Reason read: Israeli author, TIOLI #1
Blue Mountain was Meir Shalev's first novel. It tells the story through the narrator Baruch, granson of one of the village founders. Baruch is owner of the cemetery where he buries the pioneering generation. The pioneers are the first immigrants from Russia and Ukraine that return back to the Land with ideas of socialism and religious fanaticism. The location is a small cooperative village in the Valley of Jezreel prior to the founding of Israel. They started to arrive in the early 1900s. There are many themes of redemption and rebirth. The characters are colorful. Other themes include the earth and nature. I enjoyed the funny stories full of magical realism but I also did not enjoy the sexual content. I did not get any strong feelings that women were treated disrespectfully. They were earthy women as were the men. Israel is a people of the earth. Nature is friend and foe, good and bad. Narture is politicized.

The author was born in Israel in 1948, the same year of the founding of Israel. He died in April of this year. He identified with the left and wanted a two state solution but also was aware that "Radical Palestinians still say that the only solution would be for all Jews to pack their bags and return to where their grandparents came from. When there are no more Jews left in the Middle East, then the problem is solved, according to their logic. As long as they continue to think that way, there will be no peace. We are here and we are going to stay. Only after that fact is generally accepted can progress be made."
I rated it 3 stars. ( )

Although a novel of magical realism, this novel is a nice introduction to the Second Aliyah, pioneer immigrants to Palestine/Israel, which I find a fascinating almost mythical period (which I imagine Shalev does as well.) The slow, circuitous unfolding of individual stories of the members of this community in the Jezreel Valley wraps the reader in threads of humor, tragedy, rancor, and passion. A couple favorites: the surprising revelation of the pioneer Zeitser and the imminent arrival of Shifris, the embodiment of the wandering Jew. ( )

Der Ich-Erzähler Baruch Schenhar erzählt in bunten Episoden und Rückblicken die Geschichte seiner Familie, die zugleich die Geschichte eines israelischen Moschaws ist, der von osteuropäischen Einwanderern Anfang des 20. Jahrhunderts aufgebaut wird.

Meir Shalevs Roman ist nicht russisch, sondern zutiefst israelisch: Es ist eine farbenfrohe Huldigung an die Pioniere der zweiten Alija und die vielschichtige Darstellung eines jüdischen Genossenschaftsdorfes von den Anfängen des Zionismus bis tief hinein ins spätere 20. Jahrhundert. Diesbezüglich ist das Werk Geschichtsbuch, soziologische Monographie und politische Feldstudie.

Darüber hinaus ist Shalevs Epos aber vor allem eine prächtige Schilderung des zionistischen Pioniergeistes und des israelischen Landlebens. Ein wahres literarisches Juwel sind die vom Autor liebe- und humorvoll gezeichneten Bewohner des Moschaws, die er mit all ihren Träumen, Marotten und einer gehörigen Portion dunklen Wahnsinns meisterhaft darstellt. Shalev gelingt es, das Dorfleben plastisch und lebendig zu machen, sodass dessen Bewohner dem Leser wie liebgewonnene Freunde und Nachbarn zu Herzen gehen. ( )

Впервые на русском языке выходит самый знаменитый роман ведущего израильского прозаика Меира Шалева. Эта книга о том поколении евреев, которое пришло из России в Палестину и превратило ее пески и болота в цветущую страну, Эрец-Исраэль. В мастерски выстроенном повествовании трагедия переплетена с иронией, русская любовь с горьким еврейским юмором, поэтический миф с грубой правдой тяжелого труда. История обитателей маленькой долины, отвоеванной у природы, вмещает огромный мир страсти и тоски, надежд и страданий, верности и боли.
Подробнее: https://www.labirint.ru/books/95134/ ( )

from good reads: The absorbing first novel by one of Israel's most important and acclaimed contemporary writers focuses on four idealistic early settlers of the modern state of Israel.
Set in a small rural village prior to the creation of the State of Israel, this funny and hugely imaginative book paints an extraordinary picture of a small community of Ukrainian immigrants as they pioneer a new life in a new land over three generations. Narrated by Baruch, a grandson of one of the founding fathers of the village, this lyrical novel transcends time and place by touching on issues of universal relevance, showcasing the skill of a master storyteller who never fails to entertain.