Between Friends

　　眾聲喧嘩中，為何我仍然感到寂寞？

　　在以色列的一個集體農場裡，居民們常常會針對某一個議題，如戰爭、政府、旅行以及養育等問題吵得沸沸揚揚，但討論的熱情通常很快就熄滅。這裡沒有人願意說出心中真正的想法，或者可以說，他們害怕別人知道自己的想法。

　　像是與有婦之夫交往的Ariella，感情不如意時就會去找情人的老婆訴苦；向來虔誠的Nahum，對女兒另一半荒唐的行徑卻始終無可置喙。更別提農場裡一群讓長者搖頭的年輕人，他們純粹只是覺得外面的環境太辛苦才留下。

　　這部作品以外表看來一片祥和的集體農場為題，描寫人們往往因為歧見或不滿而遮蔽了心中良善的一面，看似熱絡的眾人，實際上內心卻非常空洞。對一向秉持人文關懷精神的耶路撒冷文學大師Amos Oz而言，年輕時在農場裡觀察體悟的收獲，數十年後在故事裡便轉化成穿透人心的字句來警醒時人。（文/博客來編譯）

　　’On the kibbutz it’s hard to know. We’re all supposed to be friends but very few really are.’

　　Amos Oz’s compelling new fiction offers revelatory glimpses into the secrets and frustrations of the human heart, played out by a community of misfits united by political disagreement, intense dissatisfaction and lifetimes of words left unspoken.

　　Ariella, unhappy in love, confides in the woman whose husband she stole; Nahum, a devoted father, can’t find the words to challenge his daughter’s promiscuous lover; the old idealists deplore the apathy of the young, while the young are so used to kibbutz life that they can’t work out if they’re impassioned or indifferent. Arguments about war, government, travel and children are feverishly taken up and quickly abandoned - and amid this group of people unwilling and unable to say what they mean, Martin attempts to teach Esperanto.

　　At the heart of each drama is a desire to be better, more principled and worthy of the community’s respect. With his trademark compassion and sharp-eyed wit, Amos Oz leaves us with the feeling that what matters most between friends is the invisible tie of our shared humanity.