colpita da un freddo polare: neve, grandine di forma e dimensione varia, che talvolta si trasforma in arma letale e distruttiva, pioggia, nubifragi, onde alte, città costiere a rischio inondazione, ghiaccio sul Mar Rosso.
Una situazione climatica inaspettata alla quale il paese è impreparato.
Non basta: si diffonde un’epidemia chiamata “saudita”, col sospetto che siano stati proprio loro, i sauditi, a crearla e diffonderla. Se non che si ammalano anche i palestinesi, e quindi i conti non tornano.
I Palestinesi intensificano le azioni terroriste, e ogni giorno si contano mediamente cinque vittime.
Il presidente, appassionato ornitologo, è un moderato, non incita alla reazione, tutt’altro, e non si perde un funerale.
Il turismo crolla, l’economia rallenta. La forbice, la famigerata forbice tra le classi sociali, si è allargata: e così è aumentato il numero dei poveri, la miseria attanaglia sempre più famiglie.
Fantascienza? Il cambiamento climatico in corso getta luce spettrale su questo romanzo e spinge a consideralo più aderente alla realtà di quello che il genere fantascienza farebbe presupporre. Una distopia, questo sì. Se non altro, conviene sperarlo.
Anche se è piuttosto palese il riferimento all’intifada, la seconda, ancora in corso quando il romanzo è stato pubblicato (2002).
All’inizio questa visione in qualche modo apocalittica affascina: il diverso approccio alla questione del Medio Oriente, al rapporto tra israeliani e palestinesi, all’inizio cattura. Ma l’effetto si smarrisce man mano, ahimè troppo presto.
La scrittura di Castel-Bloom è scorrevole, l’ironia sparsa a piene mani. Ma i personaggi sono una folla, nessuno cattura al punto da suscitare empatia. Rimane tutto come una sequenza di immagini di telegiornale, affastellato, troppo affollato, poco focalizzato.
Dopo otto anni di terribile siccità, all’inizio del terzo millennio (e quindi in un anno che appartiene già al passato), Israele è colpita da un freddo polare: neve, grandine di forma e dimensione varia, che talvolta si trasforma in arma letale e distruttiva, pioggia, nubifragi, onde alte, città costiere a rischio inondazione, ghiaccio sul Mar Rosso.
Una situazione climatica inaspettata alla quale il paese è impreparato.
Non basta: si diffonde un’epidemia chiamata “saudita”, col sospetto che siano stati proprio loro, i sauditi, a crearla e diffonderla. Se non che si ammalano anche i palestinesi, e quindi i conti non tornano.
I Palestinesi intensificano le azioni terroriste, e ogni giorno si contano mediamente cinque vittime.
Il presidente, appassionato ornitologo, è un moderato, non incita alla reazione, tutt’altro, e non si perde un funerale.
Il turismo crolla, l’economia rallenta. La forbice, la famigerata forbice tra le classi sociali, si è allargata: e così è aumentato il numero dei poveri, la miseria attanaglia sempre più famiglie.
Fantascienza? Il cambiamento climatico in corso getta luce spettrale su questo romanzo e spinge a consideralo più aderente alla realtà di quello che il genere fantascienza farebbe presupporre. Una distopia, questo sì. Se non altro, conviene sperarlo.
Anche se è piuttosto palese il riferimento all’intifada, la seconda, ancora in corso quando il romanzo è stato pubblicato (2002).
All’inizio questa visione in qualche modo apocalittica affascina: il diverso approccio alla questione del Medio Oriente, al rapporto tra israeliani e palestinesi, all’inizio cattura. Ma l’effetto si smarrisce man mano, ahimè troppo presto.
La scrittura di Castel-Bloom è scorrevole, l’ironia sparsa a piene mani. Ma i personaggi sono una folla, nessuno cattura al punto da suscitare empatia. Rimane tutto come una sequenza di immagini di telegiornale, affastellato, troppo affollato, poco focalizzato.
August 15, 2022
Throughout this book, I wanted nothing more than to put it down for good.
