Valley of Strength

by Shulamit Lapid

Book Overview

This scenic, moving novel. set at the end of the nineteenth century, follows the first seven years of Gai Oni-a settlement in the Galilee, the precursor to the town of Rosh Pinnah-through the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1592642306
• ISBN13: 9781592642304
• Release Date: March 2009
• Publisher: Toby Press
• Length: 349 Pages
• Weight: 1.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.0" x 8.7"

Customer Reviews

So glad it's finally in English translation!

I have been waiting for at least 30 years for Gai Oni to be translated into English and I am so grateful to Toby Press for making it happen. This novel is a classic in the cannon of Israeli literature describing the earliest days of settlement in Palestine under the Ottoman Empire. While the love story is hardly unique, the description of life in Palestine in the 1880's, the frictions and forces at work and challenge to create a living Jewish state are remarkable to read about in fiction. Many pre-state historical accounts are available to document the earliest aliyot from Eastern Europe, the communities living on halukah and the mixed blessing of intervention by "the baron" and his agents, but this is the only true literary effort in English to depict these times. It is a compelling read with which one takes away a much deeper understanding of the forces and heroes that molded the state. Thanks again to Toby Press and I hope they continue to offer many more such gems to the English language readership.

History and Feminism

Lapid, Shulamit. "Valley of Strength", The Toby Press, 2009. History and Feminism Amos Lassen Originally published in Hebrew in 1992, S hulamit Lapid's "Valley of Strength" is finally available in English from The Toby Press. Set in Israel at the end of the 19th century, it tells a tale of feminine heroism and strength in a land where survival was tough (and still is, it seems). In the early years of the State of Israel, the country was in need of strategic settlements near its borders to insure safe living. Fania, a 16 year old girl, arrived in Palestine (as the area was known) after having survived the Ukrainian pogroms. She came with her uncle, her brother with mental problems and her child who was conceived when she was raped. They arrive at Jaffa, the port city of the time and there she met Yehiel, a 26 year old widower and father of two. Yehiel was one of the few still left at the northern settlement of Gai Oni (now Rosh Pinnah). Most of those that settled the place were gone now, having been driven away by exhausting work and drought. Only a few remained. Fania is taken by Yehiel and she goes with in to Gai Oni and takes on the life of a peasant woman. She works the land and tries to get it to blossom. In a world dominated by men, Fania becomes a symbol of strength. Here is the story of both a woman and a country coming-of-age. It is a study of both the history of Israel and feminism. Many times elements of a book are lost when it is translated but that is not true in Philip Simpson's brilliant translation which catches all of the nuances of the Hebrew text (which I originally read some years ago). Lapid gives us a new heroine that has become a part of the literary tradition of Israel. She does herself and her country proud.