Israel in the sixties on the eve of the Six-Day War. The bitter winter rains flood Kibbutz Granot. And melancholy comes to the hearts of the experienced pioneers who raised the lost lands, makes the young dream of a different life.

Ionathan Lifshitz cannot live in his native kibbutz. He is burdened by the demanding love of his parents, and the forgiving detachment of his wife, and the winter rains, from which the sky and soul are gloomy. Like a migratory bird, the distant distances beckon to Jonathan. After all, there, far away, there are great mountains, and large cities stand along the banks of rivers. They are waiting for him there, and if he does not hurry, he will be late and will never make it again.

I would say that everyone who is interested in the modern novel should read Amos Oz. His prose is full of power and energy... His female characters are drawn with extraordinary depth, accuracy and tenderness; they are certainly among the most subtle incarnations of women in modern fiction. But this is not the only characteristic of Oz’s work. Amos Oz continues a tradition that can be seen, hidden or overt, in all the great works of Western literature. This is a tradition, so to speak, of arguing with God. Of course, there can be no winner in such a debate, but every significant book is another attempt. Again and again we ask not only what is happening, but also how a civilization that claims to have some kind of moral foundation can allow it to happen...Arthur Miller

If I had to in one word to express everything I write about, I would choose the word “family.” If there are two - “unhappy families”. Anyone for whom this is not enough, let him read my books. Amos Oz

Oz's strangest, boldest and richest novel. Washington Post Book Word