Past Perfect (Sof Davar)
Encyclopedia
Past Perfect is a 1984 novel by Israel
i novelist Yaakov Shabtai
.
The original Hebrew title, Sof Davar (Hebrew:סוף דבר) can be translated literally as The End Result or Epilogue. Shabtai died in 1981, before completing a final draft. The novel was published posthumously, edited for publication by the literary scholar Dan Miron
and Shabtai's wife Edna. An English
translation was published in 1987 by Viking Press
.
as a baby, or else as a return to his own birth, following Nietzsche
's concept of the eternal return
.
in terms of narrative, prose style, and themes. Unlike Past Continuous, which was written as a single book-long paragraph (broken up in the English translation), in Past Perfect the narrative has been broken down into four parts, and divided further into paragraphs, albeit lengthy ones. The first part is written in the same Stream of Consciousness mode as the earlier novel, moving seamlessly between Meir's thought and external events. The later parts of the novel move away from this style, towards a more varied narration, until the very end, when Meir's death and rebirth are described in a lyrical
, almost magical-realist
style.
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i novelist Yaakov Shabtai
Yaakov Shabtai
Yaakov Shabtai was an Israeli novelist, playwright, and translator.-Biography:Shabtai was born in 1934 in Tel Aviv, Mandate Palestine. In 1957, after completing military service, he joined Kibbutz Merhavia, but returned to Tel Aviv in 1967....
.
The original Hebrew title, Sof Davar (Hebrew:סוף דבר) can be translated literally as The End Result or Epilogue. Shabtai died in 1981, before completing a final draft. The novel was published posthumously, edited for publication by the literary scholar Dan Miron
Dan Miron
Dan Miron is an Israeli literary critic and author. Miron is a Professor emeritus at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He is currently the Leonard Kaye Professor of Hebrew and Comparative Literature in the Department of Middle East and Asian Languages and Cultures at Columbia University.-Awards...
and Shabtai's wife Edna. An English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
translation was published in 1987 by Viking Press
Viking Press
Viking Press is an American publishing company owned by the Penguin Group, which has owned the company since 1975. It was founded in New York City on March 1, 1925, by Harold K. Guinzburg and George S. Oppenheim...
.
Plot
The novel focuses on Meir, a 42 years old architect from Tel Aviv, who at the beginning of the novel is suddenly stricken with the fear of dying. The novel's plot surrounds the changes in his life following this realization of his mortality, including an affair with his doctor, the death of his mother, and a trip to Europe. The novel ends with a birth following Meir's death from a heart attack, which could be seen as Meir's reincarnationReincarnation
Reincarnation best describes the concept where the soul or spirit, after the death of the body, is believed to return to live in a new human body, or, in some traditions, either as a human being, animal or plant...
as a baby, or else as a return to his own birth, following Nietzsche
Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was a 19th-century German philosopher, poet, composer and classical philologist...
's concept of the eternal return
Eternal return
Eternal return is a concept which posits that the universe has been recurring, and will continue to recur, in a self-similar form an infinite number of times across infinite time or space. The concept initially inherent in Indian philosophy was later found in ancient Egypt, and was subsequently...
.
Style
The novel serves as an indirect continuation of Past ContinuousPast Continuous (novel)
Past Continuous is a 1977 novel originally written in Hebrew by Israeli novelist Yaakov Shabtai. The original title, Zikhron Devarim is a form of contract or letter of agreement or memorandum, but could also be translated literally as Remembrance of Things.Past Continuous is Shabtai’s first, and...
in terms of narrative, prose style, and themes. Unlike Past Continuous, which was written as a single book-long paragraph (broken up in the English translation), in Past Perfect the narrative has been broken down into four parts, and divided further into paragraphs, albeit lengthy ones. The first part is written in the same Stream of Consciousness mode as the earlier novel, moving seamlessly between Meir's thought and external events. The later parts of the novel move away from this style, towards a more varied narration, until the very end, when Meir's death and rebirth are described in a lyrical
Lyrical
The term lyrical may mean:*Lyrics, or words in songs*Lyrical dance, a style of dancing*Emotional, expressing strong feelings*Lyric poetry, poetry that expresses a subjective, personal point of view...
, almost magical-realist
Magic realism
Magic realism or magical realism is an aesthetic style or genre of fiction in which magical elements blend with the real world. The story explains these magical elements as real occurrences, presented in a straightforward manner that places the "real" and the "fantastic" in the same stream of...
style.