From the author of the acclaimed novel A Pigeon and a Boy comes a charming tale of family ties, over-the-top housekeeping, and the sport of storytelling in Nahalal, the village of Meir Shalevâ??s birth. Here we meet Shalevâ??s amazing Grandma Tonia, who arrived in Palestine by boat from Russia in 1923 and lived in a constant state of battle with what she viewed as the familyâ??s biggest enemy in their new land: dirt.
Grandma Tonia was never seen without a cleaning rag over her shoulder. She received visitors outdoors. She allowed only the most privileged guests to enter her spotless house. Hilarious and touching, Grandma Tonia and her regulations come richly to life in a narrative that circles around the arrival into the familyâ??s dusty agricultural midst of the big, shiny American sweeper sent as a gift by Great-uncle Yeshayahu (he who had shockingly emigrated to the sinful capitalist heaven of Los Angeles!). America, to little Meir an… (más)
This book was a small book but a great read. I found it in my LFL and I even had it on my to read and never expected to find it nor read it.
It wasn't just about Grandma Tonia's vacuum cleaner from America sent all the way to Israel but her family, her obsession with dirt, dust etc.
The author did a wonderful job of describing his family's life and his grandmother's too. I laughed at the way the stories were "changed" from family member in their recollections and Tonia's way with words in her Russian accent and English version. ( )
The writer is good with words and is witty. However, I "assume" the story is supposed to be cute and nostalgic. I found it sad. A grandmother is so consumed by cleanliness that her family has to eat on the porch instead of the dining room, so they don't dirty it. There are rooms in the house, such as the library and the bathroom, they are not permitted to enter. On the door knob of each door is a rag, in case somebody needs to enter, they need to clean the door knob when they leave the room. Her daughter can not get married in the backyard because her mother is afraid family will dirty the house. I'd say the grandmother has a mental illness; and that is not cute. I did get to see snippets of life in a kibbutz. 224 pages 3 stars ( )
Información procedente del Conocimiento común alemán.Edita para encontrar en tu idioma.
Für meine Onkel und Tanten
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Información procedente del Conocimiento común alemán.Edita para encontrar en tu idioma.
Die Sache war so: Vor einigen Jahren, an einem heissen Sommertag, erhob ich mich von einem angenehmen Mittagsschlaf, machte mir eine Tasse Kaffee und merkte beim Trinken, dass mich alle komisch anschauten und sich das Lachen verkniffen.
Citas
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Información procedente del Conocimiento común alemán.Edita para encontrar en tu idioma.
Denn das ist wichtig: Der Wahrheit treu bleiben, auch wenn sie einem nicht die Treue hält, sie mit Verstand auswringen, nicht wie ein Mann, sondern wie eine Frau, und sie in Geschichten erzählen und diese gegen das Licht halten und gründlich prüfen, immer wieder, bis sie richtig sind - wirklich klar und sauber.
From the author of the acclaimed novel A Pigeon and a Boy comes a charming tale of family ties, over-the-top housekeeping, and the sport of storytelling in Nahalal, the village of Meir Shalevâ??s birth. Here we meet Shalevâ??s amazing Grandma Tonia, who arrived in Palestine by boat from Russia in 1923 and lived in a constant state of battle with what she viewed as the familyâ??s biggest enemy in their new land: dirt.
Grandma Tonia was never seen without a cleaning rag over her shoulder. She received visitors outdoors. She allowed only the most privileged guests to enter her spotless house. Hilarious and touching, Grandma Tonia and her regulations come richly to life in a narrative that circles around the arrival into the familyâ??s dusty agricultural midst of the big, shiny American sweeper sent as a gift by Great-uncle Yeshayahu (he who had shockingly emigrated to the sinful capitalist heaven of Los Angeles!). America, to little Meir an
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