Yoram Kaniuk Books

Focusing on the life of Yossi Harel, this nonfiction work recounts his heroic efforts to transport over 24,000 Holocaust survivors to Palestine amid the British blockade. Through the lens of Harel's expeditions, particularly the impactful voyage of the Exodus, the narrative highlights the resilience of those seeking a home and the profound human need for belonging. Yoram Kaniuk captures the essence of Harel's motivations, emphasizing his compassion over political ambitions, making this a poignant tribute to both individual heroism and collective struggle.

Set against the harrowing backdrop of the Holocaust, the story follows Adam Stein, a former circus clown who narrowly escaped death to entertain those facing unimaginable horrors. Now, as the ringleader of an asylum in the Negev desert, he navigates the complexities of survival and trauma among Holocaust survivors. The narrative explores themes of resilience, memory, and the struggle to find meaning in a world marked by loss, making it a poignant and powerful tale.

Innovative novelist Yoram Kaniuk takes us from the scorched earth of mid-century Europe, to the arid plains of the Holy Land, to the urban bustle of the American Diaspora, compressing the rise and fall of the Jews into the enigmatic character of one Ebenezer Schneerson. Following the ravages of World War II, Ebenezer finds that although he has no recollection of his family or childhood, he can, at will, recite Einstein’s theory of relativity, the entire canon of Yiddish poetry, and the genealogical histories of any number of extinguished shtetls; he has somehow become the final repository for all of Jewish culture. Samuel Lipker, a fellow survivor and crass opportunist, makes money off of Ebenezer’s macabre talents, trotting him around Europe to regale spooked cabaret audiences with his uncanny memory. Appearing in English for the first time, The Last Jew is an ingenious tapestry alive with narrative acrobatics and stylistic audacity. Alternately tragic, absurd, heartbreaking, and bitter — not unlike the Bible itself — it is a profound exploration of Jewish identity and the multitude of disparate, often contradictory shapes it has taken in the last century.

Nathan Jisraeli erhält einen unerwarteten Anruf von der Königin von England, die ihn bittet, einen verschollenen Liebhaber zu finden.

Mit 74 Jahren wird Yoram Kaniuk ein zweites Mal geboren, als er nach einem Koma im Krankenhaus erwacht. Monatelang hatte er in Halluzinationen gelebt, die Stationen seines langen Lebens zogen an ihm vorüber: Er glaubte, mit seinen toten Eltern und mit längst verlorenen Freunden zu reden, durch Tel Aviv und New York zu wandern, zu schreiben und zu malen. Humorvoll und selbstironisch berichtet Yoram Kaniuk, wie er im Erwachen die traumartigen Ohlbaum Erinnerungsfetzen einbaute in die kaum weniger absurde Realität des Klinikalltags. Der Roman ist eine mutige Auseinandersetzung mit Alter und Tod, der trotz allen Zorns über den unvermeidlichen Verfall des Körpers die Fülle des Lebens spüren lässt. Er ist aber auch der Rückblick eines bedeutenden Schriftstellers auf sein reiches Leben.