Scenes from Village Life - Hardcover

“Informed by everything, weighed down by nothing, this is an exquisite work of art.” —The Scotsman

Strange things are happening in Tel Ilan, a century-old pioneer village. A disgruntled retired politician complains to his daughter that he hears the sound of digging at night. Could it be their tenant, that young Arab? But then the young Arab hears the digging sounds too. Where has the mayor’s wife gone, vanished without trace, her note saying “Don’t worry about me”? Around the village, the veneer of new wealth—gourmet restaurants, art galleries, a winery—barely conceals the scars of war and of past generations: disused air raid shelters, rusting farm tools, and trucks left wherever they stopped. Scenes from Village Life is a memorable novel-in-stories by the inimitable Amos Oz: a brilliant, unsettling glimpse of what goes on beneath the surface of everyday life.

Translated from the Hebrew by Nicholas de Lange

Praise for Scenes from Village Life

“In exquisitely controlled prose, renowned Israeli author Oz reminds us of the creepy unsureness that underlies all ‘village’ life, rural or urban—and not just in Israel.” –Library Journal (starred)

“Subtle but surgically precise . . . a powerfully understated treatment of an uneasy Israeli conscience.” –Publishers Weekly (starred)

“The book’s atmosphere of desolation and disquiet is bewitching.” —The Times (UK)

“An impressive and very affecting achievement . . . These stories, in their humanity, may do more for Israel than any of the decisions we have been lead to expect of its leaders in the months to come.” —The New Statesman (UK)