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21st out of 86 books
—
56 voters
Ten Thousand Lovers (Tel Aviv Trilogy #1)
by
Edeet Ravel
Israel, 1970s. Lily, a young emigrant student exploring the wonders and terrors of her new land, finds the man of her dreams -- Ami, a former actor. Handsome, intelligent, and exciting, but like his beautiful, disintegrating country, Ami has a terrible flaw -- he is an army interrogator. As Ami and Lily's unexpected passion grows, so too does the shadow that hangs over the...more
Paperback, 384 pages
Published
by Headline
(first published September 1st 2003)
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I just finished the book last night. Reading it, I kept thinking—as I'm sure the author intended—about the debate and horror in the US at torture and abuse at Abu Gharib, at rendition, a "torture memos" and all that stuff.
It's a well put together book and the suspense works. There are two time periods—a present where the main character, Lily, a Canadian who was actually born on an Israeli kibbutz, is living in London. Her daughter is grown and visits with her boyfriend. The reader soon learns th...more
It's a well put together book and the suspense works. There are two time periods—a present where the main character, Lily, a Canadian who was actually born on an Israeli kibbutz, is living in London. Her daughter is grown and visits with her boyfriend. The reader soon learns th...more
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This was a random buy the other week; the author's new book caught my eye and since it was the third book in a sort-of trilogy, I picked up the first one, this one, and was interested enough to take it home with me. For some reason, it was just begging to be read, so it didn't have to wait the usual waiting period of books I take home (which is anywhere between five months and five years). However, now that it's time to write the review, I find myself stuck. Every time I try to summarise it, it...more
Ten Thousand Lovers is yet an other of the books, which I got interested in while in Canada. The cover as well as the title immediatly attracted me. And ten Thousand Lovers turned out to be a very intersting book too. It is set in Israel (of the 70s), which is a place completely new to me. ('Course I knew it existed, but I had never read a book about Israel.) The book is basically a love story between Ami, an army interrogater (person who tortures prisoners to make them tell importatnt infomatio...more
A beautifully written love story set in 1970's Israel. Lily and Ami wrestle with their love, the tragedies of the time, Ami's job as an army interrogator, the possibility of war and their future life together. Wonderful novel!!
From back cover:
"Lily is a young emigrant student exploring the wonders and terrors of her new land when she meets the man of her dreams. Ami, a former actor, is handsome, intelligent and exciting-but, like his beautiful, disintegrating country, he has a terrible flaw-he i...more
From back cover:
"Lily is a young emigrant student exploring the wonders and terrors of her new land when she meets the man of her dreams. Ami, a former actor, is handsome, intelligent and exciting-but, like his beautiful, disintegrating country, he has a terrible flaw-he i...more
This is probably my current all-time favorite fiction book. I absolutely loved the story, the characters, the writing. When I picked up this book, I was expecting a typical love story ... but by the third chapter, I realized "Ten Thousand Lovers" is so much more than that. It's a story about community, about patriotism (or lack of it), about war, about peace, about making mistakes, about forgiving one another. And, yes, it's also a story about two people who fall in love despite the chaos and tu...more
The author's structure and style kept her voice at the forefront of the novel instead of allowing her fictional self and other characters to move us along through the tale. Using devices to accomplish what is intended is, of course, what authors do. However, if you see the strings at the marionette show when you aren't supposed to, it takes something away from the beautiful illusion. Ravel showed herself behind the curtain too often to ignore the fact that in reading this novel, I was never full...more
Edeet Ravel has written a wonderful book that goes deep into the Israeli-Palestinian issues from the perspective of her 1st person protagonist. It is a love story, a political journey, and a psychological thriller. It is a gripping story and is intellectually rewarding. Edeet who is Jewish and was born on a kibutz, doesn't cheat the subject, and challenges the Zionist group-think. Her first publish novel, and it delivers. Ten Thousand Lovers is the first of her Tel-Aviv trilogy.
An interesting writing style. Part story and part dictionary, history text which I found distracting and quite boring.
