Houghton

“Informed by everything, weighed down by nothing, this is an exquisite work of art.” —The Scotsman

Strange things are happening in Tel Ilan, a century-old pioneer village. A disgruntled retired politician complains to his daughter that he hears the sound of digging at night. Could it be their tenant, that young Arab? But then the young Arab hears the digging sounds too. Where has the mayor’s wife gone, vanished without trace, her note saying “Don’t worry about me”? Around the village, the veneer of new wealth—gourmet restaurants, art galleries, a winery—barely conceals the scars of war and of past generations: disused air raid shelters, rusting farm tools, and trucks left wherever they stopped. Scenes from Village Life is a memorable novel-in-stories by the inimitable Amos Oz: a brilliant, unsettling glimpse of what goes on beneath the surface of everyday life.

Translated from the Hebrew by Nicholas de Lange


Baker & Taylor
A series of stories set in the fictional village of Tel Ilan, where citizens live at a crossroads between modernity, war-torn buildings and abandoned farms, a man and his tenant hear mysterious digging sounds under their house at night just before the mayor receives a note from his missing wife, informing him not to worry. 30,000 first printing.

Baker
& Taylor
Strange things are happening in Tel Ilan, a century-old pioneer village. A disgruntled retired politician complains to his daughter that he hears the sound of digging at night. Could it be their tenant, that young Arab? But then the young Arab hears the diggings sounds, too. And where has the mayor's wife gone, vanished without trace, her note saying "Don't worry about me"?
In the fictional village of Tel Ilan, where citizens live at a crossroads between modernity, war-torn buildings, and abandoned farms, a man hears mysterious digging sounds under his house at night and the mayor finally receives a note from his missing wife.