The Blue Mountain (Paperback, Main)

This is a beautifully written and extraordinary novel from the very first page. It's the story of a small group of Eastern European immigrants cast up onto the wharf in Palestine by Arab stevedores and left to begin to create a new nation - the state of Israel. As they enter Jerusalem they are overawed by the filth and shabbiness of the city and immediately scour the valley for farmland they can purchase. In those days, Mirkin tells his grandson Baruch, the village consisted of only two rows of white tents in a treeless landscape. Years later, lofty avenues of cypresses line the entrance to every farmhouse. Between the first picture and the second lies the history of the village and its people. The story weaves exuberantly back and forth in time between Mirkin's life and grandson Baruch's childhood. Very quickly, the reader becomes like Baruch, 'bound tightly by the heavy raffia' of the yarns. The author plays with time. 'Time passed. Milk flowed. Corn ripened on the stalk, its lancelike leaves cutting the skin. Granaries filled. Fig trees set their fruit. More wars were fought.' We meet Margulis the bee-keeper, schoolteacher Pinness who speaks in poetry and Efrayim who comes back from the war hideously wounded, has to wear a mask to cover his face and carries a young Charolais bull around on his shoulders. The pages are full of entertaining homespun wisdom and Yiddish whimsy. They recreate a lost world of rural truths, simplicity and quirkiness. When one of grandfather Mirkin's trees dies it is pronounced 'fatally infected with the moth of Doubt'. Yet there are also hardships and tragedies. Every house has its dead, whether from bullets or malaria. When his strength fails, Mirkin is relegated to an old people's home where he and his friends cause havoc, draining the goldfish pond and diverting its water for irrigation. When he dies, Baruch buries him on his own land and turns the farm into a cemetery where he becomes rich 'tending a herd of 100 corpses'. Gradually Baruch buries all the old pioneers, reflecting on a lost way of life and esoteric understandings. The village becomes a museum, attracting tourists. Shalev brilliantly illustrates the ferocious struggles of the early Israelis, their mythical humour and their unflinching belief in their destiny. It reaffirms his reputation as a major writer, following acclaim for his previous book, Four Meals. (Kirkus UK)

The Blue Mountain is the first novel by one of Israel's most important and acclaimed contemporary writers and as with all his writing is a virtuoso example of Shalev's skill as a storyteller. Published to outstanding reviews all over the world, its publication in Britain re-affirms his reputation as a major international writer. Set in a small rural village prior to the creation of the State of Israel, this funny and hugely imaginative book paints an extraordinary picture of a small community of Ukrainian immigrants as they succeed in pioneering a new life in a new land over three generations. The Blue Mountain transcends its time and place by touching on issues of universal relevance whilst never failing to entertain and engage the reader. As with Four Meals, the writing is lyrical and of exceptional quality and illustrates why Shalev has been steadily winning an ever-increasing number of fans worldwide.

General

Imprint:	Canongate Books Ltd
Country of origin:	United Kingdom
Release date:	April 2002
First published:	July 2010
Authors:	Meir Shalev
Translators:	Hillel Halkin
Dimensions:	198 x 130 x 25mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Paperback - B-format
Pages:	377
Edition:	Main
ISBN-13:	978-1-84195-242-0
Languages:	English
Subtitles:	Hebrew
Categories:	Books > Fiction > General & literary fiction > Modern fiction
LSN:	1-84195-242-7
Barcode:	9781841952420

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