Friedlander's collection of stories all take place in Israel and vividly capture the essence of the setting, providing a refreshing and immediate experience for readers. However, my main concern with these stories, and this applies to almost all of them, is that the author often chooses endings that don't feel conclusive, leaving readers to speculate about what happens next. This can be quite frustrating, especially when a story builds up suspense only to conclude on a cliffhanger.

Personally, I find this aspect problematic. While I understand that this is an accepted approach in literary fiction, I doubt it will ever gain widespread popularity. When an author moves beyond the realm of literary journals and writers' groups to reach a broader readership, certain adjustments are necessary.

The allure of a well-crafted story that culminates in a great sense of frustration due to an unresolved ending eventually overwhelmed me, leading me to skip reading the final story.

This book has easily become one of my new favourite reads. A collection of short stories, it touches on the different facets of Israeli life, walking us through history, Jewish culture, as well as political and geographical identity, thus transcending borders and one’s own beliefs. What especially stood out is the fairytale-like ambience of every story, mixing old tales with a sprinkle of humour and wisdom. Some of the stories that stood out to me were the ones featuring a grieving left-wing activist mother, orange trees in Jaffa, as well as two Sephardic boys adopting a Holocaust Survivor.

A wonderful collection of short stories to dip in and out of after a long day. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book.

This was not what I expected, as I had not realised it was a collection of short stories.
Some are charming, some not as good, but overall a fairly enjoyable read.

📚 BOOK REVIEW 📚
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❤ Absolute perfection.❤ Thank you @netgalley for the ARC. It has certainly been one that will stay with me.
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A collection of 11 short stories unearthing the lives of many different characters in Israel. These tales introduce us to; a Bedouin smuggler in the Sinai region, a holocaust survivor, Israeli soldiers, rival Sephardic families in a refugee camp, sons waiting for their father to return from Gaza, a scrap metal merchant, a mother grieving the loss of her son in the war, monitoring the checkpoints... and more. All packed into a few pages each, but nonetheless completely full of vivid detail and raw emotion. The wealth of character and beautiful description completely transported me into these worlds and each and every story sucked me in.
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All 11 stories are wonderful in their own right. I couldn’t pick a favourite! But a scene that has remained vividly in my mind is that of the two sons playing with a jellyfish on the beach, collecting beach treasures – such a typical day for these boys to be enjoying that you can recall and imagine yourself, BUT there is such a strong reminder that their playful youth is certainly not typical: the necklaces they make are from the shrapnel of fallen Qasam rockets, which they make underneath a sky of fighter jets, and get briefly interrupted by code red sirens when they have to run to a bomb shelter. Such a moving and thought provoking scene.
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Read this, it is absolutely beautiful. Congratulations to @omarfriedlander for his stunning fiction debut. I shall certainly be following his future work.
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The Man Who Sold Air in the Holy Land, by Omer Friedlander, is a wonderful collection of short stories set in the Middle East centring on Israel, Gaza, the West Bank and all the stories reflect the troubled and complicated history of the region.

The stories are poignant and sometimes quite heartbreaking. Jaffa Oranges was my favourite story - a story of friendship, of being swept up by propaganda, a story of a homeland and perhaps of regret.

I look forward to reading future short stories or novels by Omer Friedlander. He is most definitely a writer to look out for - Huge thanks to NetGalley and the publishers John Murray Press making this ARC available to me for a fair and honest review and for introducing me to the work of Omer Friedlander.

I was intrigued by the title, even though I don't normally read short stories.
This was a series of short stories which I found very evocative of various trips I have been lucky to have to Israel.

Omer is very insightful in his portrayal of the sad unrest between Israelis and Palestinians, in peaceful times as well as troubled, and across various decades. I enjoyed the first story the most, and loved the ideas and varied scenarios he portrays, however I increasingly found the mood of the stories very sad and depressing. Many focus on the theme of loss, with little positivity. It was eye-opening to read about the bedouin dwellings, olive groves and checkpoints, I could visualise them clearly from his talented descriptions.

I think Omer is a gifted writer, using wonderful language to vividly portray geographical surroundings and scenery, and also a marvellous portrayer of characters. I just wish there could have been a bit more hope. Maybe this is a deliberate commentary echoing the current political situation in Israel.

A wonderful collection of short stories that portray the people impacted by the complicated recent history of Israel. Friedlander is a gifted storyteller and each short story left me longer for more of the character's tale. Love, friendship, death and betrayal are some of the many human experiences that are touched on in these stories. Typically a short story collection would not be something Id reach for but there was one now weak story in the eleven. A beautiful read

"'When you were both babies in the womb together,' he said, 'you knew everything. You had all the knowledge in the world. You sat in Ima's belly and studied Torah day and night.' 'Wasn't it too dark in there to study?' Eyal asked. 'How did the Torah fit in her belly?' I asked. 'You had a flashlight', Aba said, 'And she had a big belly.'"

Wow, wow, wow. Friedlander delivered a compassionate look into life in Israel for everyone, looking into how their identity impacted them personally, whether Jewish, Palestinian, Israeli, Bedouin, soldier, or then some. Every single story is tinged with sadness, perhaps a fair reflection of those raised in the perpetual war zone.

