-
A Tale of Love and Darkness
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 23 hrs and 52 mins
- Categories: Biographies & Memoirs, Art & Literature
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Audible Premium Plus
$14.95 a month
Buy for $31.47
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
Judas
- By: Amos Oz
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis
- Length: 10 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jerusalem, 1959. Shmuel Ash, a biblical scholar, is adrift in his young life when he finds work as a caregiver for a brilliant but cantankerous old man named Gershom Wald. There is, however, a third, mysterious presence in his new home. Atalia Abravanel, the daughter of a deceased Zionist leader, a beautiful woman in her 40s, entrances young Shmuel even as she keeps him at a distance. Piece by piece, the old Jerusalem stone house, haunted by tragic history and now home to the three misfits and their intricate relationship, reveals its secrets.
-
-
Beautifully written atmospheric
- By Tom on 01-14-19
By: Amos Oz
-
My Michael
- By: Amos Oz, Nicholas de Lange - translation
- Narrated by: Lisa Flanagan
- Length: 9 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Set in 1950s Jerusalem, My Michael is the story of a remote and intense woman named Hannah Gonen and her marriage to a decent but unremarkable man named Michael. As the years pass and Hannah's tempestuous fantasy life encroaches on reality, she feels increasingly estranged from him, and the marriage gradually disintegrates. Gorgeously written and profoundly moving, this extraordinary novel is at once a haunting love story and a rich, reflective portrait of a place.
By: Amos Oz, and others
-
The Home That Was Our Country
- By: Alia Malek
- Narrated by: Alia Malek
- Length: 12 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At the Arab Spring's hopeful start, Alia Malek returned to Damascus to reclaim her grandmother's apartment, which had been lost to her family since Hafez al-Assad came to power in 1970. Its loss was central to her parents' decision to make their lives in America. In chronicling the people who lived in the Tahaan building, past and present, Alia portrays the Syrians - the Muslims, Christians, Jews, Armenians, and Kurds - who worked, loved, and suffered in close quarters, mirroring the political shifts in their country
-
-
Syria as never read before
- By Anonymous User on 09-17-18
By: Alia Malek
-
The Pigeon Tunnel
- Stories from My Life
- By: John le Carré
- Narrated by: John le Carré
- Length: 11 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From his years serving in British Intelligence during the Cold War, to a career as a writer that took him from war-torn Cambodia to Beirut on the cusp of the 1982 Israeli invasion to Russia before and after the collapse of the Berlin Wall, John le Carré has always written from the heart of modern times. In this, his first memoir, le Carré is as funny as he is incisive, reading into the events he witnesses the same moral ambiguity with which he imbues his novels.
-
-
A wonderful reader from a favorite author
- By Mark Hancock on 11-19-16
By: John le Carré
-
What Is Jewish Culture?
- By: James Young, Deborah Moore, Fania Oz-Salzberger
- Narrated by: Amos Oz, Daniel Libeskind
- Length: 1 hr and 8 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Central to our understanding of Jewish culture and civilization is a grasp of its many expressive forms — religious and secular, high and low, elite and popular — in the areas of the written word, the visual arts, and the performing arts.
-
-
Great discussion on what is Jewish culture
- By Mário on 01-31-19
By: James Young, and others
-
God Save Texas
- A Journey into the Soul of the Lone Star State
- By: Lawrence Wright
- Narrated by: Lawrence Wright
- Length: 11 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
God Save Texas is a journey through the most controversial state in America. It is a red state, but the cities are blue and among the most diverse in the nation. Oil is still king, but Texas now leads California in technology exports. Low taxes and minimal regulation has produced extraordinary growth, but also striking income disparities. Texas looks a lot like the America that Donald Trump wants to create. Texas native Lawrence Wright gives us a colorful, wide-ranging portrait of a state that not only reflects our country as it is, but as it may become.
