The Zigzag Kid

by David Grossman, Betsy Rosenberg

David Grossman's classic novels See Under: Love and The Book of Intimate Grammar, earned him international acclaim as an author of childhood. The Zig Zag Kid is written in a more optimistic vein, and recounts thirteen-year-old Nonny Feuerberg's picturesque journey into adulthood. As Nonny's Bar Mitzvah year trip turns into an amazing adventure, he not only finds himself befriending a notorious criminal, and a great actress, but confronts the great mystery of his own identity.

With wit and humor, The Zig Zag Kid is a novel that explores the most fundamental questions of good and evil and speaks directly to both adults and teenagers.

Genres: Fiction, Israel, Jewish, Childrens, Literary Fiction, Adventure, Novels

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

From ithl.org:

Leading Israeli novelist David Grossman (Hebrew: דויד גרוסמן) studied philosophy and drama at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and later worked as an editor and broadcaster at Israel Radio. Grossman has written seven novels, a play, a number of short stories and novellas, and a number of books for children and youth. He has also published several books of non-fiction, including interviews with Palestinians and Israeli Arabs. Among Grossman`s many literary awards: the Valumbrosa Prize (Italy), the Eliette von Karajan Prize (Austria), the Nelly Sachs Prize (1991), the Premio Grinzane and the Premio Mondelo for The Zig-Zag Kid (Italy, 1996), the Vittorio de Sica Prize (Italy), the Juliet Club Prize, the Marsh Award for Children`s Literature in Translation (UK, 1998), the Buxtehude Bulle (Germany, 2001), the Sapir Prize for Someone to Run With (2001), the Bialik Prize (2004), the Koret Jewish Book Award (USA, 2006), the Premio per la Pace e l`Azione Umanitaria 2006 (City of Rome/Italy), Onorificenza della Stella Solidarita Italiana 2007, Premio Ischia - International Award for Journalism 2007, the Geschwister Scholl Prize (Germany), the Emet Prize (Israel, 2007)and the Albatross Prize (Germany, 2009). He has also been awarded the Chevalier de l`Ordre des Arts et Belles Lettres (France, 1998) and an Honorary Doctorate by Florence University (2008). In 2007, his novels The Book of Internal Grammar and See Under: Love were named among the ten most important books since the creation of the State of Israel. His books have been translated into over 25 languages.

See also other authors with similar names.

Reviews

[MihaElla · Rating 5 out of 5]

To be or not to be…in zigzag!! is the only significant decision that this fantastic book puts in front of this humble reader. It simply says, be here wholly in the book and you will find that you yourself are the answer. A wonderful novel. My eyes were thrilled from front to back covers, all way, regardless of page, chapter, story. I feel I am fortunate to have picked it up. It is my 3rd book by this Israeli writer that was unfamiliar to me till 2-3 weeks ago. But, life is not a straight line, it is very zigzag :) Even my path of books shopping goes in a zigzag way. I just go astray and here it ends…in zigzag!!

This book is full of adrenaline-filled adventures. I wanted to believe they could happen in real life too. Maybe they do, but I was not in my childhood a main character of them such is the case with Nono (or Nonik) an almost 13year old boy, the child of a policeman and of a criminal offender yes, indeed, his beautiful and smart mother was a convict and she was much loved by his father, before her premature death at 26years of age, on her own choice, and his maternal grandfather Felix Gluck oh, a lovely surprise, to find out that he is a Romanian born Jew and a most famous, internationally sought after, charlatan, now almost 70years old, who wants to gift his nephew the most precious gift ever with the occasion of the ceremony of bar mitzvah, that is a coming of age religious event where the boy enters the age of maturity and, theoretically, becomes in full responsible for his own actions. By the way, this old Felix reminded me of a much younger bookish version of him, I have in mind the gifted swindler by full name Felix Krull, who existed based on the novel of Thomas Mann, Confessions of Felix Krull. It is a pity that novel had no sequence…

