GROSSMAN, David << back to list Born in Jerusalem in 1954, David Grossman is a leading Israeli writer of his generation and his work has been translated into 25 languages. He is the author of seven internationally acclaimed novels, and two powerful journalistic accounts, as well as a number of children’s books and a play. The recipient of the 2010 Frankfurt Peace Prize. (photo © Kobi Kalmanovitz) Bibliography & Foreign sales UNTIL THE END OF THE LAND (Fiction) 2008 Until the End of the Land is the story of two men, a woman and her two sons, about love and unrequited love, about friendship and generosity between men, about parenthood and the almost heroic efforts to sustain the delicate texture of family in the heart of the violence and dread and fleetingness of Israeli life. Rights sold to: USA, Knopf Publishing; UK, Jonathan Cape; Italy, Mondadori; Germany, Hanser Verlag; France, Editions du Seuil; Portugal, Dom Quixote; Brazil, Cia das Letras; Holland, Cossee; Spain, Random House Mondadori (Lumen); Spain (Catalan), Ediciones 62; Sweden, Bonnier; Serbia, Arhipelag; Reviews ”Grossman’s novel is a milestone in the history of modern Hebrew literature. An epic spanning from the Six Day War until the last Lebanon War…” Anat Feinberg, Die Welt ”UNTIL THE END OF THE LAND is the stamp of maturity upon Israeli literature, the closest thing to an anti-war novel that has ever been written here…in the end – as happens to the readers of great books – you will not be who you were when you began…The formative novel of Hebrew literature in the 21st century. No less. Perhaps a lot more.” Ariana Melamed, YNET ”This novel contains leaps of genius – verbal leaps, psychological ones, in the descriptions of nature and reality, leaps in drama and plot… Grossman displays transcendence and genius sensitivity to the smallest vibration of the soul…” Arik Glasner, Ma’ariv Literary Supplement WRITING IN THE DARK (Essays) 2008 In this powerful collection of essays, David Grossman addresses his dreams of peace, contemplations of “the Other,” his mourning for Yitzhak Rabin, and an examination of the books that have most impacted his life. A rare glimpse into both the political and private thoughts of one of this generation’s most gifted writers. Rights sold to: USA, Farrar, Strauss & Giroux; UK, Bloomsbury; Italy, Mondadori; France, Editions du Seuil; Germany, Hanser Verlag; Holland, Cossee; Greece, Scripta Publishers; Spain, Ediciones 62 Reviews ”Lively and luminous…” Le Soir ”These days it is indispensable to read Grossman”. Le Canard Enchaine ”A precious little book” Inrockuptibles DEATH AS A WAY OF LIFE (Essays) 2003 In autumn 1993 the Oslo Agreements were signed by Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat, marking the beginning of a genuine promise for constructive peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians. The ten years that followed were charted by hope and optimism only to deteriorate into revenge and violence. Throughout this decade David Grossman has published articles in the American and European press, written in a personal voice – father, husband, peace activist, novelist. As he witnesses devastating events, he cries out with prophetic wisdom, imploring both sides to return to sanity, to negotiations. Rights sold to: USA, Farrar, Straus & Giroux; UK, Bloomsbury; Italy, Mondadori; Spain, Seix Barral, Germany, Hanser Verlag, France, Editions du Seuil; Holland, Cossee; Portugal, Campo das Letras; Japan, Misuzu Shobo Reviews “This is an eclectic mix of reflections which reinforces Grossman’s position as a major political writer…he stands as the moral conscience of Israel. This refreshing critique from the inside of the crucible helps us understand a little of what has been going on since Oslo.” The Independent “Grossman’s position is liberal, tolerant, measured, intelligent, poignant and persuasive, even in its despair.” New York Times Book Review “In addition to objective analyses, there are many passages in which Grossman gives voice to his personal agony in the face of escalating violence and the death of so many innocent people at the hands of Palestinian terrorist groups, invariably followed beyond doubt by the revenge of the Israeli army, which in turn leads only to new terror.” Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung IN ANOTHER LIFE (Fiction, 2 Novellas) 2002 “Preying”, the first novella, is a story driven by jealousy. Shaul, a successful academic, has been married for 25 years to Elisheva. For a decade, Shaul has been totally obsessed with the affair his wife is having with Paul. Not only is Shaul besotted by sexual fantasies of his wife with Paul, he actually facilitates their relationship. In the second novella from which the book takes its title, Nili, the protagonist, is lying on her deathbed, terminally ill with cancer. Her daughter Rotem, who has found love and a relationship with another woman, returns to Israel to see her mother again for the last time before her death and reads to her the story she has written, revolving around Nili’s relations, 18 years earlier. Rights sold to: USA, Farrar, Straus & Giroux; UK, Bloomsbury; France, Editions du Seuil; Germany, Hanser Verlag; Italy, Mondadori; Spain, Seix Barral; Holland, Eva Cossee; Greece, Kastaniotis; Brazil, Cia das Letras; Sweden, Bonnier; Serbia, Arhipelag; Israel, HaKibbutz HaMeuhad Reviews “…startling, immediate and richly true. Grossman’s description is bristling with physical detail. His sentences are dizzying and intoxicating.” New York Times “Absolutely magnificent … Grossman speaks with warmth of someone for whom persuasion is not only a means of seduction but an absolute necessity. By using an extraordinarily sensual and inventive prose, Grossman literally explores the inner life of his protagonists. Like a midwife that pulls the child from its mother’s womb, he extirpates the sorrows and grudges of his characters. Through his writings he gives a soul to the body and a body to the soul.” Le Monde des Livres “A brilliant variation on an eternal human motive…” Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung SOMEONE TO RUN WITH (Fiction, Young Adult) 2000 A bestseller hailed by the Israeli press for its mixture of fairy-tale magic, emotional sensitivity, and gritty realism, Someone to Run With explores the life of Israeli street kids and the anxieties of family life in a society racked by self-doubt. But most of all, Grossman evokes the adventure of adolescence and the discovery of love, as Tamar and Assaf, pushed beyond the limits of childhood, find the objects of their quests, find themselves, and find each other. Winner of the Jewish Quarterly Wingate Literary Prize 2004 for fiction. Rights sold to: USAFarrar, Straus & Giroux; UK, Bloomsbury; Germany, Hanser; Italy, Mondadori; Spain, Random House Mondadori (Lumen); Holland, Cossee; France, Editions de Seuil; Brazil, Cia das Letras; Sweden, Bonnier; Norway, Gyldendal; Russia, Rozoviy Giraffe, Poland, WAB; Romania, Editura Niculescu; Greece, Scripta Publishers; Israel, HaKibbutz HaMeuchad Film Rights: Lone Pine Ltd Reviews “Grossman evokes teen-age nobility and self-hatred in all its pimply particularity, while slyly suggesting that the arduous quest for connections should never be outgrown.” The New Yorker “Grossman is very good at making his characters seem charming, especially in their dialogue… he is an ultra-romantic” The New York Review “…there is no other Israeli writer, translated into English, who gets so close to the heart of the matter.” London Review of Books “Once again, Grossman has written a novel for young adults and adults. The book is an exciting thriller that uncovers the deep emotional world of two teenagers. It is a handbook for people who are close to each other. Someone to Run With is above all a novel about sisterly love, family bonds and friendships. It deals with coming of age and with good yet immature parents. Grossman investigates all small moments that make up a life and brings the reader in to participate.” Die Zeit “David Grossman’s new novel has the taste of ‘once upon a time…’ Grossman returns to the dream of growing and living ‘happily ever after’, in a positive way, taking pleasure in the normal, the ordinary… The characters are portrayed with the skill of an experienced writer.” La Repubblica YOU SHALL BE MY KNIFE (Fiction) 1998 While attending a gathering of high school alumni, 33-year old Yair sees Miriam across the room. Struck by the way she holds herself, he decides to write her a letter, offering her a degree of intimacy neither has achieved in their respective marriages. This intimacy, however, is to remain limited to their letters; confining the affair to written words. Yair seeks to detach love from sex and redefine both. Rights sold to: USA, Farrar, Straus & Giroux; UK, Bloomsbury; Italy, Mondadori; Germany, Hanser, Pb Fischer Taschenbuchverlag; Holland, Ambo/Anthos Uitgevers; France, Editions du Seuil; Finland, Otava; Spain, Random House Mondadori (Lumen); Portugal, Campo das Letras; Israel, HaSifria HaHadasha/HaKibbutz HaMeuchad Reviews “…nothing less than a transformative work of art, the finest novel to date by a writer who has been, one of the most original and talented not only in his own country but anywhere…It is a fully realized work of fiction, and it unfolds as a flood of the most deeply felt emotions.” The New York Times