A collection of short short tall tales about life in Israel-some of the sketches here are less than a page long, most are...

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LOOK BACK, MRS. LOT!

A collection of short short tall tales about life in Israel-some of the sketches here are less than a page long, most are heroic exaggerations in which the slightly crazy comic possibilities of a new, poor, small melting pot of a country are carried to surrealistic lengths. What to do with excess matzoth; how to find a friend in cities whose streets are constantly being renamed; how to be one up on sugar, apartments, money, and other shortages and the spree that follows when a supermarket opens in such an economy; how to beat local holidays, crossword puzzles, Arabs, officialdom and the British legacy, are all explained here. This factually based, inside humor has a curious effect. It's a Kafka world- but peopled with friends and homely detail- and it has something of the effect of a dish of salted peanuts. It may not be exactly to one's taste- but there's something- real nourishment? an odd flavor? and it's hard to stop nibbling.

Pub Date: Jan. 23, 1960

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Atheneum

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1960

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