I wept at the stories of conscription, the unnecessary loss of young boys and girls on every side, the aftermath of individuals returned from a fate they didn't sign up. The forbidden relationships across accepted 'party lines' felt cruel, and the dangerous conflict between settlers and Israeli citizens who do not support expansion of the country really emphasised the lack of homogenous identity that exists. This book said no thanks to tired stereotypes and delved into the nuance and complexity that exists within the region where no one wins. The man who sold air in the holy land reminded me that there are fictional novels I can lose myself in where I feel seen and heard, compared to books that blanket ban a religion or see no wrong in an occupation.

The book had me in my feelings. There were no happy endings but there were a lot of fleshed-out, well considered plots that had me hooked like a baby fish on a rod. I rarely enjoy every short story in a book, but for the first time, I was glued to every. single. one. I will read again, because I'm a sucker for any book that can double as Jewish fiction, but I will prepare tissues this time.

Thank you NetGalley for the Arc.

Imagine if you will, going into a bookshop and buying a volume of short stories and then finding your special place to read good books and settling in.

Now imagine that you read the first story and, having immersed yourself, you discover that the final pages of that story are missing! OK, they made a mistake with your copy and so you start on the second story and discover the second story also has its finale missing and so it goes on through each of the stories right up until the last page.

Whilst I enjoyed these stories (some more than others), I did feel "robbed" as so many of them wandered off into the distance and left me without an end in sight.

This is a book to be picked at rather than read in one sitting. Ideal in many ways if you need something quick and easy to read whilst waiting for a friend/train/plane or bus.

The Man Who Sold Air In The Holy Land is a collection of eleven short stories by Israeli-born author, Omer Friedlander.
In Jaffa Oranges, an elderly Jewish owner of an orange grove is visited by the granddaughter of his best friend during his youth, an Arab called Khalil Haddad. The visit brings back many fond memories of a wonderful person, but also a long-held guilt. It’s a chance to confess his terrible misdeed: does he?

In Alte Sachen, a family that wanders the streets in an old VW truck, haulers of Old Things, is now bereft of their patriarch, and the youngest son, heartbroken, remains mute until the children’s dress-up on a certain Purim restores his laughter.

In The Man Who Sold Air In The Holy Land, estranged from his wife, jobless, Simcha holds onto those activities that entertain his young daughter on her weekly access visit, including their double-act of selling bottles of air to American tourists.

In Checkpoint, a grieving Jewish mother of a soldier continues as a volunteer activist for a women-only human rights group at the border checkpoint to make sure “the Palestinians aren’t mistreated with casual cruelty and that the soldiers and border police are doing their job properly”, in a war she doesn’t agree with. Despite their differing viewpoints, another soldier assists her when a settler is violent, and she finds herself sharing the story of her son’s death, and life.

In The Sephardi Survivor, two schoolboys bring home a confused old man from the Superzol, planning to use him as their Shoah Survivor on Shoah Memorial Day. They coach Yehuda Finkielkraut on a suitably exciting story, but their plan backfires…

In The Sand Collector, a Jewish schoolgirl falls for a Bedouin smuggler who collects sand and significant memories, in jars, labelling them with his neat Arabic script. Their first kiss is kept in one such jar, but their lives are so different: is their love doomed?

In Scheherazade and Radio Station 97.2FM, three Israeli soldiers are sent to shut down a Beirut radio station sending out subversive broadcasts in the guise of fairy tales. The woman running it all alone calls herself Scheherazade: that should surely tell them something?

In High Heels, the shoe seller’s son tells the story of the Polish ballerina’s legendary high heels to a couple he meets while night climbing: he is dazzled by them, naïve to their predatory nature.

In Jellyfish in Gaza, twin brothers enact several rituals in the belief that it will keep their soldier father, their Aba, safe. When he returns, they are convinced it is not him – he is so different; they try to find the Aba they know and love.

In Walking Shiv’ah, a daughter takes her demanding, crippled mother in a home-made rickshaw on a difficult and dangerous seven-day trek to find out which of the family’s soldier sons has been killed in the war.

In The Miniaturist, dull, ordinary Adinah meets beautiful, graceful Esther in an Israeli refugee camp. Adinah’s father explains why she cannot be friends with the girl: their families have been rivals since their ancestors were miniaturists in Spain. Now, “We had lost everything, and all that remained was the memory of our rivalry.”

Some of the stories are very moving, and in each one, Friedlander certainly evokes his setting and mood with some wonderful descriptive prose: “The stuff you could find, the secrets people’s objects revealed to you. It wasn’t just garbage. These were objects that had stopped working, old technology, outdated devices. It was like working in a time machine. We were excavators and archaeologists, not scavengers and dumpster divers.” Heart-rending and beautifully written.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and John Murray Press Two Roads.

A stunning collection that shines wonderful light on the various aspects of the human condition, and does so in a tactful way despite the arguably contentious setting of the work

What a stunning and lyrical debut! I was so immersed within these stories. The prose was poetic, poignant and whimsical. I enjoyed being taken down the roads and lives of those in Israel/Palestine. Each story was touching and dealt with love and loss. Definitely a writer to look out for!

