Uri Orlev (1931–2022)

A quiet boy who is more at home with adults - Mr. O'Grady the junk-dealer, Mr. Albert the bookbinder, Mr. Rapp the gem merchant - than with children his own age, eleven-year-old Michael Hammerman finds a true kindred spirit in his grandfather Raphael, after he and his parents move from Port Washington, New York to Jerusalem, in order to be closer to him. As adult concerns percolate in the background - is his grandfather's housekeeper, Mrs. Saupier, really a "kept woman," and what does that show more mean? have Michael (now Mikha'el) and his family moved to Israel simply to secure their inheritance? - Mikha'el gradually builds a loving bond with this grandfather he has never before met, and is eventually given an extraordinary gift: the ability to share his grandfather's dreams. When it becomes apparent that Raphael Hammerman is growing steadily weaker, and ever closer to death, will Mikha'el be able to step into his place, as a "dream master...?"

Although I have long been familiar with the name Uri Orlev, The Song of the Whales is the first selection from this celebrated Israeli children's author, recipient of IBBY's (the International Board on Books for Young People) Hans Christian Andersen Award in 1996, that I have read. Chosen as our August selection, over in the International Children's Book Club to which I belong, it is a slim novella that addresses itself to serious concerns - relations between the generations, the nature of love and jealousy, the world of dreams (both happy and sad, cheerful and threatening) - that are of as much relevance to young people, as they are to adults. I liked the fact that Orlev addresses some of these concerns in a middle grade novel, as children too experience the dark and surreal (despite parental wishes and efforts to the contrary, many times), although I did find myself wishing, from time to time, that certain aspects of the story had been better developed.

I wanted more - more dreams, more explanations - but perhaps that's a good sign... Perhaps this short, dreamlike piece isn't meant to satisfy, so much as provoke. Perhaps this means I should read more Orlev. Perhaps... show less

Yes it's a holocaust book. ?�But: ?áit's a great read because this kid does a Robinson Crusoe/ Swiss Family Robinson thing, all by himself in the Warsaw ghetto after the residents who haven't starved have been sent to the camps. ?áHis bravery and ingenuity are inspiring and *fun* to read about. ?áThis is as engaging a read as any current fantasy-adventure... who needs evil viziers and trolls when you have real traitorous snitches (rats) and German soldiers? ?áThe kid even has a show more gun that his father (reluctantly, of course) trained him to use, and even has a little romance. ?á

Moreover, the introduction from the author, and the fact that it has been translated from the Hebrew, make this a must read, even if, like me, you're tired of reading about WWII. show less

"An unknown little grandmother arrives one evening in the village. All she has to carry is knitting needles. All the doors close in her face, so she knits herself a world: slippers for her tired feet, a carpet, a kettle, a roof, a grandson, a granddaughter, both of them wild... Yes, but will the village accept these very different children?"

Alex is left alone to hide in an abandoned building after his parents and most of his friends and other relatives are carted off by the Nazis. It’s a suspenseful story, a story where you don’t know who is good and who is bad, where you worry that friends may deceive you, where you never know when the Nazis will find you and cart you off, too.