Sleep Walkers & Other Stories: The Arab in Hebrew Fiction

by Ehud Ben-Ezer (Editor)

Introduction / Ehud Ben-Ezer -- Latifa (1906) / Moshe Smilansky -- Excerpt from Breakdown and bereavement (1920) / Yosef Haim Brenner -- Rose jam Esther Raab -- Under the tree (1941) / Shmuel Yosef Agnon -- Fron foe to friend (1941) / Shmuel Yosef Agnon -- The prisoner (1949) / S. Yizar -- The swimming race (1951) / Benjamin Tammuz -- Facing the forests (1963) / Amos Oz -- Excerpt from Refuge (1977) / Sami Michael -- Sleepwalkers (1989) / Jacob Buchnan -- Excerpt from The night of the kid (1990) / Shin Shifra -- Cocked and locked (1994) / Etgar Keret
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In Sleepwalkers and Other Stories, noted Israeli writer and literary critic Ehud Ben-Ezer presents short stories and excerpts from novels, dating from 1906 to 1994, that trace the place of Arabs in Jewish Israeli consciousness. The thirteen stories richly show how Jewish writers have presented dramatically differing interpretations of Arabs, ranging from visions of courageous Bedouins astride their noble horses, to fellow Semites, to a moral problem, to an existential nightmare. The tension created between the Arab perceived as an external threat and the Arab minority at home characterizes the rhythm of both modern Israeli history and modern Hebrew literature.

183 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1998

About the author

Ehud Ben Ezer is an Israeli writer, playwright, poet, editor, publicist, and biographer.

Reviews

[Bepina Vragec]

*only "The swimming race" (1951) / Benjamin Tammuz