It is, without a doubt, very anti Palestinian, and there was no exploration of possibilities that the Israeli people use the Palestinian people as a scapegoat. There was no clarification made from any character’s POV that not all Arab people are terrorists. Castel-Bloom missed an opportunity to write a nuanced book, containing both perspectives.
I’m terms of characters, I found that Iris especially could have been developed further.
The only redeeming part of this book were Adir’s relationships with Tasaro, Liat, and Iris, but most importantly, his inner struggle with himself.
I would have liked to see the book written differently, but for what it is, I’m not that big a fan.
It is, without a doubt, very anti Palestinian, and there was no exploration of possibilities that the Israeli people use the Palestinian people as a scapegoat. There was no clarification made from any character’s POV that not all Arab people are terrorists. Castel-Bloom missed an opportunity to write a nuanced book, containing both perspectives.
I’m terms of characters, I found that Iris especially could have been developed further.
The only redeeming part of this book were Adir’s relationships with Tasaro, Liat, and Iris, but most importantly, his inner struggle with himself.
I would have liked to see the book written differently, but for what it is, I’m not that big a fan.
April 11, 2021
è più bella la quarta di copertina rispetto al libro
April 5, 2024
נפלא, דמיוני ומציאותי לחלוטין בו זמנית
September 21, 2011
Wow. After reading Dolly City, I knew I had to read more of Castel-Bloom's work. For me, Dolly City was an intriguing but difficult read. I knew there were layers of meaning and metaphor but felt ignorant of what most of it actually signified. Human Parts made more sense to me, perhaps because it works in the opposite way of Dolly City. While Dolly City is obscure, with the message buried beneath layers of imagery and characterization, in Human Parts the message, meaning, story and characters seem to function all together at the same level (that's not to say that you can't read into Castel-Bloom's writing at multiple levels). Everything just works. Everything is seamless. Human Parts is an incredibly powerful story, both as a testament to human suffering and survival and to Israeli life specifically. Definitely a great read.
April 3, 2008
Israël subit une météo polaire et la neige recouvre le pays. Alors qu'un jeune garçon a été lynché par des Arabes, plusieurs personnages tentent de vivre malgré une situation économique difficile. Une galerie de portraits touchants: une mère divorcée qui a du mal à joindre les deux bouts, une femme qui vit avec sa famille dans la misère et qui devient brièvement une star des médias qui s'intéressent (très ponctuellement) à son cas, un mannequin éthiopien, un héritier ashkénaze, etc.
Les parcours se frôlent, se croisent, se touchent, s'évitent. La vie cohabite avec la mort. L'auteur montre une immense affection pour ses personnages et le lecteur entre dans le récit avec délectation.
Un roman à la fois optimiste et profond.
Les parcours se frôlent, se croisent, se touchent, s'évitent. La vie cohabite avec la mort. L'auteur montre une immense affection pour ses personnages et le lecteur entre dans le récit avec délectation.
Un roman à la fois optimiste et profond.
February 14, 2013
I read this novel in my Israeli Literature class. It was perfect because it is set in Tel Aviv. I read it prior to my journey to the Holy Land in 2010. Awesome book, very spiritual. I also loved the diverse characters and the interracial relationship between Tasaro and her boyfriend.Very eye opening.
December 24, 2008
"One can draw a number of conclusions from this excellent novel, and I have singled out one of them: On several occasions Bergson pondered why so few people had come to the shiva. The explanation he found most persuasive was that people had had enough of death."
— Ma'ariv Weekend Supplement
— Ma'ariv Weekend Supplement
August 8, 2007
quite possibly one of the best books i have ever read.
February 17, 2011
It`s a good book with goods characters. Adir Bergson, Iris Ventura, love them a lot. Orly Castel-Bloom is a nice writer!
August 20, 2013
ماقدرت كملو، كقصّة ماحبيت بالمرة، وكأدب ولغة لأنو مترجم معدوم الشي ..فماكان في شي بشجعك لحتى تكمل :/
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews