Elsewhere, Perhaps
New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc., 1973. Second printing. Hardcover. Large octavo. VIII, 309, [1]pp. Original illustrated dust-jacket over half tan cloth, with gold and black lettering on spine. Illustrated title. Situated only two miles from a hostile border, Amos Oz’s fictional community of Metsudat Ram is a microcosm of the Israeli frontier kibbutz. There, held together by necessity and menace, the kibbutzniks share love and sorrow under the guns of their enemies and the eyes of history. The people of kibbutz Metsudat Ram are not heroes. There is adultery. There is infidelity. There is gossip and pettiness. But the socialism of the kibbutz is humanist; it takes measure of human shortcomings and frailness and works with them for the greater good. This is not the grand heroism of Soviet socialism, trying to pour people into molds where they do not fit, often at the point of death and imprisonment. The kibbutz here is like a large family, and belonging to it brings all the benefits and pitfalls of family life. Only the outsider, Siegfried, who comes into the kibbutz and tries to solve its problems by non-kibbutz methods, is painted in unappealing, even anti-Semitic colors. Oz's point is clear: the kibbutz can clean up its own messes. Only kibbutz solutions can solve kibbutz problems. Minor shelf wear. Previous owner's Ex-libris on front free endpaper. Dust-jacket, binding and interior in overall very good condition. vg. Item #39100
ISBN: 0151837465
Price: $45.00