I found the book a bit difficult to read and somewhat disjointed due to the history, dictionary addendums at the end of each chapter. The writing style is almost simplistic and doesn't do justice to the story of Lily and Ami. The book could have been quite good but I found it disappointing.
I found the book a bit difficult to read and somewhat disjointed due to the history, dictionary addendums at the end of each chapter. The writing style is almost simplistic and doesn't do justice to the story of Lily and Ami. The book could have been quite good but I found it disappointing.
I remember reading this book quite a while ago...grade 8 or 9, so roughly 9 or 10 years ago. But it has stuck with me for quite a while. I forgot the title for a long time, and have often tried to remember what it was called. And today, it just came to me.
i don't remember much about this book, but I remember how sad and desperate it made me feel. And I think that is the sign of a good book...that the feelings it inspired in you are still there, 10 years later.
i don't remember much about this book, but I remember how sad and desperate it made me feel. And I think that is the sign of a good book...that the feelings it inspired in you are still there, 10 years later.
I loved this book. The tensions between Jews and Arabs were palatable. The love story seemed real in the context. The politics were my own (which can sometimes make a book more likable). I particularly liked the frequent etymology of Hebrew words, often going back centuries...it made me want to learn Arabic and Hebrew. The setting in the Israeli-Palestinian ethos was brilliantly done.
I enjoyed everything about this book- the compelling story, the politics, the relationships, the setting and the characters.
The author is clearly very familiar with the Israeli people and their conflicts. I loved the way she interspersed the meanings of Hebrew words and phrases that we English speakers might not know or understand. It added so much to the meaning of the story.
The author is clearly very familiar with the Israeli people and their conflicts. I loved the way she interspersed the meanings of Hebrew words and phrases that we English speakers might not know or understand. It added so much to the meaning of the story.
Don't let the title fool you; this is not a Harlequin, this is not a gentle Sunday afternoon read. Ten Thousand Lovers, the story of Lily and Ami, is really the story of Israel today, a country that is in the difficult position of trying to figure out a way to both be good and to survive. A book that is wonderful on two levels, appealing to both heart and mind.
I am really disappointed with this book. My expectations of this novel were completely off as far as the content and style. I guess I was expecting more of a mystery/social commentary...but instead I found an unrealistic, laughable romance novel sprinkled with a linguistic course of the Hebrew language, which was perhaps the only part I did find interesting about the book.
The relationship between Ami and Lily is a joke...I felt their characters were flat, and found nothing substantial between t...more
The relationship between Ami and Lily is a joke...I felt their characters were flat, and found nothing substantial between t...more
This is a story about a student who fall in love with an Isreali interrogator while studing abroad. This book integrates the study of language and ties it in wondefully in to the story. It's about love, war and the way certain things are manipulated for political purposes. Beautiful story and a quick read. I believe it is Book 1 or 3.
I loved the characters in this book, and their story...but the narrative was broken by references to the history of Israel, and the development of the Hebrew language...this was interesting, in small doses, but there seemed to be too much of it...perhaps that speaks more to my ignorance of the region and its history? I would look for the other novels in this trilogy though
This book is so beautiful. It speaks of new love, familiar love, good love so truthfully. I read it as I was falling in love and saw myself and my love reflected in the pages. I flew through it and think of it fondly. It's certainly not a perfect book, but it is lovely and full of love and I recommend it highly.
Good book, well written, but just misses the oomph factor. I love the Isreali sparse wording and writing style, but romance is not my thing, and mabybe because of that the book didn't have the emotional involvement that makes a really good book. I did love learning more about Jerusalem and Tel Aviv (set in 1970s), and the Hebrew and Arabic languages.
An interesting novel that made me realize how little I actually know about the tension in the Gaza Strip. While the interjections about the historical origins of the language were enlightening, they detracted from the storyline. I also didn't like the flash forward bits for the same reason.
Set in Israel in the seventies, Ten Thousand Lovers is both a stunning love story and a good way to be introduced to the conflict there if you, like me, have a hard time getting a handle on what is going on. The male protagonist is a tolerant Israeli man and friend to the oppressed Palestinians. His job, however, is that of an "interrogator," which is a euphemism for torturer. The story is told from a young woman's standpoint as she struggles to understand his emotional and political position in...more
I picked this book up on a whim from the library and was sorely disappointed with it. Girl falls for an Israeli Army interrogator within several hours. The book takes a lot detours from the story mostly to explain Hebrew terminology that doesn't seem to fit into the story.