-
-
Great summary of modern Texas
- By mlr on 11-20-18
By: Lawrence Wright
-
Judas
- By: Amos Oz
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis
- Length: 10 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jerusalem, 1959. Shmuel Ash, a biblical scholar, is adrift in his young life when he finds work as a caregiver for a brilliant but cantankerous old man named Gershom Wald. There is, however, a third, mysterious presence in his new home. Atalia Abravanel, the daughter of a deceased Zionist leader, a beautiful woman in her 40s, entrances young Shmuel even as she keeps him at a distance. Piece by piece, the old Jerusalem stone house, haunted by tragic history and now home to the three misfits and their intricate relationship, reveals its secrets.
-
-
Beautifully written atmospheric
- By Tom on 01-14-19
By: Amos Oz
-
My Michael
- By: Amos Oz, Nicholas de Lange - translation
- Narrated by: Lisa Flanagan
- Length: 9 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Set in 1950s Jerusalem, My Michael is the story of a remote and intense woman named Hannah Gonen and her marriage to a decent but unremarkable man named Michael. As the years pass and Hannah's tempestuous fantasy life encroaches on reality, she feels increasingly estranged from him, and the marriage gradually disintegrates. Gorgeously written and profoundly moving, this extraordinary novel is at once a haunting love story and a rich, reflective portrait of a place.
By: Amos Oz, and others
-
The Home That Was Our Country
- By: Alia Malek
- Narrated by: Alia Malek
- Length: 12 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At the Arab Spring's hopeful start, Alia Malek returned to Damascus to reclaim her grandmother's apartment, which had been lost to her family since Hafez al-Assad came to power in 1970. Its loss was central to her parents' decision to make their lives in America. In chronicling the people who lived in the Tahaan building, past and present, Alia portrays the Syrians - the Muslims, Christians, Jews, Armenians, and Kurds - who worked, loved, and suffered in close quarters, mirroring the political shifts in their country
-
-
Syria as never read before
- By Anonymous User on 09-17-18
By: Alia Malek
-
The Pigeon Tunnel
- Stories from My Life
- By: John le Carré
- Narrated by: John le Carré
- Length: 11 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From his years serving in British Intelligence during the Cold War, to a career as a writer that took him from war-torn Cambodia to Beirut on the cusp of the 1982 Israeli invasion to Russia before and after the collapse of the Berlin Wall, John le Carré has always written from the heart of modern times. In this, his first memoir, le Carré is as funny as he is incisive, reading into the events he witnesses the same moral ambiguity with which he imbues his novels.
-
-
A wonderful reader from a favorite author
- By Mark Hancock on 11-19-16
By: John le Carré
-
What Is Jewish Culture?
- By: James Young, Deborah Moore, Fania Oz-Salzberger
- Narrated by: Amos Oz, Daniel Libeskind
- Length: 1 hr and 8 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Central to our understanding of Jewish culture and civilization is a grasp of its many expressive forms — religious and secular, high and low, elite and popular — in the areas of the written word, the visual arts, and the performing arts.
-
-
Great discussion on what is Jewish culture
- By Mário on 01-31-19
By: James Young, and others
-
God Save Texas
- A Journey into the Soul of the Lone Star State
- By: Lawrence Wright
- Narrated by: Lawrence Wright
- Length: 11 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
God Save Texas is a journey through the most controversial state in America. It is a red state, but the cities are blue and among the most diverse in the nation. Oil is still king, but Texas now leads California in technology exports. Low taxes and minimal regulation has produced extraordinary growth, but also striking income disparities. Texas looks a lot like the America that Donald Trump wants to create. Texas native Lawrence Wright gives us a colorful, wide-ranging portrait of a state that not only reflects our country as it is, but as it may become.
-
-
Great summary of modern Texas
- By mlr on 11-20-18
By: Lawrence Wright
-
To the End of the Land
- By: David Grossman, Jessica Cohen (translator)
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 26 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ora, a middle-aged Israeli mother, is on the verge of celebrating her son Ofer’s release from army service when he returns to the front for a major offensive. In a fit of preemptive grief and magical thinking, she sets out for a hike in the Galilee, leaving no forwarding information for the “notifiers” who might darken her door with the worst possible news. Recently estranged from her husband, Ilan, she drags along an unlikely companion: their former best friend and her former lover Avram, once a brilliant artistic spirit.
