The
Reader
draws on Oz’s entire body of work, loosely grouped into four themes: the kibbutz, the city of Jerusalem, the idea of a "promised land," and his own life story. Included are excerpts from his celebrated novels, among them
Where the Jackals Howl, A Perfect Peace, My Michael, Fima, Black Box,
and
To Know a Woman.
Nonfiction is represented by selections from
Under This Blazing Light, The Slopes of Lebanon, In the Land of Israel,
and Oz’s masterpiece,
A Tale of Love and Darkness.
Robert Alter, a noted Hebrew scholar and translator, has provided an illuminating introduction.