Book cover of Elsewhere, Perhaps

Book description

"A generous imagination at work. [Oz’s] language, for all of its sensuous imagery, has a careful and wise simplicity." —New York Times Book Review

Situated only two miles from a hostile border, Amos Oz’s fictional community of Metsudat Ram is a microcosm of the Israeli frontier kibbutz. There, held together…

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Why read it?

1 author picked Elsewhere, Perhaps as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Asking me to pick my favorite Amos Oz book is like asking me to pick my favorite child: they are all uniquely wonderful. Still, this book best captures the gossipy joys and frustrations of life on a frontier kibbutz.

At age 15, Oz left his home in Jerusalem to become a member of a socialist commune in the countryside and later described his life there as the “ultimate university of human nature.” I love how his wry early novel transforms one imaginary kibbutz into a microcosmic mirror in which we can all see our own petty vanities. 

From David's list on Israel’s utopian kibbutz movement.

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