Yehoshua Kenaz

Yehoshua Kenaz ( _he. יהושע קנז, born Yehoshua Glass in 1937) is an Israeli novelist.

Biography

Glass was born in Petah Tikva, in the British Mandate of Palestine, in 1937. During the Second World War, his father worked for the British Army, and for a while the family moved to Haifa. He learned to play the violin. His brother Hilik was born when he was thirteen. He was drafted to the Israel Defense Forces and was sent to a basic training camp for physically unfit soldiers. He then served in the Israeli Intelligence Corps. He changed his last name to Kenaz, after Othniel Ben Kenaz, a bibilical name with a similar sound.Cite news
last = Lev-Ari
first = Shiri
title = Infiltrating
work = Haaretz
accessdate = 2008-09-23
date = 2008-09-19
url = http://www.mouse.co.il/CM.articles_item,1050,209,28004,.aspx he icon]

He studied Philosophy and Romance languages at the Hebrew University, and French literature at the Sorbonne. He wrote his first story in Paris and sent it to Aharon Amir's "Keshet" journal under the name of Avi Otniel (literally "father of Othniel"). He became famous in Israel in 1986 when his novel "Infiltration" became a best seller.

He has translated many French classics into Hebrew, and has worked on the editorial staff of the Ha'aretz newspaper. He was awarded the Alterman Prize in 1991, the Newman Prize in 1992, the Agnon Prize (1993), the Acum Prize (1994) and the Bialik Prize (1995). In 2007, "Infiltration" was named one of the ten most important books in Israeli history.Cite web
title = Yehoshua Kenaz
work = The Institute for the Translation of Hebrew Literature
accessdate = 2008-09-02
url = http://www.ithl.org.il/author_info.asp?id=139] As of August 2008, a film adaptation of his book "On the Way to the Cats" is in post-production, directed by Jorge Gurvich, while "Infiltration" is still in pre-production.Cite news
last = Anderman
first = Nirit
title = 35 reasons not to cut the film budget
work = Haaretz
accessdate = 2008-09-02
date = 2008-08-28
url = http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1015897.html] He lives in Tel Aviv.

Kenaz said he is not a Zionist because he does not believe a Jewish state would solve the problem of antisemitism. He supports a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict because he wants the Hebrew language and culture to be hegemonic and more cultivated in Israel.

Literature

"After the Holidays" (1964) is about the disintegration of a family in a small farming community in Palestine during the British Mandate. [Cite web
title = After the Holidays
work = The Institute for the Translation of Hebrew Literature
accessdate = 2008-09-23
url = http://www.ithl.org.il/book_info.asp?id=86] "The Great Woman of the Dreams" (1973) depicts the lives of the tenants of a rundown apartment house in Tel Aviv. [Cite web
title = The Great Woman of the Dreams
work = The Institute for the Translation of Hebrew Literature
accessdate = 2008-09-23
url = http://www.ithl.org.il/book_info.asp?id=90] "Musical Moments" (1980) is a collection of four stories dealing with themes of the rites of manhood and the disruption of innocence. [Cite web
title = Musical Moments
work = The Institute for the Translation of Hebrew Literature
accessdate = 2008-09-23
url = http://www.ithl.org.il/book_info.asp?id=89] "Infiltration" (1986) is the story of a platoon of young recruits with minor physical disabilities during their basic training at an Israeli army camp in the 1950s. [Cite web
title = Infiltration
work = The Institute for the Translation of Hebrew Literature
accessdate = 2008-09-23
url = http://www.ithl.org.il/book_info.asp?id=88] "The Way to the Cats" (1991) tells the story of pensioners in an old-age home, who engage in a pathetic power struggle. [Cite web
title = The Way to the Cats
work = The Institute for the Translation of Hebrew Literature
accessdate = 2008-09-23
url = http://www.ithl.org.il/book_info.asp?id=91] "Returning Old Loves" (1997) runs several plots in parallel form, sharing common characters. [Cite web
title = Returning Old Loves
work = The Institute for the Translation of Hebrew Literature
accessdate = 2008-09-23
url = http://www.ithl.org.il/book_info.asp?id=87] "Landscape With Three Trees" (2000) is two stories about the changes undergone by the Israeli society from the pre-state days to the present-day era. [Cite web
title = Landscape With Three Trees
work = The Institute for the Translation of Hebrew Literature
accessdate = 2008-09-23
url = http://www.ithl.org.il/book_info.asp?id=982]

Bibliography

In Hebrew

*After the Holidays (novel), Am Oved, 1964; 1987 [Aharei Ha-Hagim]
*The Great Woman of the Dreams (novel), Dvir, 1973 [Ha-Isha Ha-Gedolah Me-Ha-Halomot]
*Musical Moment (stories), Hakibbutz Hameuchad/Siman Kriah, *1980;1995 [Moment Musicali]
*Infiltration (novel), previously entitled Heart Murmur, Am Oved, 1986 [Hitganvut Yehidim]
*On the Way to the Cats (novel), Am Oved, 1991 [Ba-Derech La-Hatulim]
*Returning Lost Loves (novel), Am Oved, 1997 [Mahzir Ahavot Kodmot]
*Landscape with Three Trees (2 novellas), Am Oved, 2000 (Nof Im Shlosha Etzim)
*Between Night and Dawn (novella), Hakibbutz Hameuchad, 2006 [Bein Laila ve-Bein Shashar]

Translated into English

*Cite book
publisher = Harcourt
isbn = 0151039593
pages = 216
last = Kenaz
first = Yehoshua
title = After the Holidays
date = 1987
*Cite book
publisher = Zoland Books
isbn = 1883642485
pages = 325
last = Kenaz
first = Yehoshua
title = The Way to the Cats: A Novel
date = 1998
*Cite book
publisher = Zoland Books
isbn = 1883642477
pages = 176
last = Kenaz
first = Yehoshua
title = Musical Moment: And Other Stories
date = 1998
*Cite book
publisher = Zoland Books
isbn = 1586420135
pages = 250
last = Kenaz
first = Yehoshua
title = Returning Lost Loves: A Novel
date = 2001
*Cite book
publisher = Zoland Books
isbn = 1581952058
pages = 608
last = Kenaz
first = Yehoshua
title = Infiltration: A Novel
date = 2003

References