In the course of only 3 days, and only one week ahead of bar mitzvah, Nonik is trying to find the answer to a very complicated question: ‘who am I?’. For this difficult task he needs to go through a rollercoaster of events, all of them mind-blowing for him, in terms of personal history relations between his father and his deceased mother, on one hand, and his maternal grandparents, on the other hand but also in better understanding of his character and personality. Needless to say that I was very curious to find myself the answer to that question. It was a nice twist of the story. Eventually the little hero finds out that he is the authentic answer, his own self, such as it arrives to understand, and then there should be no question(s). I think the following anecdote explains it better ;)
Three mice walked into a bar, sat down and began some serious drinking. All three became thoroughly drunk and in due course, each began to boast about how brave he was.
‘I’m going to tell that dumb Ronald Reagan in the White House about some of his policies,’ said the first mouse.
‘That’s nothing’, sneered the second mouse. ‘I’m going over to the Kremlin and tell them just what I think about them.’
They both turned to the third mouse who was sitting there dreaming.
‘Well, what are you going to do?’ they demanded.
‘Me, I’m going to screw the cat’.

[Майя Ставитская · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amnon Fayerberg is a difficult teenager. Hyperactive, he's always getting into some kind of trouble. In order to neutralize the consequences of the most unpleasant of them, the father had to give the object of family pride - a rare car, personally repaired by them. It's unpleasant to feel like someone who is spoken of as "not without a freak in the family", what's there.

Although they have a small family. Dad, a policeman (the best in the world, whom Nuno wants to be like in everything) and Gabi, Dad's girlfriend, she is also his secretary, who raised Nuna after mom's death. No, he doesn't remember his mother, he was very young when she died. From what? He doesn't know. And she doesn't know her grandparents from Zoara's mother's side either. Dad's live far away, which is for the best, all these relatives are nasty.

And the worst of all is my uncle, a specialist in child psychology, to whom Nuna was sent for correctional talks after that nasty bullfighting story. The guy almost went crazy from his moralizing, Gabi's advice saved him: "it will become absolutely unbearable - start crying." The uncle was touched then, decided that it was his lectures that had struck so, and fell behind his nephew. But now, what is being sent to him for?

A week later, a bar mitzvah, that's really a cool gift! The gift will be not just cool, but incredible, cosmic, surpassing all imaginable limits. And in fact, Dad and Gabi, who were not going to part at all, as the boy feared, prepared a series of fascinating quests for him, involving animation actors. About what Nuna will be notified additionally, already on the train, after he becomes a witness-participant of the first miniature.

Зигзаг ̶н̶е̶удачи
Жизнь — это чутку света между тьмой и тьмой.
Амнон Файерберг трудный подросток. Гиперактивный, он вечно влипает в какие-то истории. За то, чтобы нивелировать последствия самой неприятной из них, отцу пришлось отдать предмет семейной гордости - раритетный автомобиль, собственноручно отремонтированный ими. Неприятно чувствовать себя тем, о ком говорят "в семье не без урода", чего уж там.

Хотя семья у них небольшая. Папа, полицейский (лучший в мире, на которого Нуну хочет быть во всем похожим) и Габи, подруга папы, она же его секретарша, которая вырастила Нуну после смерти мамы. Нет, маму он не помнит, совсем маленьким был, когда она умерла. От чего? Не знает. И бабушку с дедушкой со стороны мамы Зоары тоже совсем не знает. Папины живут далеко, что к лучшему, противная вся эта родня.

А хуже всех дядя, спец по детской психологии на исправительные беседы к которому Нуну отправили после той гадкой истории с корридой. От его нравоучений парень чуть не свихнулся, спас совет Габи: "станет совсем невмоготу - начинай плакать". Дядюшка тогда растрогался, решил, что это его нотации так пробили, и отстал от племянника. Но теперь-то за что к нему посылают?

