The Retrospective
Avraham Gabriel "Boolie" Yehoshua
An aging film director looks back on his life and work, turning memory itself into the subject of the novel.
Work Information
A filmmaker’s retrospective becomes the novel’s central inquiry.
An Israeli novel that folds art and life together to ask what remains of a career, a country, and a self.
Book Information
- Publisher
- Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
- Published
- 2013-03-05
- Pages
- 352 pages
- Language
- 英語
- Size
- 15.88 x 3.18 x 23.5 cm
- ISBN-13
- 9780547496962
- ISBN-10
- 0547496966
- Price
- 9340 JPY
- Category
- 洋書/Literature & Fiction/Literary
Winner, Prix du Meilleur Livre Étranger An aging Israeli film director has been invited to the pilgrimage city of Santiago de Compostela for a retrospective of his work. When Yair Moses and Ruth, his leading actress and longtime muse, settle into their hotel room, a painting over their bed triggers a distant memory in Moses from one of his early films: a scene that caused a rift with his brilliant but difficult screenwriter—who, as it happens, was once Ruth’s lover. Upon their return to Israel, Moses decides to travel to the south to look for his elusive former partner and propose a new collaboration. But the screenwriter demands a price for it that will have strange and lasting consequences. A searching and original novel by one of the world’s most esteemed writers, The Retrospective is a meditation on mortality and intimacy, on the limits of memory and the struggle of artistic creation.
Reviews
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Different kind of book, very good
This a quiet, thoughtful book. There's not a lot of action. What gives the book it's defining moment is the split, which occurred long ago, between the director, the main character in the novel, and his screenwriter, who appears in only one chapter but is continually referenced. The split is over a scene the screenwriter felt very strongly about that the director didn't film because the actress in the scene was offended by what she was asked to do. The screenwriter is very rigid, inflexible, and filled with hatred for the director who wants a rapprochement with him. They were very close colleagues at the beginning of their careers. I didn't understand why the director felt so strongly about getting back together after so many years of estrangement especially because in their one meeting the screenwriter had so much anger and bitterness for the him. There is also an actress involved who along with the cameraman, who's name is similar to the screenwriter's and caused some confusion, the director, and the screenwriter make up a foursome who collaborated on my films in the beginning of their careers. The retrospective refers to one given in Spain of the director's early films. The book is slow moving, not plodding, which allows for the thoughts of the characters to grow and flesh out during the course of the book. Well worth reading. This is the first book of this author's I've read but I'm going to read another. He's a famous Israeli author.
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well written and interesting story
an unusual subject; i'm not sure why it's called Sephardi in Hebrew. i liked most of Yehoshua's works, and this one does not disappoint
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Oy, what a slog.
Premise: Israeli film director reviews his life as guest of a Spanish tribute to his films; he brings his leading lady, and they re-visit the time of the making of the movies, when they were in their heyday. No central conflict and pallid characters mar this tale of elegiac reflection. Couldn't finish it.
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I'm a fan!
Whenever a new Yehoshua book is translated into English, I read it as soon as I can. This one is a look back from the end of life by a film maker and his leading lady. It ranks up there with his best books. It is long, but I thought it captured the viewpoints of the director, his star actor, and his lighting and camera man very well.
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A wonderful story with uncanny relevance
First, and possibly most importantly, the book is a wonderful story skillfully recited. Second it raises profound questions both in the specific Israeli/Jewish sphere as well as in the universal realm of art and its relation to reality. Very highly recommended.