I'm really happy to have found this book and read Amos Oz again. I first read him in college with the short story "Nomad and Viper" and feel in love with his writing. A few years pass, I almost forgot about hi and the story. When he died last month I was reminded of his name again and how much I like the story. Took me awhile to find the short story's name and which book it was featured.

I loved this book and the stories. It wasn't just the one short story I liked, but all of them. They were all written well. Every word and sentence is important. For me, this book isn't something you just read for entertainment or enjoyment. I would argue that Amos Oz is one of the most important writers of his time, but not many people have read him.

Before picking up this book or anything by Amos Oz, it's important to know a little bit about his life. He was born and died in Israel. His homeland plays a big part in his writing. The politics that comes from Israel is just as imported in his stories as well. Israel is a country of beauty and conflict. Reading Oz, you'll probably learn about his country and the Israel-Palestine conflict. There are a few times I had to Google search some terms and Oz interviews. I should state before reading this book all I knew about Israel was from the Bible and current news articles that didn't do a good job explaining the land to me, both feel a little bias rather than from someone who is actually from Israel.

I would say that this book is a good book to start with for Oz. It's not terribly difficult nor is it that long. Each story should take you a day to read and there are only eight stories in all. There is a good sample of different types of stories too. They are all literary fiction though. I love the title. I liked that title, but for the book over all, jackals are mention in almost all the stories.

I feel like the world lost a great writer last month. I was kind of shocked I didn't see his passing in much of the news, over here in America. I do feel like he is an important and underrated writer. Maybe he'll get more attention in the years to come.

My one and only complaint for this book is there should have been a few more footnotes. There was one with a title, but the book should of had a few more for some terms. Other than that, this is one book I can't really find flaws with. ( )

26. Where the Jackals Howl and Other Stories by Amos Oz
published: 1965 in Hebrew
translation: 1973, 1976 & 1981 By [[Nicholas De Lange]] & [[Philip Simpson]]
format: 230-page Mariner Books paperback published 2012
acquired: May 2020 read: May 26-29 time reading: 8:15, 2.2 mpp
rating: 4
genre/style: Israeli short stories theme: TBR
locations: mostly a Kibbutz in Israel, ~1960. Also Jerusalem and a Biblical-era desert.
about the author: 1939-2018, Israeli author born in Jerusalem

This is Amos Oz‘s first book, a strong but mildly difficult collection of short stories mostly on Israeli Kibbutz life. Oz left his home to live permanently on Kibbutz at age 15 (~1954). So he writes from an experienced perspective on years where the Kibbutz was made up of European refugees, the founding philosophers, and their non-refugee children. The stories are a bit brutal, exploring these stoic idealist leader-philosophers working against the raw elements on these new farms; and exploring what this hard life does to people.

This is my fourth book by Oz, and I purchased this one because I wanted to read his first book. The other three, [My Michael], [Black Box], and his memoir, [A Tale of Love and Darkness], were terrific. This was good writing, interesting, but not really fun reading. So only recommended to the really curious.

2022
https://www.librarything.com/topic/341027#7851100 ( )