Через неделю бар-мицва, вот уж классный подарочек! Подарочек окажется не просто классным, а невероятным, космическим, превосходящим все мыслимые пределы. И на самом деле папа с Габи, которые вовсе не собирались расставаться, как опасался мальчишка - подготовили для него серию увлекательных квестов, задействовав актеров-аниматоров. О чем Нуну известят дополнительно, уже в поезде, после того, как станет свидетелем-участником первой миниатюры.

Давид Гроссман всемирно-известный писатель и активист движения за мир. Любит свою родину, но резко критикует политику правительства. Я благодарна ему за возможность вербализировать состояние последних двух месяцев. Он говорит: "Мне стыдно за то, что делает правительство, а не за то. что я израильтянин", и я вижу выход из тупика. Дистанцироваться от преступлений правительства своей страны можно и нужно.

Это позволяет сохранить внутреннюю целостность, хотя ставит в конфронтацию с носителями противоположной точки зрения. На глубинном уровне "Бывают дети-зигзаги" книга об обретении себя и праве не идти со всеми - не в меньшей, чем роман "Как-то лошадь входит в бар", принесший автору Пулитцера.

А не на глубинном? О, это восхитительная пикареска, в которой соединились лучшие черты прозы для взрослеющего человека: холмсиана, "Судьба барабанщика" Гайдара, "Здесь был Шва" Нила Шустермана - и все густо сдобрено израильским колоритом, с его сплавом тысячелетней истории с современностью.

Впрочем, современность относительна, повествование ведется от лица взрослого человека, вспоминающего свои дни накануне бар-мицвы (в еврейской традиции это тринадцатилетие, которое совпадает с религиозной зрелостью). Судя по отсутствию компьютеров и мобильников, время действия - 90-е, но Гроссман как-то так выстраивает действие, что о приметах сегодняшней цивилизации не вспоминаешь.

Нуну не звонит отцу или Габи и не пытается связаться с ними каким-либо иным способом, потому что это не предусмотрено условиями квеста, участником которого себя считает. Попытка уточнить была бы равна тому, чтобы расписаться в несамостоятельности, а что может быть худшим оскорблением для мальчишки, который хочет быть взрослым и заслужить уважение отца?

Приключений, опасных и небезупречных с точки зрения морали, будет множество; открытий - еще больше. И главным станет ответ на вопрос, который герою предлагалось задать в начале истории: "Кто я?"

[Yedidah Cohen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the book in its original Hebrew. Even in its original its starts of choppy and disorganized but it is really worth perservering with as the journey on the train becomes a journey into the question of "Who am I?" The boy who asks this question starts out by asking it of himself in the quest to know where he comes from, but the book rises into its more universal theme of "who am I?" as both totally intimate and personal and at the same time universal.
I;m glad I kept going. Its a great read!

[Rainb0warri0r · Rating 5 out of 5]

"A volte la verità sembra proprio una bugia."

Ci sono persone rotonde, ci sono bambini a forma di triangolo e ci sono... bambini a zigzag. Il giovane Nono appartiene a quest'ultima categoria: tale è l'indole ribelle, incorruttibile, che lo caratterizza.
Quella di Nono è una storia di crescita e di formazione, un viaggio alla scoperta di se stessi e del proprio passato. Che non si pensi però a un semplice romanzo di formazione, perché è capace di rivolgersi a chiunque, a coinvolgere anche il lettore più restio. Un romanzo che rievoca il tempo dell'infanzia come una dimensione a sé, eterna, in cui tutto è in continua metamorfosi.
Grande è la scrittura di Grossman, che attraverso gli occhi di un bambino, colto in uno dei momenti di massima confusione esisteniale, tocca tutti i temi fondamentali per l'essere umano, dall'amore alla morte, l'amicizia, la famiglia, il bene e il male, colti in tutte le loro variegate sfumature: davvero l'immenso spettro delle emozioni umane trova posto in questo romanzo. A pagine di dense lirismo si affianca una visione romantica e fantastica della vita, la vita come un viaggio e un'avventura, in cui elementi propri dell'infanzia (figure classiche come l'investigatore geniale, il ladro gentile, la ragazza spavalda e inafferrabile, l'elegante attrice di teatro, ma anche abitudini elementari come la dolcezza del cioccolato, la lettura) si caricano di significati assoluti e universali.
E' un romanzo praticamente perfetto sotto ogni punto di vista, non ho timore né imbarazzo ad affermarlo: densa e tangibile è la caratterizzazione dei personaggi, soprattutto quella del piccolo Nono, dalla spiccata immaginazione (il romanzo è pieno di fantasie e sogni a occhi aperti del personaggio!) e dalle emozioni che congestionano la pagina. La trama è perfettamente bilanciata in tutti i suoi ingredienti fondamentali, ma il vero gioiello è, ancora una volta, lo stile dell'autore, la sua sempre sorprendente ricchezza lessicale, ogni singola parola è scelta sapientemente e messa al posto giusto, non c'è una sola virgola fuori posto.
Iniziare a leggere questo romanzo è davvero come mangiare un cioccolatino: subito ti si scioglie in bocca, e non riusciresti mai a smettere.