Book Review “...a romantic novel...a novel which finds a human face in the dark side of existence...It is a novel that promises readers many an enchanting afternoon.” Frankfurter Rundschau “David Grossman reveals the scope of his universal vision and of his enormous talent.” Le Monde des Livres THE ZIGZAG KID (Fiction) 1994 A long train ride from Jerusalem to Haifa turns into a journey of discovery for 13-year-old Amnon “Nono” Feierberg, as he unravels the mystery of his past through the aid of the country’s most notorious con artist. Rights sold to: USA, Farrar, Straus, Giroux; UK, Bloomsbury; France, Editions du Seuil; Holland, Cossee, Pb, Rainbow; Germany, Hanser, Pb Fischer Taschenbuchverlag; Italy, Mondadori; Sweden, Bonnier Alba (reverted); Rumania, Univers; Spain, Tusquets; Greece, Kastanitois Editions; Turkey, Dost; Russia, Limbus; Hungary, Cartaphilus; Israel, HaSifria HaHadasha/HaKibbutz HaMeuchad Dramatic Rights: Bos Bros Film-TV Productions BV; Theater Rights: Stichtig Theater Initiatieven en Produkties (STIP) Holland Reviews “Lighthearted and funny, a book of enormous charm.” The New York Times “Grossman’s energetic characterization and abundantly imaginative plotting combine in an engaging and charming tale. He conjures the confusions of both adolescence and adulthood in a way that is sensitive and true.” The Guardian SLEEPING ON A WIRE (Non-Fiction) 1992 David Grossman’s personal journey into the world of Arab Israelis. Rights sold to: USA, Farrar, Straus, Giroux/Noonday; UK, Jonathan Cape/Picador; Italy, Mondadori; France, Seuil; Germany, Hanser; Holland, Contact; Spain, Tusquets (reverted); Sweden, Bonnier Alba (reverted); Japan, Shobun-sha; Israel, HaSifria HaHadasha/HaKibbutz HaMeuchad Reviews “This is a fine, compelling report, in which all facets of what seems an insoluble problem are treated with sympathy.” The New Yorker “... Grossman has crossed one of the world’s deepest divides in order to encounter Israel’s Arab minority.” The New York Times Book Review “No other Israeli writer so far has approached this touchy subject with such compassion, or looked at it with, so to speak, bifocal eyes.” The New York Review of Books THE BOOK OF INTIMATE GRAMMAR (Fiction) 1991 The painful and moving story of Aron Kleinfeld, who at 12 suddenly ceases to grow. The novel is about the alchemy of childhood, which transforms loneliness and fear into creation, and about the struggle to emerge as an artist. Rights sold to: USA, Farrar, Straus, Giroux; UK, Jonathan Cape/Picador; Italy, Mondadori; Germany, Hanser; France, Seuil; Holland, Ambo; Spain, Tusquets; Sweden, Bonnier Alba (reverted); Finland, Otava (reverted); Norway, Gyldendal (reverted); Denmark, Gyldendal (reverted); Israel, HaSifria HaHadasha/HaKibbutz HaMeuchad Reviews “...This stunning new novel belongs in the pantheon of great books...rich and dense, full of startling perceptions and dark, ironic wit.” The New York Times Book Review “...the writing reminds you of the great, solemn mystery of literature, what the poet Czeslaw Milosz calls “the human possibility of being someone else”.” Chicago Tribune THE YELLOW WIND (Non-Fiction) 1988 David Grossman’s personal account of his three-month encounter with Palestinians, prior to the outbreak of the Intifada. Rights sold to: USA, Farrar, Straus, Giroux/Dell; USA, Softcover, Picador; UK, Jonathan Cape/Picador; Italy, Mondadori; France, Seuil; Germany, Droemer/Knaur; Holland, Contact; Spain, El Pais; Norway, Gyldendal; Denmark, Gyldendal; Sweden, Bonnier; Turkey, CEP Kitiplaru; Japan, Shobun-sha; Israel, HasSifria HaHadasha/HaKibbutz HaMeuchad Reviews “The most honest, soul-searching book yet written by an Israeli - or, for that matter, by a Palestinian - on an agony that neither of them alone can bring to an end.” Los Angeles Times “Even the most cautious readers - and even the most hostile - are bound to learn something about the conflict that they never knew before, something that illuminates the news and the reality that produces it, something that explains what is and may yet be, something deep and achingly, damningly, true. The New York Times Book Review SEE UNDER: LOVE (Fiction) 1986 Momik is the child of Holocaust survivors. He grows up in the shadow of their history, determined to understand the nature of the cataclysm he hears fleetingly about, and to prepare himself for the new disaster he knows is coming by shielding himself from all feeling and attachment. Yet something in Momik pushes him into strange, perilous confrontations with the world of pain and love he is determined to avoid. Rights sold to: USA, Farrar, Straus, and Giroux/Noonday; USA USA Softcover, Picador; UK, Jonathan