Snapshots, by Michal Govrin is a novel that examines Judaism, love, fulfillment, motherhood, zionism, war, and so much more. We are given not only physical photographs/snapshots, but descriptive prose that brings us a personal perspective of the issues and affairs in the state of Israel, through one woman’s often confused, determined, conflicted and blinded eyes.
The protagonist is Ilana Tsuriel, and we are given snippets and snapshots of her life through photographs, drawings, letters, and scrawled journal entries, most of which are written to her recently deceased father (her way of saying Kaddish for him), and is her way of staying close to him. Her father helped to build the state of Israel. She has a deep sense of social responsibility and a deep sense of personal fulfillment, and we feel the human element throughout Snapshots. Tsuriel is a mother, the wife of a Holocaust historian, an architect, the daughter of a pioneer of Israel, and she is also a woman who has had several affairs, including one with a Palestinian named Sayyid.
The novel takes place during the first Gulf War, and Tsuriel’s passion to reunite with her Palestinian lover, and her steadfast and determined passion to continue on with her architectural project, sees her moving to Israel with her two young sons (during the beginnings of the war), against the wishes of her husband. Her project is a unique monument, and is one with a serene setting, where Sukkot-like huts on a hillside overlook the valley, where one can go on sabbatical to reflect and feel free from life stresses, where those of diverse backgrounds can come together, peacefully. Tsuriel is trying to accomplish this during a turbulent and relentless time period, often appearing as though she is not fully cognizant of the ongoing problems surrounding her and her children.
Tsuriel, although seemingly aware of the situation she is putting her children through, feels it is important for them to understand the sense of time, place and Homeland in Israel. She doesn’t completely face the gravity and reality of the situation, the war and the ongoing devastation. The perils of war seem to play a minor role in her scheme of things, as they don’t sway her from her goals.
She is a strong-willed woman, and one who seems to want to fulfill her goals at all costs. Tsuriel is causing her sons to feel alienated from her, feeling the insecurities of war, and the insecurities of a mother who they feel is not often there for them, emotionally. They have food, shelter, clothes, yet what they crave is her full attention. They need to feel secure. And, she isn’t there to bring them emotional security and support, due to her overzealous passions for her project. She is a woman at odds with herself, her marriage, her children, and constantly in a state of confusion as to priorities.
Tsuriel feels Jewishness and its responsibility within her, and tries to convey it to her children. Yet, on the first anniversary of her father’s death, she doesn’t visit the cemetery, leave a stone, light a candle or say Kaddish for him. Her Jewishness has visions of grandeur, and it has boundaries, both emotional and political.
Govrin’s attempts to contain so much content in one novel, often whitewashing the moments, like a negative not completely developed, are realized. And, that is the foundation of the novel, the snapshots of life that we are given, in haphazard and scrawling script, bits and pieces of life written during time of war, in almost frantic and desperate fashion anywhere, everywhere, when the mood strikes her.
Snapshots is a well-written book of imagery, both word paintings and actual photographs. Michal Govrin has the ability to bring vivid scenarios to our minds, filling all of our senses, through the depressing pages of Snapshots. The book is not a light and airy read, and it is not a quick read. I had to put it down and take a break from it, several times, before going back to it. It was almost a chore to finish (due to the dismal and non-uplifting content), even though it was well-written. It is insightful into the human condition, and its vivid presence in emotional and physical lives.
In my opinion Snapshots is a metaphor for confusion, both emotional, social, religious and political.
Book Diva Review: Never Let Me Go
The main character and narrator is a person named Kathleen, and the reader is given insight into her background, little by little. She grew up in a school, known as Hailsham, in the English countryside, along with her two close friends Tom and Ruth. Kathleen, who is a “carer”, is a quiet, observant and listens to, and watches, the subtleties that are told to them by their school guardians.
The guardians have a strict command over the children, and often treat them as if they were less than human. Once I understood the concept of the book, that issue infuriated me. We all have heard of orphanages and boarding schools that treat their students as if they were nonexistent, or treat them in an emotionally devoid manner. And, the resultant behavior of the adults forces a lifetime of emotional consequences on the children involved. Hailsham is just such a place. Its disciplinary and educational methods verge on the unethical.
That is the overtone of Never Let Me Go, the fact that humans are extremely inhumane to others. The human condition is examined in depth, without Ishiguro actually mentioning it outright. The children are treated as less than human, less than animals. The signs are there, everywhere the children are, and each time they attempt to learn about their backgrounds. Ethics, science, humanity and conditioning are explored in depth through Kathleen’s observance and quietude.
I am not divulging any of the story line, because to do so would definitely spoil it for the you, the reader/s of this review. You would know immediately what the story involves, and it is best that you don’t know. I will say that it is a disturbing book on so many levels, mainly beginning with humanity and the human condition. Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go, had me questioning many things, and the whys and wherefores always came back to ethics. Science and ethics do not blend well within the pages, and I believe that is what Kazuo Ishiguro intended, as a whole, within the story. He wants the reader to ponder and question, to think about scientific advances and their merits and their flaws. Are they really advances, in the true sense. Are they really ethical? Do they really enhance life, or do they foster an attitude of disinterest in the outcomes in order to gain information?
So many disturbing scenes were depicted, and lack of emotion for the children was illuminated within the pages. It was not a happy read, not a positive read, but one that was not only sad, but extremely tragic.
Read Never Let Me Go, and let me know your thoughts.
Leave a comment
Filed under Book Diva's Book Reviews, Fiction, Literature/Fiction
Tagged as book diva review-never let me go, Kazuo Ishiguro, never let me go-review, novel re science and ethics, novels re social stigmas, review-never let me go, social commentary