The Man Who Sold Air in the Holy Land by Omer Friedlander
Review of The Man Who Sold Air in the Holy Land by Omer Friedlander
The Man Who Sold Air in the Holy Land by Omar Friedlander (2022). Published by Random House.
Something I try to do as much as possible whenever I’m reading novels is to diversify my reading lists whenever possible, as it’s so important to read from a wide variety of perspectives around the world. It’s critical to develop an attitude where you can consume perspectives you don’t agree with sometimes, as you’re not in an echo chamber.
Anyways, I was wandering around in my local library when I spotted the spine of The Man Who Sold Air in the Holy Land. It was the title that drew me into picking the book up, and while the cover wasn’t that appealing to me, I still opened the book up and read the synopsis.
When I saw this was a collection of short stories set in and around Israel, I knew I wanted to dive deeper and read it. This was in the midst of conflict, but I saw some of the stories were about interacting with Palestinians. That’s what made me curious enough to give this title a chance, even though I’m typically not keen on short stories.
I read it over the course of four days, giving it enough time and care, allowing the chance to sit with each story. And honestly, I’m glad that I gave this book a chance.
Let’s get into the review!
A collection of short stories set in Israel, often with a sad note to them.
As I wrote above, each one of these short stories is set in Israel, or the Holy Land. In total, there are eleven short stories, and they have a wide variety of range. Whether it’s within Jerusalem or the desert, we learn a lot about the protagonists of these stories, with the conflict of the region looming behind them.
To begin, I’ll point out two of the stories that stood out to me. One is about an Israeli man who grew up with a Palestinian friend, and now, in the town where they live, many of the Palestinians are gone. They were close, and he has mementos he has of their friendship is a theater ticket.
But, as it turns out in this story, the protagonist is one of the key reasons that his beloved friend had left. He feels guilt for something he did to ruin his friend’s family’s lives, leaving them without their sacred land and orchards. When his friend’s daughter, returning after her father’s death, sees him, he discovers some secrets were not secrets all this time.
The story that struck me was about the mother whose son died as a soldier in Gaza. She kind of becomes disillusioned at the attitudes the other Israelis have about his death, leading her to begin questioning everything that’s going on around her. A lot of these stories have undertones of questioning the roots of conflicts, if we’re going to be real.
Those are a small sample of these eleven stories, but others include a Scheherazade in Lebanon telling stories to some other soldiers, or a father and daughter bottling up air and selling it in the Holy Land.
Something I often admire about fiction is its ability to take us to new worlds and show us life there. I found this to be a deeply reflective collection of stories, especially as this is only the second contemporary Israeli based novel I’ve read.
Both have been very questioning of social status and society in contemporary Israel, which is an interesting perspective to hear and read about because people make it to be very black and white. No country’s culture and people are black and white within two exact camps.
Overall Thoughts
I think this was a wonderful collection of stories. There weren’t any that I found myself wanting to actively skip while reading, and the prose itself was wonderful.
I’m truly glad that I gave this novel a chance. You see what happens when you come into books with an open mind? You learn a little more about the world and its people.
Go and give this one a chance if you have not already. Go to your local library, see if they have it in your system, or pick up a digital copy if you can’t get ahold of a physical one.
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