NIcely written novel. I liked the winding thread of Hebrew language analysis and the characters were convincing and pulled me back to the book. Evidently, the author's choice of title was 'The Things We Do' which is a much better than the one made by the publisher.
A love story set in the early days of a turbulent Middle East, the book provides a backdrop of history on current issues without being remotely political or biased. Well-crafted, thoroughly enjoyeable.
Although it can be difficult to choose a "favourite" book, this may very well be it. The first in a trilogy about life, love and loss in Israel, this book is a masterpiece of human emotion and tragedy. The characters are so involving and real that you wish they would stay with you long after the final pages. This is a love story, in the true sense of the word, but also incorporates linguistic elements and political history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the 1970s. A friend of mine read i...more
1 like · like · see review
Dec 19, 2009
Danielle
rated it
2 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Nobody
Recommended to Danielle by:
Book club
I was hoping for a big love story that would suck me in and this definitley fell flat. The love story was week, I didn't really enjoy the language chapters, and I definitely didn't like the ending.
L'histoire est extra, cela se passe en palestine. Une histoire d'amour qui a de nombreuses complications.
J'ai une seule chose a reproche ce livre. Apres chaque chapitre, l'auteur explique la definition du mot hebreux, et je trouve que l'on est coupe dans l'histoire et que nous sommes en train de lire une page de dictionnaire
J'ai une seule chose a reproche ce livre. Apres chaque chapitre, l'auteur explique la definition du mot hebreux, et je trouve que l'on est coupe dans l'histoire et que nous sommes en train de lire une page de dictionnaire
One of my favorite books of all time. The love story is complicated and real amongst a backdrop of equal challenges. The writing itself is poetic and dream-like.
This book is sprinkled with details about Hebrew/Arabic etymology, which was honestly my favorite part. There's a nice enough love story, and some discussion of Israeli culture that I found interesting. But the characters never really came alive for me--conversations didn't sound natural enough, and all of the sparse dialogue didn't give me enough description of what characters were actually doing. There was some discussion of the Israeli/Palenstinian conflict, but I didn't feel like it was on a...more
This book is an incredibly poignant look at the Arab-Israeli conflict through the romantic relationship between Lily, a student, and Ami, an Israeli Army interrogator. The story is told from Lily's point of view as an adult in London and as the young student in 1974 Israel. Ravel captures a time when Palestinians and Israelis were friends and how things spiraled out of control. She shows us how friends and lovers became divided and victimized.
This book taught me a lot about the true tragedy of...more
This book taught me a lot about the true tragedy of...more
This is a really interesting book. I learned a lot about what it is really feels like to live in Israel, with the tensions between the Arabs and Jews. I did think that the main character, Lily seemed distant and I found it hard to care about what happened to her. However, it would have been difficult to write her as a warm, engaging character, because she was supposed to be a bit disconnected and thoughtless since her parents never really cared about her.
Also,I enjoyed Ravel's descriptions of t...more
Also,I enjoyed Ravel's descriptions of t...more
This book was one of those books that deals with cross cultural love. I loved it and could not put it down. I did not know much about Israel and Palestine, unless it was about who was bombing who. I think that this book defintely added to my knowledge of this region. I also believe that the author intended her readers to know the more human aspects of people living in such a strong conflict zone. I also think that many artists from this region of the world intended readers to see that a lot of p...more
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I spent my first seven years on Sasa, an Israeli kibbutz, and the next ten in Montreal. I returned to Jerusalem in 1973 to study at Hebrew University. I wrote continually as I accumulated degrees (a BA and MA in English, followed by an MA in Creative Writing and a PhD in Biblical Exegesis at McGill) and then taught, but I did not send out my work until I was in my forties; I had completed ten or s...more
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“People aren't good or bad. They just do good or bad things. Your only hope is to know which is which.”
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