Sami Michael
Autor/a de A Trumpet in the Wadi
Sobre l'autor
Born in Baghdad, Sami Michael was active in the leftist underground in Iraq. In 1948, he fled to Iran where he continued his fight against the Iraqi regime. He later emigrated to Israel, where he is a graduate of the departments of Psychology and Arabic at Haifa University. "Refuge" is the first of mostra'n més his novels to be translated into English. (Bowker Author Biography) mostra'n menys
Obres de Sami Michael
Aida 12 exemplars
חסות 4 exemplars
חצוצרה בואדי 1 exemplars
אהבה בין הדקלים 1 exemplars
אלה שבטי ישראל : שתים עשרה שיחות על השאלה העדתית 1 exemplars
שווים ושווים יותר 1 exemplars
Um Trompete no Uádi 1 exemplars
Pigeons at Trafalgar Square 1 exemplars
Ḥasut 1 exemplars
Sufah ben ha-dek Đalim 1 exemplars
Rifugio 1 exemplars
Storm in the Palm Trees 1 exemplars
חופן של ערפל 1 exemplars
Obres associades
Etiquetat
Coneixement comú
- Nom oficial
- סמי מיכאל
- Altres noms
- Sami Michael
سامي ميخائيل - Data de naixement
- 1926
- Gènere
- male
- Nacionalitat
- Israel
- Llocs de residència
- Baghdad, Iraq (birth)
Iran
Jaffa, Israel
Haifa, Israel - Educació
- University of Haifa (Psychology, Arabic literature)
- Professions
- water surveyor
novelist - Organitzacions
- The Association for Civil Rights in Israel (president)
Communist underground (Iraq) - Premis i honors
- WIZO Prize (Paris)
ACUM Prize
Brenner Prize
Ze`ev Prize (children`s literature)
Israeli Literature Prize
President`s Prize (mostra-les totes 12)
Prime Minister's Prize for Hebrew Writers (1982)
International Board on Books for Young People citation (Berlin, 1992)
Honorary Doctorate (Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 1995)
Honorary Doctorate (Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, 2000)
Honorary Doctorate (Tel Aviv University, 2002)
Emet Prize (Israel, 2007)
Membres
Ressenyes
Llistes
Premis
Potser també t'agrada
Autors associats
Estadístiques
- Obres
- 25
- També de
- 1
- Membres
- 187
- Popularitat
- #116,277
- Valoració
- 3.3
- Ressenyes
- 7
- ISBN
- 28
- Llengües
- 7
- Preferit
- 1
This is the second novel I can recall reading that's set primarily in Israel, and in both instances I found the novels nearly impenetrable. There are interesting insights and beautiful images, but the influence of the culture is just so foreign to me, I can't really comprehend the characters' actions and motivations. I can't figure out why sometimes they remain silent and other times they lash out. I can't understand the concept of covering for one's actions for the sake of propriety or tradition. I can't even picture the landscape.
Some of this bafflement is represented in the character of Alex, a Jewish immigrant from the Soviet Union, but while his confusion might make me feel a little more at home in my own confusion, his perspective doesn't help me to understand because the perspective of someone from the Soviet Union is nearly as foreign to me as the perspective of Arab Christians in Israel.
The main feeling I take away from this novel is of being an outsider. Not only am I an outsider reading it, but essentially all of the characters are outsiders, too. They've all had to try and piece together through trial and error who they are and how to act in different situations. I suspect I do this to one degree or another within my own culture in the United States---where I, incidentally, often feel like an outsider even though I was born here---but I think the paradigm here of equality makes it difficult for me to conceptualize the strict religious, ethnic, and class boundaries in the Haifa of Michael's novel.
Reading about these characters I think, why don't they just move somewhere else? They don't have to stay in Israel, do they? But Alex, the immigrant, even addresses this issue. He's essentially stateless, and anywhere he goes he'll be foreign, will struggle to speak the language, to understand and be understood. His best bet, it seems, is to stick with one thing and make the most out of that situation.
Which is really kind of depressing.
I like to think that we're all humans and as such, we're more alike than we are different, but do I really have strong evidence to back up this belief?… (més)