[Yaara · Rating 5 out of 5]

בדרך כלל אני נוהגת להוסיף מהדורת אייקאסט כשאני מאזינה לספר, אבל במקרה הזה לא היה לי כח ואני קצת מתחרטת.
כי על אף שהטקסט מצוין, עידן אלתרמן לוקח אותו כמה רמות למעלה בהקראתו המשובחת. אין מספיק סופרלטיבים כדי לתאר את ההקראה, במיוחד את המבטא הרומני של פליקס.
ספר מעולה, הקראה מעולה, עונג צרוף.

[Galthebookeater330 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, I liked this book. Although I had some issues with it

Things I liked:
The book was very unique and interesting, I really liked Nonno's journey, This book have some depth and messages in it that I really liked. Also, the balance between the present tense and the past tense was very good, Grossman did a very good job in waving the two together and it was nice to see the stories intertwined. My favorite character in this book was definitely Felix. The relationship between Nonno and Felix was also great. Gabby was more of a background character, but I liked her a lot. The ending was good as well.

Things I didn't like:
This books does get repetitive and I found myself losing my attention and getting bored a lot of times.The plot twists in this book were all very predictable, one of them I really disliked. One of my biggest problems with this book was Nonno. I didn't like him very much and also did not care for him, he was so unrelatable to me, I never sympathized with him. The entire time I could feel the author pointing out how different Nonno is and how weird he is, to the point it felt forced and not realistic. Overall, my biggest problem was that I simply didn't care. I liked some characters, but I didn't feel them. I didn't care about the plot or anything really, it was interesting, but no more.

I think this is good a book that is not for everyone.

[Camilla · Rating 5 out of 5]

La capacità che ha la penna di Grossman di toccare le giuste corde… nessun’altra. C’è un mondo dietro le sue parole. Fin ora, con i romanzi più maturi e “adulti” l’ho sempre intravisto, nascosto fra le righe. Qui vien fuori, dirompente, tutta la fantasia di David, in una storia di formazione adatta a qualsiasi età. Sono tornata bambina e ridiventata adulta nell’arco di 320 pagine.

[Ardesia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Storia un po' esagitata, forse a tratti esagerata, ma spassosa e gustosa (gusto di caramelle al lampone e di cioccolato, ovviamente).
Sarò matta, ma mi è sembrata una sorta di Alice nel paese delle meraviglie al maschile in cui il protagonista Paperinik, ehm, no, volevo dire Nonik, invece di precipitare nella tana del bianconiglio, si infila nello scompartimento sbagliato di un treno e ci incontra un ibrido del Gatto del Cheshire e del Cappellaio Matto ;))
Forse da un certo punto in poi la trama diventa un po' scontata, ma anche se ci sono situazioni che è quasi impossibile non intuire con molto anticipo rispetto al punto in cui verranno svelate, la narrazione ha comunque la capacità di portare il lettore a dubitare delle proprie convinzioni.
Ho trovato il modo di raccontare molto cinematografico; mentre leggevo non potevo fare a meno di visualizzare mentalmente lo svolgersi dell'azione. Forse è per questo che mi meraviglia tanto il fatto che non sia ancora stato realizzato un film tratto da questo libro.
Per il resto direi che l'oscar per miglio attrice non protagonista goes to... Gabi!!! Altro che Lola Ciperola :p

