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ovenbird_reads's review against another edition
5.0
Around the World: Israel (Translated from Hebrew)
I have never in my life read a book that so viscerally described the experience of grief. This play/poem/fable/myth is focused on the ritualized processing of grief after losing a child and it is beyond raw. It is about desperately trying to find words for an experience that defies speech and somehow, slowly, desperately, succeeding. While this is a book about losing a child I think it is retains its power when applied to other experiences of extraordinary loss. An unbelievably powerful elegy. I'll be looking up more work by Grossman. Prepare to be dragged to some very dark, painful places if you choose to read this, but know that it will be worth it.
I have never in my life read a book that so viscerally described the experience of grief. This play/poem/fable/myth is focused on the ritualized processing of grief after losing a child and it is beyond raw. It is about desperately trying to find words for an experience that defies speech and somehow, slowly, desperately, succeeding. While this is a book about losing a child I think it is retains its power when applied to other experiences of extraordinary loss. An unbelievably powerful elegy. I'll be looking up more work by Grossman. Prepare to be dragged to some very dark, painful places if you choose to read this, but know that it will be worth it.
katejohnson_'s review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
ja3m3's review against another edition
5.0
In less than 193 pages [b:Falling Out of Time|19766643|Falling Out of Time|David Grossman|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1387734785s/19766643.jpg|21655329] has reduced me to one tear drop that I think may drown the world. The raw despair expressed by the unnamed characters in Grossman’s ode to lose and grief is woven and exposed in this gut-wrenching novella about losing a child and how we have no words to express that pain. It is the emotion that is unnamed and feared above all others.
Written as part play/ part poem Grossman shows us that death not only ends one life - it transforms the living and leaves them stripped and unrecognizable unless they can embrace the death and lose and find solace on the other side. A truly amazing book/poem/play.
Written as part play/ part poem Grossman shows us that death not only ends one life - it transforms the living and leaves them stripped and unrecognizable unless they can embrace the death and lose and find solace on the other side. A truly amazing book/poem/play.
pattydsf's review against another edition
4.0
“The passing time is painful. I have lost the art of moving simply, naturally, within it. I am swept back against its flow. Angry, vindictive, it pierces me all the time, all the time with its spikes.”
Long before I planned a second trip to Israel, I knew that I was interested in David Grossman’s books. He is considered one of Israeli’s top authors and he is very involved in the peace movement in Israel/Palestine. I had picked up To the End of the Land several times, but never got very far.
I decided that I might find this story more accessible, mainly because it is short. I was so wrong. First of all, the tale is told in verse, or maybe as a play. It is a hybrid and I found that confusing. Secondly, this novel is dealing with death and grief. Nothing would have made this an easy read.
However, I was alone, up in the air, willing to surrender to the book. I could have quit, but I decided to just give in to what Grossman was saying. There is something about being isolated on the airplane that helped me just read and absorb.
I have not lost a child to death. I had a miscarriage almost 35 years ago, but the baby did not seem entirely real. Grossman’s son died in 2004 in a military action in the Second Lebanon War. To lose a son, someone you have known for about twenty years – I can’t even imagine the pain.
In an interview in the New Yorker (https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2010/09/27/the-unconsoled), Grossman says, “It’s such a major part of my life now, grief. It’s hard to say the word. Separation from Uri, learning to accept what happened—I have to confront it. It’s even my responsibility as a father to him. I cannot run away.”
Grossman is a powerful writer. He is willing to open his life and share it with the world. Although it was a difficult read, I have a better understanding of how some people deal with death and grief. I am grateful to Grossman.
Long before I planned a second trip to Israel, I knew that I was interested in David Grossman’s books. He is considered one of Israeli’s top authors and he is very involved in the peace movement in Israel/Palestine. I had picked up To the End of the Land several times, but never got very far.
I decided that I might find this story more accessible, mainly because it is short. I was so wrong. First of all, the tale is told in verse, or maybe as a play. It is a hybrid and I found that confusing. Secondly, this novel is dealing with death and grief. Nothing would have made this an easy read.
However, I was alone, up in the air, willing to surrender to the book. I could have quit, but I decided to just give in to what Grossman was saying. There is something about being isolated on the airplane that helped me just read and absorb.
I have not lost a child to death. I had a miscarriage almost 35 years ago, but the baby did not seem entirely real. Grossman’s son died in 2004 in a military action in the Second Lebanon War. To lose a son, someone you have known for about twenty years – I can’t even imagine the pain.
In an interview in the New Yorker (https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2010/09/27/the-unconsoled), Grossman says, “It’s such a major part of my life now, grief. It’s hard to say the word. Separation from Uri, learning to accept what happened—I have to confront it. It’s even my responsibility as a father to him. I cannot run away.”
Grossman is a powerful writer. He is willing to open his life and share it with the world. Although it was a difficult read, I have a better understanding of how some people deal with death and grief. I am grateful to Grossman.
swagginswanigan's review against another edition
2.0
DISCLAIMER* I was not the intended audience for this book. I think a large part of my low rating was that I was pretty confused the whole time, and I also didn’t understand the plot or even if there was one. I know that could have been just my inability to understand. I feel for all these parents but I do not relate, having never lost a child myself, and therefore could hardly relate. For me I had to push through the book, but it could be beneficial for a parent going through the mourning process.
sam_jordan's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0