Musical Moment

Rites of manhood and the disruption of innocence are the prominent themes of the four stories in this collection. But the unabashedly romantic perspective is blended with realistic tones: at every point in the story Kenaz takes an anti-sentimental turn. In each story, the boys discover the magic of evil and the beauty of sin, leading to epiphanic moments of self-realization. The stories perceptively describe how children protect themselves from traumatic experiences.
Yehoshua Kenaz's single collection of stories confirms him as one of Hebrew literature's great living prose writers. 


Written with great sensuality and passion, these potent stories portray young misfits wandering through a nightmarish adult world. In seamless, rhythmic prose Israeli novelist Kenaz portrays the artists as young men coming of age against a subtly rendered political backdrop of pre-independence Israel.
Publishers Weekly

Throughout the text, Kenaz snaps with precision the instant-by-instant confrontations of life and its moments of releasing joy or love or beauty.
Kirkus Review

Kenaz recreates the mystery and complexity of childhood thoughts through a writing that is aware of the tiniest nuances of emotion but also of the beauty and rhythm of a story. The enchanted reader dives into the indescribable times of childhood, and discovers that he, too, went through the same things.
Le Nouveau Quotidien