Well performed

Lisa Flanagan is quite natural in this introspective novel told by Hannah, a housewife in Jerusalem in the 1950s. She is not an entirely sympathetic protagonist, in fact she may suffer clinical depression, or more persuasively to me, bipolar disorder due to her extremes of moods. She is married to Michael who is moving toward his PhD in geology throughout the ten years of the span of the novel. They are not very compatible. They argue frequently. She is impatient with being a mother. Her manic sprees cut into their finances and prevent them from moving to a better apartment and area. Flanagan has a sensitive ear. Her voice captures Hannah’s character, makes her authentic. She gives Hannah’s narrative the hues and tones and intonations. Oz’s writing is masterful. As I read I was in awe at how he wove Hannah’s story, developed her character as well as Michael, her foil. I admired how measured he was in keeping Hannah under control—not making her too ill, or too mean, or too egoistic, even though that was evident but with some other writer could have jumped the rails. I read this book while listening to this Audible recording. Lisa Flanagan’s performance added layers of dimensions that made the reading much more appreciable. It is her voice, her delivery, her acting, that creates the world that we can see, hear, breathe, touch.

2 persone l'hanno trovata utile

What a wonderful novel

Oz is a special writer, like James able to make a rich telling with but a few voices. His protagonist, a woman whose surreal dreams and fantasies interweave with her quotidian life, is a great invention, never trite. The times are vividly revealed

Return to Jerusalem of old

The book takes us back to Jerusalem of the 1960s, with authentic and exciting descriptions.