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this in a drugstore in the working-class town of San Ramon, Costa Rica, where I was working building houses and had, as this was pre-kindle, not brought enough books. My host mother told me that they had books but they would probably all be in Spanish, and I thought, well, that might be okay. But then there was this book, just sitting there in a turning display tower among children's coloring books and greeting cards, all of which were in Spanish, and I thought, why is this here? When I asked the clerk, she said she didn't know where it had come from, so I bought it, along with some sunscreen you couldn't get in the States at the time because the FDA is corrupt.

I read this book in the bathtub of the little resort in the cloud forest above San Ramon where I had gifted myself a birthday stay when my work assignment was over. I turned 30 in the middle of reading it. It's a perfect novel and I'm not just saying that because the universe sent it to me, specifically.

[Antonella Imperiali · Rating 3 out of 5]

"... tutto questo gioco è rubato. Dall'inizio alla fine non c'è nemmeno una cosa giusta. Non resta che una domanda da fare: stai al gioco?"

Una favola adatta anche per gli adulti. Un sogno (un gioco, un rapimento?) che è tutto un enigma: impossibile capire all'inizio come si possa sviluppare. Un viaggio con diverse incognite; avventure rocambolesche, assurde e fantastiche, ripercorse - a distanza di anni - da un uomo, ma viste con gli occhi di un bambino (e come tale rivissute) costretto a crescere davanti a verità impensabili.

"Perché non c'è un muro di cinta intorno al mondo, in modo che la gente non cada? Così, bisogna andare avanti con cautela, e fermarsi prima del precipizio."

N.B.:
Cinque mesi quasi per leggere questo volume. Dalla serie: io e Grossman percorriamo spesso binari paralleli che raramente incontrano scambi favorevoli alla medesima destinazione.

[Annemie Meuleman · Rating 4 out of 5]

In het begin dacht ik: oei, het verkeerde boek begonnen. Dit is een jeugdboek! Maar Grossman is zo een meesterverteller. Mooi, grappig, aangrijpend. Meer kan een lezer niet wensen.

[Tony · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let me start by applauding an excellent translation (from the Hebrew) by Betsy Rosenberg. Only once or twice in reading this humorous coming of age tale did I recall it was a translation, which is always a good sign. The novel is written from the perspective of a 12-year-old boy just about to have his Bar Mitzvah in late '60 or early '70s Israel. Nonny is an only child, raised by a workaholic policeman father and his secretary girlfriend. At first we know little more than this, as the boy is placed by himself on a train to Haifa. Then, some odd events occur which had me worried that the book was headed into magical realism. Fortunately, this is not the case, but the boy is involved in a wild several days where it is not clear what is truth and what is deception. The boy's character and the mystery of his mother is unveiled with in tantalizing tidbits. For me the tension mounted and mounted all the way to the end, when the boy fully learns and understands his past. Very nice.

[Lada Moskalets · Rating 5 out of 5]

ще одна книжка про Don't worry bout it dear it's where you come from, бо нема нічого солодшого (і нічого болючішого) за відкривання таємниць свого походження. Наше родинне минуле завжди з нами і в нас і вибір в нашому житті насправді коливається між наперед визначеними опціями. Ізраїльська книжка, з мінімумом східного колориту - вона могла б бути про яку завгодно родину і де завгодно.

[Talu · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most influential books I've ever read.
I am one of those Zig Zag kids, who were different from other children, and this book managed to touch my heart and my soul.

