Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Publication
Picador (2005), Edition: Reprint, 352 pages
Description
Earnest, awkward and painfully shy, sixteen year old Asaf is having the worst summer of his life. With his big sister gone and his best friend suddenly the most popular kid in their class, Asaf spends his days at a lowly summer job in Jerusalem City Hall and his evenings alone, watching television and playing games on the Internet. One morning, Asaf's routine is interrupted by an absurd assignment- to find the owner of a stray yellow Labrador. Meanwhile on the other side of the city, Tamar, a talented singer with a lonely, tempestuous soul, undertakes an equally unpromising mission- to rescue a young drug addict from the Jerusalem underworld... and eventually, to find her dog. Grossman's most popular work to date, 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 Asaf, pushed beyond the limits of childhood, find the objects of their quests, find themselves, and find each other.… (more)
Media reviews
Einmal mehr ist es Grossman gelungen, die enge Verbindung von Magie und Wirklichkeit zu zeigen. Als wollte er mit jedem neuen Buch beweisen, dass das Faszinierendste für den Menschen die Begegnung mit dem anderen ist. Unübertroffen die Schilderung einer Annäherung von Personen, noch bevor sie
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sich kennen. Großartig, wie der Autor Spuren legt und Zeichen setzt, nach denen die Figuren sich richten, ohne es zu merken. Die Luft, die sie atmen, ist angereichert mit Bedeutung, die ganz und gar nichts Belehrendes hat, sondern aus purer, unvermischter Lebendigkeit besteht. Ein Künstler-, Kriminal- und Liebesroman von bestechender Sogkraft. Man wünscht seinen Kindern, eine solche Liebesgeschichte und ein derart spannendes Abenteuer zu erleben, und ertappt sich als Erwachsener dabei, einen alten, manchmal fast vergessenen Traum von neuem zu träumen. Show Less
User reviews
LibraryThing member SqueakyChu
Assaf, a 16-year-old living in Jerusalem, is sent to find the owner of a lost dog by following her at the end of a leash and to collect a fee for the dog’s return. He does not immediately find the owner, but does find other people who recognize Dinka as the dog of Tamar. One such person is the
Grossman has created a story that involves the reader with a darker side of Jerusalem, but not the one that makes world news. Dealing with the world of the city’s disenfranchised streets kids, the book unfolds a tale of two young people each with a mission and how their paths cross. The character’s dialogues include much unspoken thought which provides a window into their uncertainties in dealing with others. It also reflects how what is spoken is often not exactly what one feels.
The time construction of the novel was a bit unusual. Each of the stories of the two main characters is a different length in time but converge in the end. The technique is done well and provides the reader with a chance to “put all the pieces together” as the story develops.
I especially like the dog who also is an important character. In fact, she is the thread that brings most of the characters together. And, like the dog, pulling Assaf along, this mini-mystery of a story has enough drive to pull its readers at a non-stop pace through to the end.
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Greek nun Theodora who is happy to see Dinka but is more concerned about the disappearance of the dog’s owner.Grossman has created a story that involves the reader with a darker side of Jerusalem, but not the one that makes world news. Dealing with the world of the city’s disenfranchised streets kids, the book unfolds a tale of two young people each with a mission and how their paths cross. The character’s dialogues include much unspoken thought which provides a window into their uncertainties in dealing with others. It also reflects how what is spoken is often not exactly what one feels.
The time construction of the novel was a bit unusual. Each of the stories of the two main characters is a different length in time but converge in the end. The technique is done well and provides the reader with a chance to “put all the pieces together” as the story develops.
I especially like the dog who also is an important character. In fact, she is the thread that brings most of the characters together. And, like the dog, pulling Assaf along, this mini-mystery of a story has enough drive to pull its readers at a non-stop pace through to the end.
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LibraryThing member Floratina
READ IN DUTCH
This is a YA novel, set in Israel, and I can't really remember why I picked it up in the first place. I probably thought it was something special, because of the somewhat unusual setting. It turned out to be an unusual novel.
It's a touching story about Tamar, who quite literally wants
There are some things I found a bit shocking/hard to compute. Are there so much children living on the streets there, being my most urgent one. I liked the writing, the story isn't particularly fast but reads very nice. I was a bit annoyed though because there was at a certain point a lot of foreshadowing. 'Something was about to happen...' 'They had no idea what would happen to them' A bit too much of that. But overall, it was a very nice and special read.
This is a YA novel, set in Israel, and I can't really remember why I picked it up in the first place. I probably thought it was something special, because of the somewhat unusual setting. It turned out to be an unusual novel.
It's a touching story about Tamar, who quite literally wants
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to do to find her drug addicted brother and help him to get over his addiction. So much so, that she decides she must go and live on the streets and be a street performer, in order to be undercover enough to be able to save her brother.There are some things I found a bit shocking/hard to compute. Are there so much children living on the streets there, being my most urgent one. I liked the writing, the story isn't particularly fast but reads very nice. I was a bit annoyed though because there was at a certain point a lot of foreshadowing. 'Something was about to happen...' 'They had no idea what would happen to them' A bit too much of that. But overall, it was a very nice and special read.
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LibraryThing member Bookish59
An amazing book. Three phenomenal characters who are pushed out of their comfort zones each by different but arduous challenges. They are motivated by love and selflessness in stark contrast to the manipulative and threatening environment around them.
Grossman doesn't stop with a main plot. He
Grossman doesn't stop with a main plot. He
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embellishes it by adding more depth and realism to these heroes by constructing worlds of their pasts, thoughts and feelings. Its as though his imagination can't stop with just one unique story but needs to pour out in multiple stories. This wonderful imagination combined with strong writing make for captivating, exciting and moving reading. Show Less
LibraryThing member Rdra1962
Beautiful writing, fascinating characters, fast paced and thrilling. This book was a different read for me, in some ways too real -an unlikely runway girl living on the streets- hard to read for a mother of daughters- in other ways magical realism and major coincidences abound...you just have to go
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with it, let the story unfold, meet the characters, learn their stories and follow their journeys. Very rewarding read! Show Less
LibraryThing member markm2315
Said to be the most popular novel by prize-winning politically active Israeli author of The Yellow Wind and To the End of the Land. I thought it had a young adult/date movie quality and faded out during the direct discussions of the characters' emotional states. It has a dog in it, and I
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recommended it highly to my wife and daughter. Show Less
Awards
Wingate Literary Prize (Winner — Fiction — 2004)
Buxtehuder Bulle (2001)
Sapir Prize for Literature (2001)
Christian Science Monitor Best Book (Fiction — 2004)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2000
Physical description
352 p.; 5.53 inches
ISBN
031242194X / 9780312421946