Digital Think Tank

Amos Oz: A Tale of Love and Darkness

This is a rather epic novel about a young boy’s life in Israel in the 1940s. The author takes us on a vivid and colorful journey through the events of that time in history, describing his own confusion and uncertainty, as well as the views of the adults that surround him. We are presented with an eccentric cast of characters that live their own lives, with their own joys, sorrows and unforeseen turns. The title does the book justice, as it is told as a tale, without any particular climax or a plot curve; Oz keeps our attention by using a very rich and descriptive language.

I read this book in Norwegian and absolutely loved it. It is a brilliant translation, and the language flows so well, that it is worth reading just to experience the author’s eloquence. This book definitely deserves to be read several times, and the next time I’ll probably read it in English. This book is beautifully written and I highly recommend it.

Norwegian translation: En fortelling om kjærlighet og mørke