[Michael Milgrom · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have always felt that Grossman is at his best when writing about adolescents. This is good but it is not as brilliant as מישהו לרוץ איתו . I never got a feeling for why Nonno felt that he was so different although he clearly felt that way. A good read but, ultimately a little too fanciful for me. The book never felt like a ma of 45-50 writing about his youth. Curious to know how much the author’s childhood might have been lie Nonno’s. Even at less than his best Grossman is still pretty good.

[Raul Dominguez · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Genial, inspirador.. letras q llegan al alma y con las q es dificil no identificarse.. genial autor mr grossman"

[Martina · Rating 4 out of 5]

In occasione del suo bar-mitzvah, a Nono viene regalato un viaggio avventuroso organizzato dal padre e dalla di lui segretaria, che ha cresciuto Nono come se fosse figlio suo. L'innocuo divertimento diventa però un'avventurosa fuga alla ricerca delle proprie radici e della storia della madre, morta molto giovane e della quale Nono non ha né ricordi, né notizie. Una favola, narrata in prima persona dal protagonista, un bambino che oscilla a zig zag tra la bontà più pura e la delinquenza. Un libro leggero, ma che fa riflettere su quanto della nostra personalità si formi per cause genetiche e quanto per l'educazione ricevuta.

[Vannie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love it!! Great read. If you can find this book get it. My sis brought it back from somewhere outside the US several years ago, and when I looked for a copy I couldn't find one. Hopefully we've come around as a nation... I haven't looked in a while because I managed to swipe my sister's copy.

[Annie_dos_douradores · Rating 3 out of 5]

Una storia che poteva essere, per mio gusto, resa in modo molto più avvincente. Come nel titolo io ho 'letto a zig zag' alternando momenti di grande curiosità ad altro di noia. Uno stile che non mi ha preso fino in fondo nonostante la storia invece mi ispirasse molto!!!

[Virginia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ci sono momenti che non si possono misurare con l'orologio, ma solo con i battiti del cuore.

[Racheli Zusiman · Rating 4 out of 5]

מרגש ומקסים ממש.

[Samuel M.C · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cuando compré este libro en una tienda de rebajas, nunca pensé que se convertiría en mi mejor lectura del 2023 e incluso mi libro favorito.

La historia que nos presenta David Grossman sobre Nono inicialmente puede que no sea muy atractiva para el lector y mientras este lee sus primeras páginas no se le puede tener mucha fe e imaginar será una aburrida historia lineal sobre un chico sermoneado por su tío. Por fortuna, esto no fue así. Es muy bonito ver la historia contada desde los ojos de un niño como Nono, alguien curioso e interesado por saber quién es realmente.
Si bien, el libro en varios de los puntos puede ser algo descriptivo y repetitivo. Esto tiene una razón concreta que no puedo decir por spoilers, pero no llega a ser aburridor y llega a enternecer y divertir mucho al lector. El hilo de la historia te atrapa de principio a fin y cuando vas por la últimas páginas es tanto el cariño que puedes sentir por la historia que no quisieras terminarla de leer nunca.

Sin duda si existe un libro perfecto, ese es "Chico zigzag".

[Cristiano Baldini · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un racconto di avventura, formazione e fantasia che rompe tutte le righe e emoziona, commuove, fa riflettere come pochi. Grossman tocca l'anima con il suo incredibile talento e riesce a rendere con semplicità una storia tanto personale quanto profonda, una ricerca di se stesso attraverso gli occhi delle generazioni precedenti, una storia di famiglia: delle paure, dei contrastie dell' amore che può vincere su tutto.