-
-
Needs to be Rerecorded
- By Andrew on 01-08-12
By: David Grossman, and others
-
A Promised Land
- By: Barack Obama
- Narrated by: Barack Obama
- Length: 29 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the stirring, highly anticipated first volume of his presidential memoirs, Barack Obama tells the story of his improbable odyssey from young man searching for his identity to leader of the free world, describing in strikingly personal detail both his political education and the landmark moments of the first term of his historic presidency - a time of dramatic transformation and turmoil.
-
-
Soothing, Oratorical and Insightful
- By Constance on 11-17-20
By: Barack Obama
-
Israel
- A Concise History of a Nation Reborn
- By: Daniel Gordis
- Narrated by: Fred Sanders
- Length: 16 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Israel is a tiny state, and yet it has captured the world's attention, aroused its imagination, and, lately, been the object of its opprobrium. Why does such a small country speak to so many global concerns? More pressingly: Why does Israel make the decisions it does? And what lies in its future? We cannot answer these questions until we understand Israel's people and the questions and conflicts, the hopes and desires, that have animated their conversations and actions.
-
-
Great read; shows history, current story & nuance
- By Wolfman on 11-13-17
By: Daniel Gordis
-
Clementine
- The Life of Mrs. Winston Churchill
- By: Sonia Purnell
- Narrated by: Susan Lyons
- Length: 17 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
By Winston Churchill's own admission, victory in the Second World War would have been "impossible without her". Until now, however, the only existing biography of Churchill's wife, Clementine, was written by her daughter. Sonia Purnell finally gives Clementine her due with a deeply researched account that tells her life story, revealing how she was instrumental in softening FDR's initial dislike of her husband and paving the way for Britain's close relationship with America.
-
-
Well told history of inspirational unsung heroine
- By Go Steelers on 02-10-18
By: Sonia Purnell
-
My Promised Land
- The Triumph and Tragedy of Israel
- By: Ari Shavit
- Narrated by: Paul Boehmer
- Length: 20 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
An authoritative and deeply personal narrative history of the State of Israel, by one of the most influential journalists writing about the Middle East today. Not since Thomas L. Friedman's groundbreaking From Beirut to Jerusalem has a book captured the essence and the beating heart of the Middle East as keenly and dynamically as My Promised Land.
-
-
Too important to be ruined by its narration!
- By James on 10-13-14
By: Ari Shavit
-
Galileo
- And the Science Deniers
- By: Mario Livio
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis
- Length: 8 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Astrophysicist and best-selling author Mario Livio draws on his own scientific expertise to provide captivating insights into how Galileo reached his bold new conclusions about the cosmos and the laws of nature. A freethinker who followed the evidence wherever it led him, Galileo was one of the most significant figures behind the scientific revolution. He believed that every educated person should know science as well as literature, and insisted on reaching the widest audience possible, publishing his books in Italian rather than Latin.
-
-
Galileo through the mind of Mario Livio
- By Rick B on 06-09-20
By: Mario Livio
-
Apeirogon
- A Novel
- By: Colum McCann
- Narrated by: Colum McCann
- Length: 15 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Bassam Aramin is Palestinian. Rami Elhanan is Israeli. They inhabit a world of conflict that colors every aspect of their daily lives, from the roads they are allowed to drive on, to the schools their daughters, Abir and Smadar, each attend, to the checkpoints, both physical and emotional, they must negotiate. Their worlds shift irreparably after 10-year-old Abir is killed by a rubber bullet and 13-year-old Smadar becomes the victim of suicide bombers. When Bassam and Rami learn of each other’s stories, they recognize the loss that connects them.
-
-
Too many chapters & interruptions
- By sara robbins on 03-02-20
By: Colum McCann
-
The Journey of Crazy Horse
- A Lakota History
- By: Joseph M. Marshall III
- Narrated by: Joseph M. Marshall III
- Length: 10 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Most of the world remembers Crazy Horse as a peerless warrior who brought the U.S. Army to its knees at the Battle of Little Bighorn. But to his fellow Lakota Indians, he was a dutiful son and humble fighting man who, with valor, spirit, respect, and unparalleled leadership, fought for his people's land, livelihood, and honor. In this fascinating biography, Joseph Marshall, himself a Lakota Indian, creates a vibrant portrait of the man, his times, and his legacy.
