Meir Shalev
שאולי שם-טוב
Israelis Pick Meir Shalev as Most Beloved Author
Over 10,000 vote in on-line poll; other names mentioned include David Grossman
TEL AVIV – Meir Shalev is the country’s favorite local author, according to votes cast by more than 10,000 Israelis in a Ynet survey.
Other big names such as David Grossman and Amos Oz were not far behind.
Shalev’s enchanting realism, gently bordering on the fantastic, appears to be exactly what Israelis are looking for. His works feature local flavors, landscapes and characters, yet still manage to elevate the reader above the harsh realities of Israeli life.
In his novels, love stories are always larger than life, and life itself is larger than usual. His writing captures the same magic that makes us forget, as long as the book is open before us, the here and now.
Reading Shalev’s work is like living within a more vivacious, passionate, and captivating version of familiar daily realities. This sense, which he so skillfully passes on to the reader, is probably what earned him the top spot in the poll.
Several of Shalev’s novels are available in English, including his critically acclaimed “The Blue Mountain” and “The Loves of Judith.”
The three spots behind Shalev feature other Israeli literary giants, namely David Grossman, Amos Oz, and A.B. Yehoshua, separated by small margins. The works of all three are widely available in English as well.
However, only two out of the 25 female authors included on the list, Naomi Ragen and Shifra Horn, found their way into the top 10. Ragen, who writes in English and is widely available in Hebrew, is known for such works as “The Covenant,” “Sotah,” and “The Ghost of Hannah Mendes.” Horn’s most well known novel is “Four Mothers.”
Etgar Keret was the only young author to crack the top 10, while the widely acclaimed Orly Castel-Bloom lingered a bit behind. Keret’s short-story collection, “The Bus Driver Who Wanted to Be God & Other Stories,” is available in English, as are some of Castel-Bloom’s works.
Two suspense writers, Ram Oren and Yair Lapid, occupied the seventh and eighth spots in the survey. However, the latter’s high ranking may also be attributed to his celebrity status, regular newspaper column (featured on Ynet English), and popular television show.
