A Pigeon and a Boy

Zusatztext "Shalev creates a world that has the richness of invention and the obsessiveness of dreams." — The New York Times Book Review "Shalev has deftly layered Yair's story in such a manner that a refreshingly nuanced picture of Israel emerges." — The Miami Herald "Vivid characters and sharp dialogue... By working stories in the past and present against each other, Shalev brings into questions the validity, and the reliability, of memory." — The New York Times Book Review "In homing pigeons, Shalev has found a motif that is replete with symbolism and scriptural allusion that he uses expertly, with maximum layered effect." — Ottawa Citizen "Brilliant... Universal in its scope and examination of human longing for a sense of roosting." — The Jerusalem Post "An exquisite creation, a work of quiet language tat needs no shouting to attain its impact." — Chicago Jewish Star "Stunning... This gem of a story about the power of love, which won Israel's Brenner Prize, brims with luminous originality." — Publishers Weekly (starred review) Informationen zum Autor Meir Shalev Klappentext A mesmerizing novel of two love stories, separated by half a century but connected by one enchanting act of devotion-from the internationally acclaimed Israeli writer Meir Shalev. During the 1948 War of Independence-a time when pigeons are still used to deliver battlefield messages-a gifted young pigeon handler is mortally wounded. In the moments before his death, he dispatches one last pigeon. The bird is carrying his extraordinary gift to the girl he has loved since adolescence. Intertwined with this story is the contemporary tale of Yair Mendelsohn, who has his own legacy from the 1948 war. Yair is a tour guide specializing in bird-watching trips who, in middle age, falls in love again with a childhood girlfriend. His growing passion for her, along with a gift from his mother on her deathbed, becomes the key to a life he thought no longer possible. Unforgettable in both its particulars and its sweep, A Pigeon and A Boy is a tale of lovers then and now-of how deeply we love, of what home is, and why we, like pigeons trained to fly in one direction only, must eventually return to it. In a voice that is at once playful, wise, and altogether beguiling, Meir Shalev tells a story as universal as war and as intimate as a winged declaration of love. Leseprobe Chapter One 1 And suddenly," said the elderly American man in the white shirt, "suddenly, a pigeon flew overhead, above that hell." Everyone fell silent. His unexpected Hebrew and the pigeon that had alighted from his mouth surprised all present, even those who could not understand what he was saying. "A pigeon? What pigeon?" The man—stout and suntanned as only Americans can be, with moccasins on his feet and a mane of white hair on his head—pointed to the turret of the monastery. Many years had passed, but there were a few things he still remembered about the terrible battle that had taken place here. "And forgetting them," he declared, "is something I'll never be able to do." Not only the fatigue and the horror, not only the victory—"A victory that took both sides by surprise," he noted—but also the minor details, the ones whose importance becomes apparent only later: for one, the stray bullets--or perhaps they were intentional—that struck the bell of the monastery on occasion—"Right here, this very bell"—and then the bell would ring sharply, an odd sound that sank, then abated, but continued to resound in the darkness for a long while. "And the pigeon?" "A strange sound. Sharp at first, and high-pitched, like even the bell was surprised; then it got weaker, in pain but not dead, until the next shot hit it. One of our wounded guys said, 'Bells are used to getting hit f...

Dettagli sul prodotto

• Autori: Meir Shalev
• Editore: Schocken Books
• Lingue: Inglese
• Formato: Tascabile
• Pubblicazione: 06.01.2009
• EAN: 9780805212143
• ISBN: 978-0-8052-1214-3
• Pagine: 320
• Dimensioni: 133 mm x 205 mm x 25 mm
• Categoria: Narrativa > Romanzi