Friday, August 01, 2014

Amos Oz: on Palestinian characters in his novels

From a reader: "On Amos Oz
He’ll try to deny – what are his options? Telling the truth is not what he’s best at.
I encountered Amos Oz in the early 90’s at a Hillel meet and greet.
After the superficial accolades, we were able to interact.
My friend and I asked him why he didn’t develop any nuanced Palestinian characters. He replied that since he doesn’t know any Arabs in the bedroom (of course, in his world, Arabs could not be Jews), he couldn’t include them as complete characters or people in his writing. That’s the level at which he functioned, and possibly the one at which he continues to operate. Quite revolting."