Said to be the most popular novel by prize-winning politically active Israeli author of The Yellow Wind and To the End of the Land. I thought it had a young adult/date movie quality and faded out during the direct discussions of the characters' emotional states. It has a dog in it, and I recommended it highly to my wife and daughter. ( )

Een bijzonder "coming-of-age"-boek! Een bij de gemeente gebrachte hond brengt uiteindelijk Assaf en Tamar bij elkaar, maar langs heel bijzondere wegen: via een Griekse non die bijna haar hele leven al wacht op bezoek van het eiland waar ze geboren is, de eigenaresse van een restaurant, een straatdievenbende, verslaafden, enzovoorts. Een boek met vaart!

Gemengd gevoel bij dit boek. Aan de ene kant is de lange zoektocht van de eigenzinnige jongen Assaf naar het meisje Tamar, en de al even eigenzinnige missie van die Tamar om haar broer te redden uit de klauwen van een maffiabende een interessant gegeven. Grossman weet de spanning geleidelijk op te bouwen en goed vol te houden, en af en toe ga je op het puntje van je stoel zitten. Enkele personages charmeren echt, zoals de Griekse non Theodora, het zangtalent van Tamar die vervoering opwekt, en de trouwe hond Dina die zowat alle personages met elkaar verbindt. Maar tegelijk vond ik het personage van broer Sasj nogal oppervlakkig, de chemie tussen Tamar en Assaf wat te melodramatisch, en de finale ontknoping ronduit gezocht. Het hele verhaal is ook net iets te breed uitgesponnen, met af en toe nevenverhalen die niet absoluut noodzakelijk zijn (zoals de afstandelijke relatie van Assaf met zijn ouders). Wat me wel raakte was de brutaliteit die Grossman in beeld brengt bij het optreden van de maffiabende. Het is alsof hij hier uitdrukkelijk wijst op de keerzijde van de schijnbaar goed geordende Israëlische maatschappij. Dus zeker geen slecht boek, maar ook niet Grossman’s beste. ( )

It is very rare for me to recommend books that I can read in my original language and also recommend here (because these books have translated into English). The truth is that it is unfortunate that Hebrew books rarely translated into English. The variety of Hebrew works is impressive, and the perspective of writers from such different cultures gathered in one small place may be of interest to readers who are not familiar with this mixed culture but only in what heard on the news, Yet, I'm not interested in politics, just good books that present a well-written story.
And like so few books that had translated into English, Such is "someone to run with" a book by David Grossman.

But then again, after I finish reading, I always find the excuse why not write a review. Perhaps I am afraid that others will not like it or that in any way this will spill over into a cultural or political debate.
Or maybe I'm afraid you will not listen to what the book has to say, or my opinion of it. And now you will probably tell yourself "Gee, she is full of nonsense," but the truth is that there are very few people who know how to listen. Not just to hear, but to attend with the absolute concentration to understand the other side. In focus and without even asking questions or expressing any other interest in the conversation. These special people rarely sit in front of you, looking deep into your eyes, and suddenly the words pour out of you, because you know they're there for you alone. And you tell them things, even things that you didn't plan to say. Also when the conversation becomes one's monologue - yours, these rare listeners do not let you feel that something is wrong.
On the contrary - they will continue to listen. At the end of a conversation with such a person, you feel incredibly grateful and relieved.
Such is Assaf, one of the two heroes of Grossman's book.
Assaf is not a very pretty boy; he lives on the margins of the social society in the city of Jerusalem. But Assaf has a special talent; he listens like no one else knows. During the plot of the book, Assaf encounters completely strangers who within minutes tell him about their lives. With an infinite tenderness that he is not even aware of, Assaf steers the conversation, asks questions, but gives the speaker the lead.

The book deals with youth who are in a period of change, and it also deals with Assaf and Tamar as youth symbolizes. And there is also Dinka, their dog. Dinka found abandoned. One day Assaf is asked to locate the owner of the dog. Assaf takes Dinka and trusts that somehow it will find her way to it's owners. At the same time, Tamar is planning a rescue operation, and a short time before, she is losing her dog. Asaf's search journey leads him to Tamar, whose details are revealed in the book as the plot progresses. Tamar is a complex and challenging girl, and I found in many of her ideas an echo of my thoughts, my deepest secrets, and fears. Anyway, I'd rather leave the rest of the story shrouded in fog and avoided unnecessary spoilers. Other than that I say only that the book draws the reader from the first page and does not let go. On the face of it, this is a thriller, yet it is a book about young people undergoing crises and nothing discourages them. This book is about young people who dare to do things that as adults they wouldn't have thoughts of doing.

This book has some parallel lines, including the main heroes, as well as the familiar, visible world, which is present in contrast to the shadow world of street living.

The heroes in this story are unique human, just like in all of Grossman's works They can exist everywhere in the real world.

In conclusion, this book is wonderful in its little things. This is not just the plot but mainly it's characters. This is a wonderful reading of a wonderful book. ( )

Beautiful writing, fascinating characters, fast paced and thrilling. This book was a different read for me, in some ways too real -an unlikely runway girl living on the streets- hard to read for a mother of daughters- in other ways magical realism and major coincidences abound...you just have to go with it, let the story unfold, meet the characters, learn their stories and follow their journeys. Very rewarding read! ( )