About Amos Oz

It really hurts me to know that Amos Oz is no more. That I will not have to wait another book or article or public position of him. Politically speaking, I might have shared a different perspective, but his sense of measure and balance belongs to a world that it is about to dissapear both physically and intellectually.

The dialogue he has with Shira Hadad - editor of Hebrew fiction and writer of TV drama series with a PhD about the works of Agnon - covers a variety of topics, most of them regarding his writing, personal history and experiences. I´ve read the German translated from Hebrew published as Was ist ein Apfel? (in English, What is an apple?), authored by Anne Birkenhauer, who translated into German also David Grossman, Aharon Appelfeld and Eshkol Nevo, among others.

People like Amos Oz are living history of the state of Israel, complementary to the political and military story. A story that at its very beginning counted among the elites no professional politicians, but people that grew up in old countries with a sense for literature and poetry but also with experience in the military combat. A completely mix of personalities that the new elites.

New times always require new elites and new characters and it is normal to be so. However, once you´ve had the chance to acknowledge differences, you will always be left with the taste of regret. Because you want to have someone to disagree with, that brings a different, moderate, anti-fanatical perspective. This book of conversations, published originally in 2018, the year of his death, shows Oz´s despise for fanaticism wherever it arises, not only in politics, but equally in literary field or the gender relations. Regardless of what you think about a topic, listening/reading to a different, more balanced opinion, helps from a critical thinking perspective.

In addition of the snippets of Israeli history, including his realistic memories about the life in the kibbutz, there are the slow stories about his writing process and how he was looking for sources of inspiration that I enjoyed the most. I can imagine him walking the streets slowly, observing other people, listening to their stories from afar, without interacting or disturbing. There are not too many people like him left.

Rating: 4 stars