Very dense and heavy reading but also absorbing and enjoyable.
Got a bit too heavy to enjoy all the way through and started to drag a bit past about two thirds of the way through. ( )

Do we make the extreme left in Israel the JUDAS? Young man in Israel, quite his studies & works as a companion to an old disabled man. He is attracted to the woman in the house, the old man's daughter in law. She is the daughter of "a traitor", a zionist who did not believe in a "state" of Israel separate from the Arabs ( )

In the Jerusalem winter of 1959-60, at the height of the duffel-coat era, the life of the hairy postgraduate Shmuel Ash seems to be falling apart. His girlfriend has decided to marry a hydrologist, his parents can't afford to support him any more, his research has run into the sand, and to cap it all, the socialist discussion group has broken up after an ideological dispute ("Among the four who split off were the two girls in the group, without whom there was no longer any point.").

The scene seems to be set for an old man to have a good time whimsically making fun of his younger self, but of course there is a lot more to it than that. Through Shmuel's research into "Jewish representations of Jesus" and his discussions with the old history teacher Gershom Wald, Oz draws us into thinking about the figure of Judas and the idea of the "betrayer", and sets up parallels with the father of Shmuel's landlady, a member of the Jewish Agency council who was ostracised for opposing Ben-Gurion's partition policy in 1947 and 1948, believing that the only secure future for the Jewish people was in seeking peaceful cohabitation with the Arabs. Where is the line between an act of betrayal and an act of conscience? Does it make a difference whether history proves you right or wrong?

A lovely, very literary novel, with a quotable phrase on every page, a wealth of learning and cross-references deployed not to impress but to make you question what you thought you knew, and a lot of very enjoyable historical colour about Israel as it was sixty years ago. ( )

Judas is a quiet yet intelligently multi-layered book. In some ways nothing much happens, yet at the same time everything happens.

After having his heart broken, a young Israeli student drops out of university and takes a live-in job as part-time companion and interlocutor to an old man who lives with his aloof daughter-in-law. At a fork in the road, his plans are aimless beyond finding respite from the world in the cocoon of this oddly reclusive house.

As a coming of age story evolves between the student and the older woman in the recent shadow of the new State of Israel, the novel considers the morality of the displacement of Israeli Arabs by the new Jewish settlers. The student revisits his abandoned thesis on Jewish views on Jesus, and as he debates with the old man whether Judas Iscariot deserves his label as the ultimate betrayer for inciting anti-Semitism, parallels are drawn with the daughter-in-law's father, who was considered a traitor by Jews for opposing the creation of the new State of Israel over peaceful cohabitation of Jews and Arabs. Were both men abject traitors to Judaism, or were they in reality true antiheroes?

I enjoyed this gentle yet thought-provoking novel much more than I expected to. It quietly raises hugely profound questions whilst sweeping you up in its beautiful prose. Oz's tender perception and human insight reminded me of Marilynne Robinson's writing in many ways. I'm not sure how his other translated books stand up to this one, and how much of his own apparent political leanings towards the Palestinian cause feature in his other works, but I'll certainly be looking out for more by him.

4.5 stars - gentle yet powerful, I'll be thinking about this book for quite some time. ( )

The Short of It:

Really made me think about religion in general. Was Judas a hero? In this book, Oz poses the question.

The Rest of It:

This was a book club pick. Going into it, I had few expectations because I really didn’t know much about it. I have to say, this was probably a good thing.

"Jerusalem, 1959. Shmuel Ash, a biblical scholar, is adrift in his young life when he finds work as a caregiver for a brilliant but cantankerous old man named Gershom Wald. There is, however, a third, mysterious presence in his new home. Atalia Abravanel, the daughter of a deceased Zionist leader, a beautiful woman in her forties, entrances young Shmuel even as she keeps him at a distance. Piece by piece, the old Jerusalem stone house, haunted by tragic history and now home to the three misfits and their intricate relationship, reveals its secrets." ~ Indiebound

I found this book to be very good for discussion but not as enjoyable to read as I had hoped. The romantic element between two of the characters seemed a tad forced and not terribly realistic. I liked parts of the story. A young student, listening to stories and learning from an elder was appealing to me but Atalia was cold as ice. I never warmed to her.

The political elements were not excessive but provided enough background to give me a feel for the conflict of that region. As a discussion book, it was excellent. We had plenty to talk about. The possibility of Judas being a hero was something we had to wrap our brains around. Throughout history he has been recognized as a traitor. That brought up the question, what is a traitor and is being one always bad?

Interesting, huh? Well, that’s all I have. I will say that reading other books while reading this one was not possible so I’m glad this one is behind me but if your club needs a good discussion book, give this one a try.

For more reviews, visit my blog: Book Chatter. ( )