-
-
excellent
- By William on 05-31-05
-
The Magician of Lublin
- By: Isaac Bashevis Singer
- Narrated by: Larry Keith
- Length: 7 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Magician can dazzle the crowds with his sleight of hand, climb to any height, open any lock. Fearlessly, he does death-defying tricks in theaters all over Poland. At home, his sweet Jewish wife waits for him to return from the city. In the city, his adoring mistresses wait for him to return from home. He holds the key to all hearts, but his own is beset with confusion.
-
-
Complex Masterpiece
- By Evan on 09-11-08
-
House on Endless Waters
- A Novel
- By: Emuna Elon
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis
- Length: 10 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Renowned author Yoel Blum reluctantly agrees to visit his birthplace of Amsterdam to promote his books, despite promising his late mother that he would never return to that city. While touring the Jewish Historical Museum with his wife, Yoel stumbles upon footage portraying prewar Dutch Jewry and is astonished to see the youthful face of his beloved mother staring back at him, posing with his father, his older sister…and an infant he doesn’t recognize.
-
-
Interesting, worth the listen, but not great.
- By Npleaf on 02-11-20
By: Emuna Elon
-
Thomas Cromwell
- The Untold Story of Henry VIII's Most Faithful Servant
- By: Tracy Borman
- Narrated by: Julian Elfer
- Length: 14 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Thomas Cromwell has long been reviled as a Machiavellian schemer who stopped at nothing in his quest for power. As Henry VIII's right-hand man, Cromwell was the architect of the English Reformation, secured Henry's divorce from Catherine of Aragon and plotted the downfall of Anne Boleyn, and upon his arrest, was accused of trying to usurp the King himself. But here Tracy Borman reveals a different side of one of the most notorious figures in history.
-
-
"Behind the Scenes" of Wolf Hall!
- By JMP on 11-23-16
By: Tracy Borman
-
Homeland Elegies
- A Novel
- By: Ayad Akhtar
- Narrated by: Ayad Akhtar
- Length: 10 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ayad Akhtar forges a new narrative voice to capture a country in which debt has ruined countless lives and the gods of finance rule, where immigrants live in fear, and where the nation's unhealed wounds wreak havoc around the world. Akhtar attempts to make sense of it all through the lens of a story about one family, from a heartland town in America to palatial suites in Central Europe to guerrilla lookouts in the mountains of Afghanistan, and spares no one - least of all himself - in the process.
-
-
Sings
- By W Perry Hall on 10-21-20
By: Ayad Akhtar
Publisher's Summary
Tragic, comic, and utterly honest, this extraordinary memoir is at once a great family saga and a magical self-portrait of a writer who witnessed the birth of a nation and lived through its turbulent history.
It is the story of a boy growing up in the war-torn Jerusalem of the 40s and 50s in a small apartment crowded with books in 12 languages and relatives speaking nearly as many. His mother and father, both wonderful people, were ill-suited to each other. When Oz was 12 and a half years old, his mother committed suicide - a tragedy that was to change his life. He leaves the constraints of the family and the community of dreamers, scholars, and failed businessmen to join a kibbutz, changes his name, marries, has children, and finally becomes a writer as well as an active participant in the political life of Israel. A story of clashing cultures and lives, of suffering and perseverance, of love and darkness.
More from the same
Author
Narrator
What listeners say about A Tale of Love and Darkness
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- DR Harle
- 01-27-19
His life was interesting, but not his memoir
He seems for forget what he's already told you, For example I got maybe a 3rd of the way in and he'd described his father's rejection of spirituality about 10 times in almost the same words. There is a great interview with one of his aunts about life in Eastern Europe and I kept hoping for more like that, but gave up. He tells you that his father constantly makes bad jokes and then he feels the need to share them with you. There's too much detail! We don't need to know about every item on his grandfather's desk. Once he describes a very ordinary kid lying on the driveway woolgathering in a way every kid on earth has watching the sun set in his neighborhood. He ends up describing in painful detail the exact colors as they change in the sunset. It is absolutely the most tedious passage I've ever read. I heard an interview with Oz and had great hopes, but they were dashed.
