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| Yoram Kaniuk |
Wasserman |
| Children |
Tel Aviv, Hakibbutz Hameuchad, 1988. 112 pp.
Age 12 up
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This story centers around a dog called Wasserman and a girl called Talia, who has both humor and integrity. Talia`s life changes radically when she finds Wasserman, half`dead, an obvious victim of abuse. After his recovery, Wasserman proves to be a fitting addition to Talia`s irregular family: he sings in perfect harmony. Once people hear about the singing dog, they come to hear his Moonlight Sonata too. This circus attracts national media attention, and one day Big Mouth Meir, a real mafioso, comes to claim his performing hound. Talia has never heard threats like, "I wouldn`t want your pretty face to be cut up." She also didn`t know that the police were in Meir`s pocket. Incredibly, Talia is arrested, but Gidi, an aspiring lawyer who is in love with her, spells out the consequences of police corruption in a tense confrontation. The family is rewarded beyond its wildest dreams, and Wasserman comes home to an extravagant musical party. Wasserman has been made into a film by Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen.
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About the Book
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"Kaniuk has imbued his characters with so much love that the readers also receive some of it," wrote Sueddeutsche Zeitung. Cosmopolitan quipped, "Wasserman has the potential to become a cult book." The Danish translation was greeted by Det Fri Aktuelt: "An immensely beautiful book...one tends to forget that such books exist." The German edition of Wasserman was listed as a Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis selection. It was made into a film by Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen.
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