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| Gidi Nevo |
So Far |
| Novel |
Tel Aviv, Hakibbutz Hameuchad/ Siman Kriah, 1996. 265 pp.
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A group of young men, "the lost generation of the eighties," are involved in a quest. They search for the meaning of life in various forms; initially by experimenting with communal life – they join an Army kibbutz unit, try living on a kibbutz and eventually form a commune in Jerusalem. The attempts to revert to the communal-socialist lifestyle of the founding fathers fail and each of the heroes must seek out his own individual path. Even the development of personal relationships with members of the opposite sex is problematic and fraught with difficulty. The novel focuses on three main heroes – Yaron, Hovav and Yoni. The protagonist Yaron searches for the perfect relationship with a woman but cannot consummate it. The issue of Yaron's sexual inclinations remains unclear but at the end of the novel he finally achieves an intoxicating sense of self-realization. Hovav is the only one truly capable of offering love, but after he is spurned by the one he loves, he fulfils his need for affection by building a temporary, paternal relationship with a little boy. Yoni is well-liked, but he is also self-destructive. Whenever he excels at anything, he immediately moves on to something else. Eventually Yoni sinks into total ineffectuality. Nevo tells this intricate and moving tale in a flowing, convoluted and omniscient style, reminiscent of the renowned writer Yaakov Shabtai.
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About the Book
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Ha'aretz stated that "this is an impressive first work which reveals a descriptive and expressive talent, sharp powers of observation and the profound literary knowledge of the writer." Fabiana Hefetz recommended the book as "an excellent first novel, sculpted with great care, never stooping to the simplistically sensational." Yediot Aharonot allowed that the novel does not make for easy reading, influenced as it is by the convoluted rhythm and structure of Yaakov Shabtai's Past Continuous. But the paper promises "a reading experience worth the effort, one not readily forgotten."
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