A Tel Aviv shopkeeper visits his parents' Polish birthplace in an attempt to come to terms with their complex legacy--and is completely unprepared for what he finds there.
Despite some stilted dialogue and a highly stylized characterization of Yaakov and Magda’s sexual relationship, Poland, a Green Land is a compelling novel. It is written with Appelfeld’s characteristic economy of language and powerful imagery ... Appelfeld’s unique literary achievement is his ability to also include the perpetrators of the crimes against humanity and their descendants in this psychological link between past and present.
The book, in which Yaakov’s dreams play an important role, has a fuzzy, dreamlike quality itself ... A powerful and timely addition to Appelfeld's great body of work.
