The Drive
Registered by MRZECKER of Leominster, Massachusetts USA on 10/5/2020
This Book is Currently in the Wild!
This Book is Currently in the Wild!
1 journaler for this copy...
Mid read, but done soon and releasing right away!
UPDATE
“I joined a combat unit and did basic training for combat until they discovered I had asthma and transferred me to Intelligence, and that’s where everything went wrong, and I don’t really know how to explain what went wrong or how, but I just know that I can’t tolerate the situation there... My soul can’t tolerate it... It’s an interesting thing the way the soul edits our memories for us...”
The Drive is a short novel by the Sapir Prize and Israeli Ministry of Culture Prize winning author Yair Assulin. It tells the story of the anguish and suffocating military life of a young Israeli enlistee who has found his life to come to an impasse of boredom and meaninglessness in the machine of the military. This is more of a philosophically-driven plot that takes us on the crushing Yossarian-like journey that our protagonist is facing as he is both engaged with the military and enjoying his service to his country, but also lost in the cogs of its operation. The main question arises about whether or not the support of his parents and girlfriend are enough to push him through his service, and if a hail-Mary pass by looking for a diagnosis at the Military’s Mental Health Offices are enough to have him reassigned or completely discharged.
This book raises a lot of interesting questions about where the passions for love of country and enlistment cross over into the realities of the bureaucratic machine. I have had several friends in the US military – specifically those serving in the Navy and the Coast Guard – that have expressed this deep soul-crushing crisis while stuck on a boat in the middle of nowhere for months at a time. While I will never truly understand this experience, Assulin has written a meditation on the process of a breakdown with empathy and grace. Add the strict nationalism and required duty that must accompany being an Israeli soldier, and the dynamics are truly debilitating. A beautiful debut, and the second masterful and beautiful English translation I have read from Jessica Cohen.
UPDATE
“I joined a combat unit and did basic training for combat until they discovered I had asthma and transferred me to Intelligence, and that’s where everything went wrong, and I don’t really know how to explain what went wrong or how, but I just know that I can’t tolerate the situation there... My soul can’t tolerate it... It’s an interesting thing the way the soul edits our memories for us...”
The Drive is a short novel by the Sapir Prize and Israeli Ministry of Culture Prize winning author Yair Assulin. It tells the story of the anguish and suffocating military life of a young Israeli enlistee who has found his life to come to an impasse of boredom and meaninglessness in the machine of the military. This is more of a philosophically-driven plot that takes us on the crushing Yossarian-like journey that our protagonist is facing as he is both engaged with the military and enjoying his service to his country, but also lost in the cogs of its operation. The main question arises about whether or not the support of his parents and girlfriend are enough to push him through his service, and if a hail-Mary pass by looking for a diagnosis at the Military’s Mental Health Offices are enough to have him reassigned or completely discharged.
This book raises a lot of interesting questions about where the passions for love of country and enlistment cross over into the realities of the bureaucratic machine. I have had several friends in the US military – specifically those serving in the Navy and the Coast Guard – that have expressed this deep soul-crushing crisis while stuck on a boat in the middle of nowhere for months at a time. While I will never truly understand this experience, Assulin has written a meditation on the process of a breakdown with empathy and grace. Add the strict nationalism and required duty that must accompany being an Israeli soldier, and the dynamics are truly debilitating. A beautiful debut, and the second masterful and beautiful English translation I have read from Jessica Cohen.
Journal Entry 2 by MRZECKER at Little Free Library, Electric Ave. in Fitchburg, Massachusetts USA on Thursday, October 8, 2020
Released 3 yrs ago (10/8/2020 UTC) at Little Free Library, Electric Ave. in Fitchburg, Massachusetts USA
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
Dropped it off tonight on the way home after watching the VP debates...
My review!
“I joined a combat unit and did basic training for combat until they discovered I had asthma and transferred me to Intelligence, and that’s where everything went wrong, and I don’t really know how to explain what went wrong or how, but I just know that I can’t tolerate the situation there... My soul can’t tolerate it... It’s an interesting thing the way the soul edits our memories for us...”
The Drive is a short novel by the Sapir Prize and Israeli Ministry of Culture Prize winning author Yair Assulin. It tells the story of the anguish and suffocating military life of a young Israeli enlistee who has found his life to come to an impasse of boredom and meaninglessness in the machine of the military. This is more of a philosophically-driven plot that takes us on the crushing Yossarian-like journey that our protagonist is facing as he is both engaged with the military and enjoying his service to his country, but also lost in the cogs of its operation. The main question arises about whether or not the support of his parents and girlfriend are enough to push him through his service, and if a hail-Mary pass by looking for a diagnosis at the Military’s Mental Health Offices are enough to have him reassigned or completely discharged.
This book raises a lot of interesting questions about where the passions for love of country and enlistment cross over into the realities of the bureaucratic machine. I have had several friends in the US military – specifically those serving in the Navy and the Coast Guard – that have expressed this deep soul-crushing crisis while stuck on a boat in the middle of nowhere for months at a time. While I will never truly understand this experience, Assulin has written a meditation on the process of a breakdown with empathy and grace. Add the strict nationalism and required duty that must accompany being an Israeli soldier, and the dynamics are truly debilitating. A beautiful debut, and the second masterful and beautiful English translation I have read from Jessica Cohen.
My review!
“I joined a combat unit and did basic training for combat until they discovered I had asthma and transferred me to Intelligence, and that’s where everything went wrong, and I don’t really know how to explain what went wrong or how, but I just know that I can’t tolerate the situation there... My soul can’t tolerate it... It’s an interesting thing the way the soul edits our memories for us...”
The Drive is a short novel by the Sapir Prize and Israeli Ministry of Culture Prize winning author Yair Assulin. It tells the story of the anguish and suffocating military life of a young Israeli enlistee who has found his life to come to an impasse of boredom and meaninglessness in the machine of the military. This is more of a philosophically-driven plot that takes us on the crushing Yossarian-like journey that our protagonist is facing as he is both engaged with the military and enjoying his service to his country, but also lost in the cogs of its operation. The main question arises about whether or not the support of his parents and girlfriend are enough to push him through his service, and if a hail-Mary pass by looking for a diagnosis at the Military’s Mental Health Offices are enough to have him reassigned or completely discharged.
This book raises a lot of interesting questions about where the passions for love of country and enlistment cross over into the realities of the bureaucratic machine. I have had several friends in the US military – specifically those serving in the Navy and the Coast Guard – that have expressed this deep soul-crushing crisis while stuck on a boat in the middle of nowhere for months at a time. While I will never truly understand this experience, Assulin has written a meditation on the process of a breakdown with empathy and grace. Add the strict nationalism and required duty that must accompany being an Israeli soldier, and the dynamics are truly debilitating. A beautiful debut, and the second masterful and beautiful English translation I have read from Jessica Cohen.
