The Same Sea

Oz, Israel's best known novelist abandons traditional literary constraints in The Same Sea to provide a lyrical and evocative study of a man in mourning, attempting to put the loss of his wife behind him. In a mixture of blank verse, prose and occasional internal rhyme, Oz produces an array of characters and voices, each of whom talks of their lives and loves in the aftermath of Nadia Danon's death from cancer. Set in the Israeli coastal town of Bat Yam (which means 'daughter of the sea') the narrative's only constant factor is the inescapable sea. While Nadia's accountant widower, Albert, combats the present by striking up almost platonic relationships with both his son's former girlfriend and a middle-aged widow, his son tries to find himself via the modern-day Israeli rite of passage in the mountains of Tibet, seeking occasional solace in an elderly prostitute. Oz deftly moves the force of the narrative from one character to the next, telling his tale from a variety of shifting perspectives. Mixing biblical images with the present day, his lyrical and yet occasionally blunt style brilliantly captures the atmosphere of Israel's sweltering coastal plain. His description of Tel Aviv: 'You don't see a sunset or a star, you see how the plaster peels from an excess of adrenaline, smells of sweat and diesel fuels' is simply superb. The Israeli author is just as strong in describing the feelings and individual isolation of Albert and his son, and it is hard to escape the conclusion that The Same Sea is a mini-masterpiece. Review by JEFF BARAK (Kirkus UK)