[Guy Menashe · Rating 5 out of 5]

וואו זה ספר כל כך טוב, נהניתי מאוד מהקריאה ורק חיכיתי לעוד. מדהים
אמנון הוא ילד חולמני עם התנהגות קצת לא מוסברת, ולאורך הסיפור מתגלה למה הוא בדיוק כמו שהוא, ואיך, כמו ילד, הוא לא שם לב למה קורה מסביבו. לאורך הסיפור יש באמת כמה קווים שנורא הערכתי כמו זה שפליקס באמת מצטייר בהתחלה כסבא ואז לרגע כאויב של יעקב על זוהרה. אהבתי גם מאוד את הדמות של גבי והמקום שלה בחיים של אמנון.
בכללי, ההומור הילדי של הכתיבה ובנוסף הסיפור הדמיוני וההרפתקני הזה היו לי מאוד מאוד נחמדים.

[Amit · Rating 3 out of 5]

אם בא לכם לקרוא את הספר הזה אני ממליץ וסבבה והכל, רק תחזרו לגיל 14 לפני כן?

[luci_di_libri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dopo aver girato l'ultima pagina del libro posso dire di conoscere Nono molto meglio rispetto alla descrizione un po' semplicistica che fa di sé all'inizio del libro.
Innanzitutto, è un ragazzino di quasi tredici anni che sta per fare la "maggiorità religiosa". Ha il piglio dei bambini cresciuti troppo in fretta, di quelli che se la sono dovuta cavare da soli per la maggior parte del tempo. Ha il cuore grande di chi ha ricevuto poche carezze, la fragilità e l'insicurezza di quando mancano conferme. È un bambino agitato, inquieto, si tiene occupato da solo come può; ma si fa voler bene nonostante le bravate perché è impossibile resistere ai suoi grandi occhi azzurri e alla sua lingua tagliente che si produce in frasi di una schiettezza disarmante. Le persone che gli stanno accanto gli hanno nascosto molte cose per troppo tempo; Nono lo ha sempre saputo ma adesso disorientamento e confusione straripano dai delicati argini in cui è riuscito a contenere tutte le domande che avrebbe voluto fare. È arrivato il momento di avere risposte.

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

In deze wonderbaarlijke roadnovel ontdekt de dertienjarige Nono samen met de Roemeense topcrimineel Felix, de waarheid over zijn overleden moeder Zohara van wie hij eigenlijk niets weet. Gaandeweg gaat hij snappen hoe hij in elkaar steekt en waar dat vandaan komt.
Een avontuurlijke schelmenroman over groei naar volwassenheid maar ook met een mooi liefdesverhaal, met ontroering, spanning en humor.

Zijn schooljuf beschrijft Nono als een wilde water, een ondiepe grond. Ze wil hem regelmatig van school sturen en adviseert om hem naar een alternatieve instelling te gaan die beter aansluit bij zijn beperkingen. De gewèldige Gaby (oppas en grote vriendin) verdedigt hem vurig: “’Wat in uw ogen een beperking is’, zei ze, ‘is in mijn ogen een pluspunt!’ Ze richtte zich op en maakte zich groot, als een cobra die zijn kleintje beschermt. ‘Je kunt het bijvoorbeeld ook een kunstenaarsziel noemen! Ja hoor! En misschien past niet iedereen in de rechtlijnige structuur van een school! Want je hebt mensen die een cirkel zijn, mevrouw, en je hebt mensen die in bochten gaan, en je hebt kinderen in de vorm van, zeg maar, een driehoek, dat kan toch? En je hebt ook…, je hebt ook zigzagkinderen! ‘

Het eeuwige kind Felix lijkt altijd vrolijk maar blijkt uiteindelijk een dromer met zeker ook een trieste weemoedige kant. Zijn taalgebruik is nogal bijzonder, vond het eerst even irritant maar het went en wordt ontroerend en vertederend ‘ik heb ook gemaakt zo een wereld voor mij! Dat de mensen zullen herinneren dat vroeger was een Felix.. Dat blijft nog beetje licht in de plaatsen waar Felix is geweest, en de mensen zijn nog beetje als dronken… Dromen dat onze wereld kan zijn mooier…’

Maar is de hele reis nu de beloofde verrassing van Nono’s vader of heeft Felix Nono ontvoerd, om wraak te nemen of om hem een verhaal te vertellen?

