Overview

Meir Shalev's grandmother Tonia, who came to Palestine by boat from Russia in 1923, was never seen without a cleaning rag over her shoulder. She received visitors outdoors. She allowed only the most privileged guests to enter her spotless house. Hilarious and touching, Tonia and her regulations come richly to life in a narrative that circles around the arrival into their dusty agricultural midst of the big shiny American sweeper sent as a gift by Uncle Yeshayahu (he who had shockingly emigrated to the sinful capitalist heaven of Los Angeles!). The fate of the svieeperrr hidden away for decades in a spotless -closed--off bathroom after its initial use is a family mystery that Shalev determines to solve in this charming memoir of the obsessive but loving Tonia, the pioneers who gave his childhood its spirit of wonder, and the grit and humor of people building ever-new lives.

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9780805242874

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Reviews

Brimming with witty and playful mockery, Shalev's story is equally compassionate, an elegiac glimpse of the authentic Zionist pioneers. A genuine comic tour de force, it is also a marvelous meditation on the mysterious workings of memory and the intricate tapestry of familial connections. --Forward Lighthearted yet meaningful . . . As I read this, I felt like I was one of Meir Shalev's cousins, sitting out behind his grandmother's house, listening to a great retelling of a story I knew by heart . . . A book for everyone. --Jewish Boston Probably one of the most enjoyable books ever written about obsessive-compulsive disorder. --Haaretz (Israel) Evan Fallenberg's translation is nimble and sensitive . . . At once a mystery story, a fascinating glimpse into what life was like for the Labor Zionists of the early twentieth century, a moving family memoir, and, above all, a vivid, affectionate tribute to Grandma Tonia, who must now take her rightful place as one of history's most redoubtable matriarchs. Unfailingly charming. --Words Without Borders A loving and humorous family story about Israel's pioneers and their offspring. --Die Welt (Germany) An unconventional and quite hilarious family scrapbook . . . Shalev's reflections on quirky uncles, family squabbles, the rich history of his Jewish heritage, and the legacy of the omnipresent American vacuum cleaner touch the heart and tickle the funny bone. --Kirkus Reviews

Brimming with witty and playful mockery, Shalev's story is equally compassionate, an elegiac glimpse of the authentic Zionist pioneers. A genuine comic tour de force, it is also a marvelous meditation on the mysterious workings of memory and the intricate tapestry of familial connections. --Forward Lighthearted yet meaningful . . . As I read this, I felt like I was one of Meir Shalev's cousins, sitting out behind his grandmother's house, listening to a great retelling of a story I knew by heart . . . A book for everyone. --Jewish Boston Probably one of the most enjoyable books ever written about obsessive-compulsive disorder. --Haaretz (Israel) Evan Fallenberg's translation is nimble and sensitive . . . At once a mystery story, a fascinating glimpse into what life was like for the Labor Zionists of the early twentieth century, a moving family memoir, and, above all, a vivid, affectionate tribute to Grandma Tonia, who must now take her rightful place as one of history's most redoubtable matriarchs. Unfailingly charming. --Words Without Borders A loving and humorous family story about Israel's pioneers and their offspring. --Die Welt (Germany) An unconventional and quite hilarious family scrapbook . . . Shalev's reflections on quirky uncles, family squabbles, the rich history of his Jewish heritage, and the legacy of the omnipresent American vacuum cleaner touch the heart and tickle the funny bone. --Kirkus Reviews

"""Brimming with witty and playful mockery, Shalev's story is equally compassionate, an elegiac glimpse of the authentic Zionist pioneers. A genuine comic tour de force, it is also a marvelous meditation on the mysterious workings of memory and the intricate tapestry of familial connections."" --Forward ""Lighthearted yet meaningful . . . As I read this, I felt like I was one of Meir Shalev's cousins, sitting out behind his grandmother's house, listening to a great retelling of a story I knew by heart . . . A book for everyone."" --Jewish Boston ""Probably one of the most enjoyable books ever written about obsessive-compulsive disorder."" --Haaretz (Israel) ""Evan Fallenberg's translation is nimble and sensitive . . . At once a mystery story, a fascinating glimpse into what life was like for the Labor Zionists of the early twentieth century, a moving family memoir, and, above all, a vivid, affectionate tribute to Grandma Tonia, who must now take her rightful place as one of history's most redoubtable matriarchs. Unfailingly charming."" --Words Without Borders ""A loving and humorous family story about Israel's pioneers and their offspring."" --Die Welt (Germany) ""An unconventional and quite hilarious family scrapbook . . . Shalev's reflections on quirky uncles, family squabbles, the rich history of his Jewish heritage, and the legacy of the omnipresent American vacuum cleaner touch the heart and tickle the funny bone."" --Kirkus Reviews"

Author Information

One of Israel's most celebrated novelists, Meir Shalev was born in 1948 on Nahalal, Israel's first moshav. His books have been translated into more than twenty-five languages and have been best sellers in Israel, Holland, and Germany. Honors he has received include the National Jewish Book Award and the Brenner Prize, one of Israel's top literary awards, for A Pigeon and a Boy. A columnist for the Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth, he lives in Jerusalem and in the north of Israel.

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