Reading 1001 discussion

What is the significance of the title?

With regard to the Darkness I am going to say that relates to his mothers suicide and also to the situation in Israel/Palestine.

In terms of love that is much harder to define as this was for me an unemotional account of the authors life he seems distance from everyone around him the only love being that for reading and writing.

I think the darkness relates to his mothers suicide and the situation in Israel also. I do feel that he loves his parenys and his country.

I think the title does elude to the love of family but the darkness that the suicide of his mother brought to that love.

I thought it was a beautiful title that captured the essence of the book. I actually didn't find it to be an unemotional account of the author's life but instead saw many moments of subtle emotion.

There are multiple instances of love that shined through for me even in some of the smaller stories -- like the neighbor who bought all three copies of Amos' father's book, the missionaries who walked the streets during the war handing out help and encouragement, the love of Amos for his first teacher, Amos and his mother snuggling and telling stories together, and all the families coming together in their small apartment during the war.

There was also a lot of darkness. The most obvious examples are his mother's suicide and the times during war but there are moments during the war when people lost compassion for others for example:

"I do not remember feeling sorry for Aisha and her brother. I merely extended, with my father, our matchstick frontier on the map of Jerusalem: the months of bombardment, hunger, and fear had hardened my heart"

I also thought that the title had resonance. I particularly loved (!) the way Oz described a child's idea of love that he had gleaned from his reading apropos of the way he felt about his teacher, Zelda, Miss Schneersohn. "This sleep did not match the symptoms of love described in the books, and I was not quite sure if I was in love the way grown-ups are, in which case I should have suffered from insomnia, or if my love was still a childish love". I thought there were some wonderful instances of love and some great passages describing darkness, particularly the descriptions of his mother's depression.

This was a very emotional book for me. Oz is so honest in sharing his feelings, some so personal, with his readers. I agree with the examples that were given about the title. I would add his love for writing as well.

I think this about the people he loved and the dark times he encountered.

Like Jen and Pip, I thought the title was brilliant. Like the book itself, it works on multiple levels. This is a book about coming of age at the re-birth of Israel, about love and family, the pain of growing up when your mother commits suicide, the Zionist love of the Land and the darkness of never ending war, and the Ashkenazie love of European civilization and the Shoah.