A Pigeon and a Boy: A Novel Paperback – January 6, 2009

Spurts of lyrical writing mixed with violent imagery hover over the symbolic story of the quest for love and home. The novel weaves the tale of a young couple’s love during Israel’s war of Independence and the story of a young man’s journey decades later, to find his place in life, largely dominated by his mother.Picturesque descriptions of Israel during the different periods invoke realistic visions of the not so distant past. Poetic verse of soft hued tones turns in an instant to acute violence.Remarkably clear is the intense devotion of the pigeon handlers for their birds and the extraordinary role pigeons played in wars.In vivid contrast, the author portrays the excitement shown for other birds, by bird watching tourists, the protagonist’s bread and butter, and the ultimate insensitivity shown to pigeons.Symbolically, as pigeons always return home, so do Jews return to Israel.

All novels about Israel fascinate me. This one intrigued me because of the rhythm of each sentence, and therefore, kudos to the translator. The parallel stories intertwine and the narrative is not lost because of it, as in so many other novels using flashback technique. The ending was so poetic, so indicative of the lengths to which one must go to survive in a land that has a precarious topography, the joy of discovering love and unexpected friendship, the land of women alongside the men/boys they admire, the willingness to share and provide support - these stimulated my mind. Every character stood out for me, and I would love to divulge the ending, but that would spoil it for a reader. This book has a mystique that resonates. Hardship and love, and not a 'pat' love story at all - uniquely told, immersing the reader in every page, and lingering afterward.I suppose you'd say I enjoyed this tale, where the battle is the background, the war between palestine and israel is not the centerpoint, and the reader is not embroiled in the brutality. It is the people who leap from the page.I am reminded of Masha Hamilton's novels about the Middle East and her ability to evoke the essence of the land and the people, wshether Israeli or Arab. A Pigeon and a Boy: A Novel

This 2007 Israeli novel won several literary prizes and I can well understand why. It is a love story on many levels - the love between a man and a woman, the love of a country, and a love of the desire for a home. It is also the story of homing pigeons and I learned more than I ever thought I would know about their use throughout history as well as their care and feeding and importance to the Israelis during their 1948 war.There are two interweaving stories here, one taking place in the present and told in the first person by an Israeli tour guide who meets up with an American who had once fought in the long-ago war and remembers a pigeon handler who was killed at the time. This stirs the Israeli guide's memories and slowly but surely he weaves in the story of "Baby" a young man from a Kibbutz who handled pigeons and the girl who loved him. But this was a long time ago, and the tour guide is currently dealing with an unhappy marriage, the death of his mother and a longing for a home of is own. I was completely entranced by the story he tells and the way it is told. It is his own personal story of course, but it is also the story of Israel itself and, for the first time in my life, I got a real sense of what it must be like to be an Israeli.The book is only 311 pages long and I read it quite quickly, reading it in all my spare moments and thinking about it in between. The writing is simple and yet it invokes a mood that just pulled me into the time and the place of modern Israel as well as the Israel of 60 years ago. The pace moves more quickly as the book moves along, and as the story unfolds, more and more becomes clear and I was aware throughout that I was in the presence of a fine writer.

A little too long. Too many places it should have ended. Also too many names to remember names and nicknames

This is the kind of book you want to read slowly, to savour every word, and long for it not to finish. Meir Shalev's beautifully crafted book, with its flowing, evocative language, masterfully translated by Evan Fallenberg, consists of two ingeniously interwoven tales of people a generation apart, linked by places and events. One is a first person narrative of an adult tour-guide yearning for affection and a place he can consider 'home', and the other a touching story of the love between two teenagers, whose main channel of communication is through the homing-pigeons they send back and forth for the Hagana, the underground movement struggling against British rule in pre-State Israel. Through the intertwined tales, artfully tied up in the final denouement, the reader subtly gains insight into the handling of homing-pigeons and the tense days leading up to the War of Independence. The slight suspension of credibility called for here and there in the book only serve to enrich the sensitive flow of a wonderful story. Not to be missed!

This book was wonderful! Mr. Shalev has refined the art of excellent character development, with characters who inspire real empathy. You laugh when they laugh, cry when they cry, and grieve when they do too. Even the descriptions of the cars and travel routes was so good it placed you right in the passenger seat (or the roof rack of "Behemoth", as the case may be!) It is a gripping tale about life in the emerging state of Israel spanning two generations, complex family connections, joy, disappointment, tragedy and loss, leaving us with the always-present knowledge and hope that life goes on from generation to generation as we continue our ancestors' stories, which remains always part of us.Like Amos Oz's book, "A Tale of Love and Darkness", (which I also highly recommend), this book leaves you knowing much more about people, even yourself, and about life in Israel before and after 1948.It's a keeper, to read and reread as time goes by. I loved it!

I enjoyed this book although it tends to go back and forth from the present day to 1948 although dates are not specifically mentioned. It is well written but the subject matter may not be everyone's cup of tea. I thought parts, especially towards the end, were predictable.

I was not sure if I will enjoy reading this book in English - however the transelation from Hebrew is great and the book is extremely captivating.

This was one of the worst books I have ever read. It was too long and tortuous. The plot was ridiculous.

Enjoyed it although it was very sad.

this book is well written and interesting. The charactors feel real and it has a moving ending. I enjoyed this book