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67th out of 326 books
—
132 voters
My Michael
One of Amos Oz's earliest and most famous novels, My Michael created a sensation upon its initial publication in 1968 and established Oz as a writer of international acclaim. Like all great books, it has an enduring power to surprise and mesmerize.
Set in 1950s Jerusalem, My Michael tells the story of a remote and intense woman named Hannah Gonen and her marriage to a decen...more
Set in 1950s Jerusalem, My Michael tells the story of a remote and intense woman named Hannah Gonen and her marriage to a decen...more
Paperback, 253 pages
Published
November 1st 2005
by Mariner Books
(first published 1972)
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I chose My Michael because I wanted to read Amos Oz and it appears this is one of his earliest and most famous novels. In a recent interview he said that if you want to know how's life in a different country, the best way to find this out is by reading a novel from that country. Indeed, My Michael provides this kind of insight into Israel in the 50s. There you are, in the middle of the sunny, rainy, misty or dusty Jerusalem, in Hanna's kitchen, Michael's office or one of the many kibbutzim.
I lik...more
I lik...more
If you read for plot, leave this book on the shelf. Oz here traces the deterioration of a marriage between two people with opposing temperaments. The woman narrator, Hannah, is a romantic, who once studied literature, remains lost in a world of dreams, and longs for excitement. Her husband, Michael, is a geologist who speaks little and only with scientific care and precision. Nothing terribly dramatic happens, except on a purely psychological level. Hannah is bored, and finds her husband's truth...more
E penso anche alle cose delicate che si nascondono nel profondo del mio corpo. Cose delicate che appartengono soltanto a me: il mio cuore, i miei nervi, il mio ventre... Cose profondamente mie, che però non potrò mai né toccare né vedere, come tutto è distante e irraggiungibile su questa terra.
Micheal mio è la storia di un amore che subisce l'usura del tempo, di un matrimonio in fallimento, di una presa di distanza progressiva. E' la cronaca del distacco emotivo di Hannah, da se stessa e da Mich...more
Micheal mio è la storia di un amore che subisce l'usura del tempo, di un matrimonio in fallimento, di una presa di distanza progressiva. E' la cronaca del distacco emotivo di Hannah, da se stessa e da Mich...more
Both Melvyn Bragg and Arthur Miller use variations of the word 'lyrical' to describe this book and I can only concur. Essentially this is a novel of a woman dissatisfied with her lot in life, in particular with the man she has married and the only way in which she can escape this disappointment is through her fantasties. This is a scenario I think all women can understand if not identify with and to an extent is a common theme in literature. Fortunately, the writing in the novel is far from comm...more
This is a very fine book. First, the art of the story telling is nice. The book begins commonly as a romance between two people who are special because they become lovers. As the story goes on, however, the specialness of the couple is challenged by the appearance of side characters (mainly, family members). Eventually, one realizes that the couple are not special people at all. They are ordinary strugglers who had a short special period in their life together.
Next, the book describes in great d...more
Next, the book describes in great d...more
I picked this up because I had to read another book of his for a class last year and really liked it ("In the Land of Israel"); this one doesn't disappoint, either. It's a story about a doomed relationship between two young Israelis: the idealistic Hannah and the prosaic Michael. More broadly, it's about the conflict between the messianic vision of Israel as a land of prophets, and the realistic, pragmatic Israel of the Labor-dominated 1950s. I don't want to give anything away, but basically one...more
Хвърлила бях око на "Моят Михаел" от момента, в който книгата попадна в ръцете ми. Корицата ми е абсолютно любима (спрямо останалите от поредицата), а началните редове месеци наред гъделичкаха любопитството ми. Историята се оказа за живота на Хана, представен под формата на дневник. Много лична и за мен доста потискаща. Надявам се бракът не на всички хора да е такъв. Текстът отново тежко се лее, между реалност и фикция, любов и омраза и т.н.
Всъщност това е първата книга на Амос Оз, излязла на б...more
Всъщност това е първата книга на Амос Оз, излязла на б...more
Jul 29, 2011
Jim Talbott
added it
I found it difficult to love this book. It is very strong, but the exploration of a depressive's mind is so alienating, that it is difficult to not feel alienated reading it. Secondarily, I found myself hung up on the politics of a man's representation of a woman's mental illness. At the same time, the account has a fascinating resonance in the ways that the Israel's internal and external conflicts, gender politics, family life, and in-born disposition affect Hannah's mental state. In general, I...more
Just like the Editor I thought this book should not have been published. The author tries to write as a woman but reading the book it felt more like the story was being told from Michael's point of view. There is no plot, no real psychological depth and no substance to the story. The descriptions of the places and weather are good but really I would not recommend this book as it is just about a couple's deteriorating relationship in a time where they really didn't have much else to do and theref...more
Amos Oz is an amazing writer. He writes with a lyrical, poetic, flowing prose that is no less than amazing. Even though, My Michael's tone was dark and harsh and bitter, it was still beautiful.
I didn't want to compare/contrast this book to My Ántonia but I think that I need to. It is interesting to note the possessive form that the authors chose to use when referring to the subjects of their novels. The feeling that another individual belongs to, is a possesion, is noted in both of the tales. Th...more
I didn't want to compare/contrast this book to My Ántonia but I think that I need to. It is interesting to note the possessive form that the authors chose to use when referring to the subjects of their novels. The feeling that another individual belongs to, is a possesion, is noted in both of the tales. Th...more
The story is narrated by a woman, in fact, Michael's wife. She is clearly bipolar (or manic depressive as she would have been labeled in the 60s when the book was written). The manic episodes in the spring are devastating because of her profligate spending --- the depressive episodes are bleak stretches filled with long silences and inaction. This is an very internal book and especially interesting in the light of the autobiography which he wrote recently (Light and Darkness: A Love Story --- I...more
Интересен поглед в живота (от нейна гледна точка) на една жена с прилични психически отклонения.