6 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- cocopuff
- 12-11-16
Engrossing
I think this book could have done with a bit of editing (parts tend to drag), but overall it is an engrossing account of the author's childhood in Israel just before statehood to the early 60s, with references to his later adult life. The death of his mother during his early adolescence is central to the narrative both in form and meaning. I can't imagine a more sensitive narrator than Stefan Rudnicki.
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Thomas F. Lennon
- 07-04-19
Heartbreaking, masterful
Much praise has been lavished on this memoir and all of it deserved. Let’s also salute the exquisite work of the translator -the English prose is gorgeous, elegant, pitch-perfect.
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anonymous User
- 02-08-18
Extraordinary descriptions of a family story.
Deeply moving insights into Jerusalem at a remarkable period of time in Israeli history intertwined with a tragic and uplifting saga of a family .
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Laura R. Perera
- 11-05-20
A masterpiece
A beautiful story told in the most lovely way. I takes you to the profound psyche of a boy as he grows up. The story and history of Jewish people narrated with passion and magnificent details.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- michael petro
- 08-07-20
An excellent literary work by Mr. Oz
I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this book. His use of language, literary devices, and a love of words made me purchase a hard copy so that I could follow along. The reader’s voice complemented my visualization. I am looking forward to my next book by Amos Oz.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Conrad Newton
- 12-11-19
About darkness and love - our lives.
If you never read another book, read this.It is about the essence of our existence.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- RL
- 03-26-19
so beautiful!
this book is so beautiful. it is painful to read it knowing how awful today's book are.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Chinese rose
- 08-17-20
Amazing writing
This book is delicious: you want to devour it and savor it at the same time. I
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Duffy
- 06-23-19
A Tale I Won't Soon Forget
Deep, dark, yet earthy and humorous. Oz took me through a time in history that I knew little of. I have a better understanding of the Jewish people, their extreme suffering, their hopes for finding home, and the political process of the Israeli state. the narrator exquisitely painted pictures with his reading making me feel as though I was sitting at Oz's feet listening to his story.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Jo Brown
- 03-04-17
Brilliant
Beautifully written and spoken. This book was pure quality . I was so sad when I finished it but will listen to it again.
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Mr Daniel S Kelly
- 01-04-17
absorbing and memorable autobiography.
the details of prewar life in Poland,the personal account of the war of the Israeli War of Independence,the Sabbath walk across Jerusalem to Oz's uncle's house and so much more.
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- MAGGS
- 04-30-18
A tale of Love and Darkness - Great storytelling
A tale of Love and Darkness - Great storytelling The author Amos Oz told the story of his life brilliantly, leaving his darkest moment to the end. Brilliant narration
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Dorota Kotowicz
- 03-10-18
Words fail to describe the beauty and power
of this book. They say that life is stranger than fiction and as Amos Oz shows us it can be even more beautiful and tragic. Extraordinary story....Amos Oz is a writer who can measure himself with the giants of the 19th century Russian litterature as far as the mastership, the power of observation and emotiobal awarness areconcerned.Plus a tremendous erudition and culture.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Allan O.
- 10-19-20
Epic story of last 150 years of Israel
Moving and beautifully written biography that is so much more than a simple biography. I have read the book, seen the film and listened to the audiobook in that order. The scope and detail is phenomenal this book is in my top 5. Stefan Rudnicki is just perfect as the narrator with his deep Eastern Europe Ashkenazi accent.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- F. Wynn
- 04-17-19
Meandering Memoire
The narrator, Stefan Rudnicki was excellent. The memoire had many gems , but it was very repetitive . It was interesting to learn of the birth of the State of Israel, and of the new settlers, and the problems they encountered; and of the experiences of his family during this time. Amos Oz, spends time relating details that were plainly boring: the titles of every book he has read,( and he has read a lot of books! ) and other inconsequential information. If he had had a good editor who could have tidied the script , it would have been a very good book .
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Uneken Dan
- 02-27-19
Masterpiece.
I was blown away by this book. Very interested in the Israeli and Palestinian troubles, I found Oz’ account enlightening and encouraging.