Ik ging het boek steeds beter vinden, de eerste hoofdstukjes vond ik wat warrig en vroeg ik me af waar dit naar toe zou gaan maar op enig moment veranderde dat en uiteindelijk vond ik het fantastisch!

[Andrea Ussy · Rating 4 out of 5]

'La signora Markus, per esempio, che ha sempre così tanta voglia di espellermi da scuola, forse si asciugherà una lacrima e dirà: "Non era cattivo. Aveva solo un animo da artista. Proprio così: ci sono bambini quadrati e ce ne sono a zigzag. E noi non l'abbiamo capito in tempo."

Un romanzo per ragazzi che contiene tanti, tantissimi spunti di riflessione anche per gli adulti, ecco in che modo tirerei le somme di questa mia lettura.
La storia di un bambino raccontata dal punto di vista di un adulto.
Si parla effettivamente dell'onirico (tanto da risultare assolutamente surreale) viaggio di Nono, tredicenne, attraverso le lande della Palestina.
Un viaggio particolare, compiuto alla vigilia del suo bar-mitzvah, iniziato come una caccia al tesoro sul treno per Haifa, che si trasformerà ben presto nel più avventuroso e interessante rapimento (che poi rapimento non è) da parte del magnetico e misterioso Felix.
Un'avventura ricca di peripezie che porteranno il giovane protagonista ad esprimere appieno la sua personalità 'a zigzag', divisa fra il richiamo della delinquenza e il profondo senso di giustizia trasmessogli dal suo padre detective.
Questo viaggio porterà Nono a conoscere la storia tortuosa dell'innamoramento dei suoi genitori, della sua nascita e la fine di quel rapporto, che sembrava essere destinato a fallire fin dall'inizio.
Tutto ciò permetterà al ragazzo di crescere emotivamente ed essere effettivamente pronto per affrontare il suo bar-mitzvah, e contemporaneamente renderà il lettore permeabile a tutte quelle sensazioni, quelle storie che da molti punti di vista faranno riflettere sulla natura dei rapporti e sull'impossibilità di distinguere chiaramente il bene dal male, sulla diversa composizione dell'amore e dell'odio, di rispetto e competizione.

'Ma poi gli anni passavano, cinque, sei, sette, e l'odio scompariva. Quanto si può andare avanti a odiare? L'odio è fragile come l'amore, comunque è tutto un gioco.'

[Gary · Rating 5 out of 5]

With the style, wit and charm unique to Israeli literature, David Grossman creates this whimsical page-turner about a 13 year old boy in 1970 Israel, who has a strange adventure with a veteran master criminal and a aging actress. Amnon (Nonnie) pieces together his family's history, while way from his gung ho cop father and his father's grossly overweight girlfriend.

Translated with all the charm, white and satire/humour of the original. This is a must read for lovers of contemporary literature. Sadly due to politically correct far-left anti-Israel racism, some libraries in Europe and the UK are now refusing to stock any books by Israeli authors, no matter how left wing or conciliatory towards the Arabs, these authors may be. So due to racism and hate and the genocidal drive to destroy an entire country and culture, many will miss out on the richness of authors like this and other masters of Israeli literature.

[La Stamberga dei Lettori]

Non avevo mai letto nulla di Grossman e questo libro mi ha attirato essenzialmente per il suo titolo curioso. Non sapevo nulla e mi sono rifiutata di leggere la quarta di copertina per non bruciarmi la sorpresa e ho notato in effetti che il riassunto della trama è piuttosto spoileroso. Non eccessivamente, se si pensa che la trama è piuttosto scontata e non offre molti colpi di scena che non siano stati ampiamente annunciati.

Ci sono bambini a zig zag è un libro per ragazzi che però offre numerosi spunti di riflessione anche agli adulti, anche perché il fantastico viaggio di Nono, tredicenne, è poi raccontato da un Nono adulto ad una trentina di anni di distanza dai fatti.



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