A Late Divorce

Rating:
Summary: An Excellent (and comical) novel about family
Review: A Late Divorce is one of my very favorites novels. This ordinary tale about the late divorce of a middle-aged couple, one of whom is in a mental institution, is told from the perspective of each member of the family: children, their spouses and mates, grandson,etc. I have rarely laughed so much, or been touched so much, by the insightful description of the Kaminka family and their travails over a failed marriage, real estate and conflict. The scene with the rabbis at the mental institution is literary hilarity at its best...A wonderful work, original, illuminating and FUNNY!

Rating:
Summary: An Excellent (and comical) novel about family
Review: A Late Divorce is one of my very favorites novels. This ordinary tale about the late divorce of a middle-aged couple, one of whom is in a mental institution, is told from the perspective of each member of the family: children, their spouses and mates, grandson,etc. I have rarely laughed so much, or been touched so much, by the insightful description of the Kaminka family and their travails over a failed marriage, real estate and conflict. The scene with the rabbis at the mental institution is literary hilarity at its best...A wonderful work, original, illuminating and FUNNY!

Rating:
Summary: Moments of Brilliance but not as good as his other work
Review: A short synopsis - the family patriarch returns to Israel from America to seek a divorce from his estranged, and institionalized wife who is living in an institution. Along the way in a James Joyce-like fashion, we hear from each key character in the family dynamic. The young grandson, the son, the beautiful daughter-in-law, the son-in-law, the daughter, and of course the patriarch and his wife themselves.

Some of the chapters are absolutely inspired, electric, and brilliant. Others are weaker and more tiresome. This is at its core a book about family and its dynamics, not about Israel. Those looking for insight into Israeli society should try Yehoshua's brilliant novel, The Lover.

For hardcore Yehoshua fans, this is a must read, others would do better looking elsewhere.

Rating:
Summary: Moments of Brilliance but not as good as his other work
Review: A short synopsis - the family patriarch returns to Israel from America to seek a divorce from his estranged, and institionalized wife who is living in an institution. Along the way in a James Joyce-like fashion, we hear from each key character in the family dynamic. The young grandson, the son, the beautiful daughter-in-law, the son-in-law, the daughter, and of course the patriarch and his wife themselves.

Some of the chapters are absolutely inspired, electric, and brilliant. Others are weaker and more tiresome. This is at its core a book about family and its dynamics, not about Israel. Those looking for insight into Israeli society should try Yehoshua's brilliant novel, The Lover.

For hardcore Yehoshua fans, this is a must read, others would do better looking elsewhere.