Cape/Picador; Italy, Mondadori; France, Seuil; Germany, Hanser , Pb Fischer Taschenbuchverlag; Sweden, Bromberg’s; Norway, Gyldendal; Czech Republic, Mlada Fronta; Holland, Contact (reverted); Finland, Otava (reverted); Denmark, Gyldendal; Spain, Random House Mondadori (Lumen); Brazil, Cia das Letras; Portugal, Campo das Letras; Turkey, Dost; China, Shanghai Translation House Publishing; Korea, Penguin Publishers; Russia, Text Publishers; Serbia, Arhipelago Publishers; Romania, Niculescu; Poland, Bertelsmann; Israel, HaSifria HaHadasha/HaKibbutz HaMeuchad Theatre Rights: Theatre Rights: Kammertheater Neubrandenburg, Germany (non-exclusive) Reviews “In a few mythic books, such as Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury, Guenter Grass’s The Tin Drum, Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude, large visions of history get told in innovative ways. See Under: Love may be a worthy successor to this small but awesome canon.” The New York Times Book Review “A world-class work of fiction, one of the most profound, compelling, and ingenious novels that I have read in years.” USA Today “...there is no doubt that Grossman has written the most richly imaginative novel that Hebrew fiction has seen for quite some time....A truly extraordinary work of fiction.” The New Republic THE SMILE OF THE LAMB (Fiction) 1983 The Smile of the Lamb is the story of Uri, an Israeli soldier serving in the occupied West Bank, and his wife Shosh, who works in a juvenile psychiatric institution and has an affair with Katzman, her husband’s commander. There is also Khilmi, an Arab storyteller who sees Uri as his spiritual heir. Rights sold to: USA, Farrar, Straus, Giroux; UK, Jonathan Cape/Picador; Italy, Mondadori; France, Seuil; Germany, Hanser; Sweden, Bromberg’s; Holland, Contact; Spain, Tusquets; Israel, HaSifria HaHadasha/HaKibbutz HaMeuchad Reviews “...compels the heart and the imagination as well as the mind.” LA Times Book Review “...the novelist’s narrative and ideas are so gripping, they are worth arguing about! Here we have authentic talent.” Washington Post JOGGER (Short Stories) 1983 Rights sold to: Italy, Mondadori; Israel, Ha Kibbutz HaMeuchad DUEL (Fiction, Young Adult) 1982 Recipient of The Marsh Award 2001 (UK) A detective-style tale of love and honor, Duel is the story of a boy’s relationship with a 70-year-old friend who is challenged to a duel and decides he must accept. Rights sold to: USA, Bloomsbury; UK, Bloomsbury; France, Editions du Seuil; Holland, Van Goor; Denmark, Rosinante & Co.; Germany, Carlsen; Czech Republic, Albatros; Italy, Mondadori; Denmark, Rosinante; Brazil, Cia das Letras; Spain, Cruilla; Spain, Ediciones SM (Castillian); Israel, Siman Kri’a/HaKibbutz HaMeuchad Reviews “...entirely convincing... full of passion.” The Guardian “...You’ll be duelling with yourself, if you try and put this book down.” Times RIKI’S KINDERGARDEN (Play) 1988 Rights sold to: Italy, Oscar Mondadori; Israel, Siman Kri’a/HaKibbutz HaMeuchad ITAMAR, six titles (Children) 1988-1992 Rights sold to: Italy, Mondadori; Germany, Hanser; Holland, Ten Have; Spain, Grijalbo/Mondadori; Spain (Catalan) Cruilla; Korea, Minumsa; Czech Republic, Garamond; Israel, Am Oved CD-ROM of Itamar/TIMMY produced by Compedia, Tel Aviv, and distributed in the following countries: UK, News Multimedia; Germany, Langenscheidt/Hexaglot; Sweden, Bonnier; France, E.M.M.E.; USA, First Information Group; Holland, Kluitman; Japan, Synforest URI’S SPECIAL LANGUAGE (Children) 1996 Rights sold to: Italy, Mondadori; Israel, HaKibbutz HaMeuchad THERE WERE TWO MONKEYS (Children) 1996 Rights sold to: Italy, Mondadori; Germany, Hanser; Spain, Pb Cruilla (Catalan); Israel, Am Oved GIRAFFE BEDTIME (Children) 1999 Rights sold to: Germany, Hanser Verlag; Italy, Mondadori; Israel, Am Oved DON’T WORRY RUTI (Children) 1999 Rights sold to: Germany, Hanser Verlag; Czech Republic, Garamond; Israel, Am Oved RUTI WILL SLEEP AND SLEEEEP (Children) 2004 Rights sold to: Germany, Hanser Verlag; Italy, Mondadori; Israel, Am Oved Awards Grossman has been presented with numerous awards including Chevalier de l’Ordre des Artes et des Lettres (France), Valumbrosa Prize (Italy), Prix Eliette Von Karajan (Austria), Premio Grinzane (Italy), Premio Mondelo (Italy), Vittorio de Sica Prize (Italy) the Marsh Award for Children’s Literature in Translation (UK), the Juliet Club Prize (Italy), the Buxtehuder Bulle 2001 (Germany), the Sapir Prize (2001), the Premio per la Pace e l’Azione Umanitaria 2006 (City of Rome/Italy), Onorificenza della Stella Solidarita Italiana 2007, Premio Ischia – International Award for Journalism 2007, the EMET Award 2007 (Israel) and the Geschwister Scholl Prize 2008 (Germany).