Past Continuous

Past Continuous is considered Israel's modernist masterpiece. Part of this is because of the form of the novel. In the original Hebrew, Past Continuous was written as one, continuous paragraph, with little punctuation. The English publishers of this work (or its translators?) were too squeamish to present the book as such here, so some of the modernist thrust of the novel is diluted. This can give the English version of Past Continuous a more disjointed feel than the Hebrew original, as if it is an experiment that is only half-baked. The novel presents the lives of three main characters, and takes the form of long ruminations on their predicaments. In the process, minor characters are introduced, and one rumination leads into the next, as a whole cloth. The novel was considered quite subversive when it was published in 1977. The Hebrew novel had seen little of sustained innovation formalistically or philosophically; Past Continuous was also subtlety "post-Zionist" in its artistic stance. The characters are not Zionist ideals, but rather deeply flawed individuals, looking for meaning in a world were existence appears to offer only struggle and effort without reward. Although a difficult read, Past Continuous rewards the reader for his or her effort with a powerful and self-contained work.

Shortly before his death, Y. Shabtai wrote two inter-related books, Past Perfect and Past Continuous (both of them translated by the gifted Dalia Bilu). The title of the first book, in Hebrew, is Zikhron Devarim, or Memory, and these are indeed books that look back, not only at the lives of their characters, but at the entire project that became the State of Israel, and, more universally, at the human project. These are novels of biblical proportions and they are brilliant from start to finish.

Past Continuous is an engaging novel by Yaahov Shabtai and is set in modern-day Tel Aviv. Astutely translated from the original Hebrew by Dalya Bilu, Past Continuous strives to present a landscape portrait of Tel Aviv, as it depicts three men, their lives, their loves, their families, and their friends in a criss-cross tangled tale wrapped in the unfolding vibrancy of the city itself. A compelling and deftly written saga, Past Continuous will well serve to introduce to American readers an Israeli writer of significant literary talent.

Simply the best book published in Israel for the last 30 years.Absolutely fantastic!

one of the best books written in this century. not an easy reading- the book is written in one paragraph, and as a continous thought, but it's damn worth it.