Като цяло интересно четиво, но и малко затормозващо. Не знам доколко Амос Оз е точен в описанията си, но на моменти е малко страшно човек да мисли по подобен начин и да живее така.
Като цяло интересно четиво, но и малко затормозващо. Не знам доколко Амос Оз е точен в описанията си, но на моменти е малко страшно човек да мисли по подобен начин и да живее така.
Леко скучно ми беше (но може би точно това е целта?). Втора книга на Амос Оз чета и героите му и тук са съвсем реалистични, обикновени, сякаш взети действително от различни израелски градове/домове...
В тази книга видях как животът може да бъде неудовлетворяващ и човек да е потиснат дори без видими големи драми и препятствия в живота. Беше ми жал за тази неудовлетвореност на главната героиня...
На моменти изказът ми звучеше по-скоро като поезия.
В тази книга видях как животът може да бъде неудовлетворяващ и човек да е потиснат дори без видими големи драми и препятствия в живота. Беше ми жал за тази неудовлетвореност на главната героиня...
На моменти изказът ми звучеше по-скоро като поезия.
This is my favorite of all of Amos Oz's books. It's hard to believe he wrote it in his early twenties. It's even harder to believe that Hannah's story told in the first person was written by a man and not by a woman. Hannah's complexity reflects (at least to me) the complexity of Jerusalem. I read the book in Hebrew, so I don't know how the richness and magic of Oz's language is transferred to English.
Това е един от ранните романи на писателя. Написан е като личен разказ на главната героиня за брака й с " нейния " Михаел. Амос Оз успява доста добре да придаде автентичност на този женски глас. През интимния микрокосмос на затворения им семеен живот прозира заредената с напрежение политическа атмосфера в тогавашния Израел. Книгата не бе така впечатляваща като "История за мрак и любов", но определено е качествена и ми беше интересно да я прочета.
Beetje sneu, droevig boek. Er gebeurt weinig, er komt weinig pit uit de hoofdpersoon en ook niet uit haar Michael. Ze passen niet bij elkaar, zou ze een steviger man moeten hebben die haar meer zou opporren, meer zou uitdagen. Het boek kabbelt wel voort, zo heb ik het ook uitgelezen. Voor de tijd waarin het geschreven was, zaten er vast gewaagde onderdelen in, maar die hebben me nu niet wakker geschud uit het kabbelen van de bladzijden, hooguit mijn wenkbrauwen doen fronsen in een slechts half-b...more
Paints a portrait of a grey and dark Jerusalem in the 1950's. A sad story about a young Israeli family. Amos Oz wrote an autobiographical novel, but I saw it as a metaphor for the state of Israel -- damaged, depressed and misguided. For this, I enjoyed the book.
I probably enjoyed this book so much because I am also reading Amos Oz' autobiography at the moment. A lot of the characters in My Michael are based on persons or combinations of persons from Oz' youth and feel like dear acquaintances.
i love this book - describes a time and a place with such clarity and ease. it has an element that is ethereal and might send you into a dreamlike state of mind - i love the language sometimes so straightforward and blunt in a good way. it is a breath of fresh air - i will definitely read more of amos oz in the future.
It was interesting to see what details he used from his life for his first novel. If you have visited or lived in Jerusalem and/or Israel, he has a depressing take on it. I didn't enjoy it as much as A Tale of Love and Darkness.
At the time, I wasn't fond of this book. I was young, the topic was drowning. During the years, Amos Oz has been buzzing in my ear, I will need to borrow some of his newer works. Something tells me he's not light writer at all.
It got me too much time to finish this book. And the reason is that - this is SIMPLY BORING. Not a deep, wonderful masterpiece, but just boring book. I personally like stream of consciousness as a writing style and at first I liked it in here. But after some time it gets too repetitive and it tires you. Main character, Hannah, is one hell of a psycho and it's obvious that she's just a metaphor for Israel in general. But it doesen't help. Her thoughts are sometimes so immature that you wonder how...more
Poetico, onirico, lirico. Non tutto è chiaro, a me come lettrice come alla protagonista, in bilico tra sogni, incubi e una vita reale che non la può accontentare. Sullo sfondo una Gerusalemme fredda eppure bellissima, e un paese sempre sull'orlo della guerra così pulsante di vita.
Oz's gentle, easily recognizable prose style is beyond comparison to any other contemporary Israeli writer I have read. This book was a discovery for me.
Excellent read. Want more by this author. Disturbing, I felt like I was in the main character's head and lived in Jerusalem in the early 1950s.
I read it, when i was in Israel. I lived there for half a year. Great country. Great people from all over the world. Amos Oz is a great writer!
Jun 07, 2010
Amanda
added it
Character voice phenomenal. Story arc dreary. Which is certainly the point. The writing of that dreary arc marvelous.
I really wanted to like this. I've enjoyed other Amos Oz novels. But this was a slog to get through.
What a beautiful surprise! How well written! Let me add some more exclamation points: !!!!
Quite beautifully written but grim tone and without plot.
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Amos Oz is an Israeli writer, novelist, and journalist. He is also a professor of literature at Ben-Gurion University in Be'er Sheva. Since 1967, he has been a prominent advocate of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In 2008 he received an Honorary Degree from the University of Antwerp. He also received the Dan David prize in 2008 for "Creative Rendering of the Past."
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Nov 07, 2012 01:28am