Death is always a part of life no matter one's age, but at my age one begins to lose more and more people to death. I lost my dad ten years ago this month and my mom five years ago in April. Just two days after I fell ill in May, my favorite uncle passed away at 93 years of age. Simultaneously my favorite aunt fell and broke her shoulder. She had just turned 96 and was deemed too elderly to withstand an operation. She died in hospice care a week later.I am not writing of all this death as a plea...

David Grossman wrote this peculiar (in the best meaning of this word) book after losing his son in a war and this is in a way a record of grief, pain and the lack of agreement and acceptance for the death of a child. It’s painful to read, it rips something from your heart, it makes you sympathize, you co-feel with the characters. It’s a short book but I read it for quite a while, as it was in a way a scary read. I don’t think it’s because I am a mother myself, mostly I believe that every person

I can't imagine what losing a child feels like. David Grossman knows, and his knowledge ripped me apart as I bent over the table reading line after line of his shattering prose poem.A father who speaks to his wife candidly for the first time since their life ended, seeking answers mouth agape. He begins to circle around the town in imitation of the circle of life that his innocent child's unnatural death has broken forever. He tries to reconnect with life by recreating it the way it should be: b...

The book's theme of death & parental grief was the heaviest. I felt, along with the characters, their indescribable pain, despair, emptiness, confusion. The narrative managed to be quite dynamic and descriptive despite the intangible topic being probed. Beautiful imagery accompanied the author's exploration of the bottomless feeling of grief experienced by a child-less parent. It's heartbreaking the whole way through, but there is hope waiting for you at the end.David Grossman's treatment of tim...

I tried to to read this today. Though it's not at all long the book's style proved difficult for me to comprehend/fully grasp, and my reading attempts couldn't evince the empathy and understanding the meditations required or deserved. My failing, this one. (Unreservedly recommend The Yellow Wind and The Book of Intimate Grammar; still intending to get to To the End of the Land.)

A raw and loving book about grief. Grossman (who lost his son) uses poetry and prose in a play form to capture the pain of death by those left behind - parents, wives, husbands. the boy is dead. I recognizethese words as holding truth:he is dead. I know.Yes, I admit it: he is dead.but his death -- it swells,abates,fulminates.Unquietunquietis his deathSo unquiet.

The literary genre of mourning lyric is a very delicate one, because it is so easy to fall into cheap self-pity, superficial lamentation or pathetic exaggeration; or so it can seem to an outsider. Grossman wrote this book five years after the death of his own son Uri, who was killed in the short Israeli-Lebanese war of 2006. He chose a special style that mixes theatrical play, prose and pure poetry.People suddenly leave their home, their family, their occupation, and start looking for their son

After reading this I am inclined to let the words settle, to secure their place in my memory and then, to take a long walk. For those who have lost someone you may, as I did, find a measure of healing. Inside the pain there is breath. Breath connects us all.

this book was hard going as it did go through different prose but understood the authors loss but the book wasn't for me though

Loved it! A very unusual style, blending poetry, play and sparse prose revolving around one theme - death. The living are grieving and on a journey to understand and find their departed loved ones. Part mythical, part surreal and part psychological, the momentum is continuously propelled forward by the many characters and their desire. It's very clear that this is a personal story for Grossman, who has shown how to transform one's grief (loosing his son) into an artistic outlet. A fascinating re...

A very differently structured book, this is the authors attempt to give voice to his grief, and to all parents whom have lost a child. An attempt to separate grief from memories, in some parents a way to forgive themselves and a wonderful ode to love and regret.One can read the synopsis of the book, but that can not relate how powerful I found this little book. The words, the poetry, the commentary, so poignant, so raw. The outpouring of grief from all involved but also the hope that they can fi...

Hugely gripping, it provides a deep dive into the minds of bereaved parents mourning the loss of their children even after many years. Some words were poetic, some parts were downright convoluted - the centaur weirded me out a little bit..but I guess with grief (that Grossman may experience having lost his own son), there are no right words nor stories to express how you really feel.I saw first hand how my grandmother had slipped into severe depression after the untimely passing of my aunt to an...

This has been a surprising, but wonderful read. Grossman wrote this book in order to come to terms with his son's death. Now, how do you do this without losing yourself in pathos and drama? I was very sceptical about it prior to reading this book. Yet, the author delivers gracefully. In stead of telling the story of the author, Grossman's voice falls apart in many characters and voices. The reader gets a multi-faceted tale of loss, mourning, grief and - because It's the only thing that keeps you...

Like the two central characters here, Israeli author David Grossman lost his son, a soldier named Uri, during the Middle East conflict. In this multifaceted examination of bereavement, it seems that everyone has lost a child. The genre-bending mixture of poetry, absurdist dialogue, and an inverted fairy tale reflects the difficulty of ever capturing grief in language. Each story and each strategy is like a new way of approaching the unspeakable.Though it can be read in one sitting, this is a nov...

As some people know: David Grossman lost his son (during the War in Israel) --5 years ago.His book "To The End of The Land" (an AMAZING BOOK --one of my all time favorites) -- was his last novel. --This new release book "Falling Out of Time" is a small little book written for bereaved parents --offering comfort through poetry- and play. I bought this book (along with "Beyond Tears" --living after losing a child) --to give to my close friend. Her son had been fighting Cancer for the past 10 month...

I am truly sorry that the author had to go through losing a child to write this book. I don't know what more to say about this book. It is sort of short, it still took me several days to read the 125 pages of the German translation.I would recommend it to people interested in reading about grieving/liking poetic writings/tragedies (like in the antiquity).

There's no such place. Theredoesn't exist!-If you go there it does. p4This is not fiction not poetry not memoir not strictly a lament not just a metaphor.It is a kick in the solar plexus, a kaddish for the human soul.But tell us: is it full or hollow, this great factof your life? Is it slackor taut? p 91

Poignant, visceral, poetic, somber and agonizing are all words that describe this book but if I could only pick one, I would use harrowing.This was a very emotional book. I cannot imagine what it feels like to grieve your child's death and I hope I never have to. This book is the closest I ever hope to get.Doing a bit of research before hand, I know that Grossman knows first hand about losing a child. I could feel the Grossman pour his emotions into this book and knew that it was coming from a p...

In an unnamed place and unspecified time, a man and his wife exist in pieces following the death of their son. Uncertain where to turn, or how to move on from here, the man announces his intentions to walk, to go to the place where his son might be. So he sets out, moving in circles around his house and around the town and, for the purposes of this book soon earns the identifying moniker, 'The Walking Man'. It seems like a futile escapade, but he quickly draws others who can identify with his s

I'm not sure how many people will be attracted by this small book that deals with the somber subject of parents grieving for dead children. But the phrase "achingly beautiful" was never more apt than here. Originally written as a performance piece, the structure of the book is like an ancient Greek tragedy, the Town Chronicler acting as the Chorus, and individual characters speaking in short, truncated phrases that make the reader pause at the end of each line to digest what is being said/implie...