Where the Jackals Howl
First edition (Hebrew) | |
| Author | Amos Oz |
|---|---|
| Original title | ארצות התן |
| Translator | Nicholas de Lange |
| Language | Hebrew |
| Publisher | Masada |
Publication date | 1965 |
| Publication place | Israel |
Published in English | 1981 |
| Pages | 173 |
| ISBN | 0-15-196038-0 |
Where the Jackals Howl (Hebrew: ארצות התן Artzot HaTan) is the first book by Israeli author Amos Oz and was published in 1965.[1][2][3] It consists of short stories, some of which had already been published in magazines. The stories revolve mostly around kibbutz members.
Title
The title of the book is derived from the name of the first story in the collection: "The Jackal Lands", but this is not the only reason for the book's title. Jackals are present in almost every one of the stories, and their descriptions, behavior, and hair-raising howls that are heard well at night convey more strongly the dark passions and desires that man is imprisoned within. The narrator seems to point to the animal dimension in man, hidden within people, in whom the reader meets every day, without guessing what is going on in their souls.[4]
Reception
The stories were praised by A. G. Mojtabai in a review published by The New York Times in 1981: "Where the Jackals Howl is a strong, beautiful, disturbing book. It speaks piercingly -whether wittingly or unwittingly, I know not - of a dimension of the Israeli experience not often discussed, of the specter of the other brother, of a haunting, an unhealed wound; it reminds us of polarizations everywhere that bind and diminish us, that may yet rend us."[4]
In 2012, Adam Kirsch wrote for Tablet: "Almost 50 years after it first appeared, Where the Jackals Howl remains one of the most remorseless fictional X-rays of the Israeli soul."[5]
References
- ^ Lanir, Niva (15 March 2012). Amos Oz Makes Room for His Loneliness Haaretz. Retrieved on 22 February 2026.
- ^ Koplewitz, Gal (12 November 2019). Amos Oz and the Politics of the Hebrew Language The New Yorker. Retrieved on 22 February 2026.
- ^ Garfinkel, Avi (Spring 2019). A Tale of Time and Feeling – Amos Oz Tel Aviv Review of Books. Retrieved on 22 February 2026.
- ^ a b Mojtabai, A.G. (26 April 1981). Perpetual Stranger in the Promised Land The New York Times. Retrieved on 22 February 2026.
- ^ Kirsch, Adam (16 August 2012). The Burden of Israeli Strength Tablet. Retrieved on 22 February 2026.