Back from the Moon

Childhood in the Valley of Jezreel, in a kibbutz the way the kibbutz used to be; memories of a founding family with Zionism etched into their souls; pictures from the homes of grandparents and parents, homes where a terrible sense of the loss of dead relatives and friends was always present just beneath the surface; a duel way of life—the military and the civilian, as a combat pilot in an air force squadron; memories of historic events, like the day Neil Armstrong returned from the moon, or the bombing raid that destroyed Iraq’s nuclear reactor, and much, much more.

In his first book, Ze’ev Raz weaves the plots of his narratives around the thin boundary that separates reality from imagination. He does so with the skill and maturity of a seasoned writer, using surprising transitions between time and place. The author diverges from his own life story, that of a personage shrouded in glory in Israel, and turns to contemplation of thrilling events in the air and on the ground, of the nature of relationships, and of the vagaries of memory. A personal tale is spun into the myth of a generation.

Literary references, ranging from Mark Twain to Janusz Korczak, are woven into the ostensibly dry reportage and at times the writing becomes pure poetry, reminiscent of the spirit of the works of pilot-author Antoine de Saint-Exupery and inspired by his great humanistic ideas. A captivating and inspiring anthology of short stories.