From the limestone alleyways of Jerusalem to the desolate Negev Desert and the sprawling orange groves of Jaffa, Omer Friedlander's stories are fairy tales turned on their head by the stakes of real life, where moments of fragile intimacy mix with comedy and notes of the absurd.

The collection of short stories that complete this book are set in the Middle East and take you on a diverse and cultural journey. The stories are harsh yet beautiful, sad yet humorous, and simple, while portraying the complexity of each situation. No story feels as though it has ended, and I think this speaks of the real uncertainty of the world; that nobody really knows what’s going to happen next.

This is an important book. It speaks truth of the best and worst of human nature, and Friedlander tells these stories with a compassionate and powerful pen. A debut that will be talked about for years to come.

One thing that really resonated with me throughout the whole story was the innocence and untainted views of the children. Their acceptance of each other despite the cultural or religious differences of their families.

This book is expected to be released 4th August 2022. Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC.

🇵🇸The Man Who Sold Air to The Holy Land by Omer Friedlander🇮🇱

This fiction debut from Friedlander is gorgeously immersive and imaginative. A collection of short stories that transcend borders as they introduce readers to the intimate lives of people striving for connection or, in some cases, redemption.

In this collection of stories, Friedlander examines soci­ety through the lens of th­e peo­ple who inhab­it it, telling their stories with the honest realism of the high stakes of life in the oft chaotic, war-torn Middle East, with moments of beautifully woven fragile intimacy mixed with comedy and notes of the outlandish. He manages to explore the various prerogatives of different factions of society and to do this with­out cast­ing judg­ment on any one perspective.

For such a short book, it is immensely powerful. Friedlander writes with astonishing vividness and remarkable restraint; his stories are empathetic yet evocative and will appeal to all your senses.

Thank you to NetGalley and John Murray Press for this advance review copy.

The Man Who Sold Air to The Holy Land is due for publication on 4th August but is available for pre-order now.

I love this so much. My last name is Khalil :'( I really enjoyed this take on middle eastern culture. I loved that it want exclusively about war or poverty but about a friendship. I loved the cultural aspect and how much the little details matter the most.

A very clear 5 star read and one of the best short story collections I have read. The stories are interesting, smart, moving and beautiful at the same time. They are small, focussing on a one or a few characters, but also big as they stand for a period or a situation in Israel since its foundation in 1948.

The 11 stories give you a panoramic view of the state (and the State) of Israel as it is today. They are Orange growers in Jaffa, kabbalist Jews in the Galilee, a father and daughter struggling to make ends meet in Tel Aviv, Bedouins in the Negev, left wing activists at a Gaza checkpoint, Holocaust survivors and more.

My favourites were the first five stories, in particular 'Alte Sachen' and the title story 'The Man Who Sold Air in the Holy Land'. The very last one is a gem as well. Many are bittersweet, but they can be hilarious as well: 'The Sephardic Survivor' made me laugh out loud despite being about a Holocaust survivor.

There is not a single weak story in the collection and if I were to rate them individually 8 out of 11 would get 5 stars. If I have to be critical, the only thing I can think of is that the endings are sometimes a bit too abrupt.

I don't know what Omar Friedlander will do next, but whatever it is, I will read it.

A spectacular collection of short stories and a masterpiece of story-telling. Friendlander notes in the book’s acknowledgements that he "wanted to unearth the hidden stories of individuals beneath the fossilized official narrative" — this is exactly what the book achieved for me, and what makes it so memorable.

Set in present-day Israel, the short stories are often grounded in the various conflicts that mark the country’s history, but what they really revolve around are human and universal experiences. Grief, first love, lost friendship, family bounds etc.: Friendlander demonstrates, and beautifully so, that beyond political or social contexts, we all love and suffer the same. It’s as heartwarming a read as it is humbling.

Each of the 11 stories explores a different world, from a lush Jaffa orange grove to the West Bank or the dry Negev Desert. Friendlander’s writing is superb, both lyrical and evocative, and transported me to places where colours, sounds and landscapes feel so real you could almost touch them. The book reads like poetry; I found myself reading a couple of stories at a time then setting it aside for a little bit, to give myself the space to fully take in and appreciate what I’d just read. It’s a book you read in one go, but it’s one you read again and again.

I appreciated that the stories vary in style: there’s the humorous and absurd, the slice of life that brings to light a hidden secret, those that take on the mythical notes of a fairytale etc. Jellyfish in Gaza, my favourite story, is one of the latter and perhaps some of the most beautiful and impactful work I have come across. The stories I would describe as the ‘classic’ short story format, with a bigger philosophical meaning and no clear ending, are the works that didn’t work quite as well for me; that style is just not my personal preference. But again, much like a book of poetry, some works will impact you more than others — and that often changes with each reread.

Huge thanks to Netgalley for bringing this book to my attention. Omer Friendlander, I am joining your fan club.

This is a beautiful collection of short stories set in Israel over the last 70 years. From a man who sells bottles of air to a young soldier in Lebanon, a child who climbs the cranes of Tel Aviv to a young woman in love with a Bedouin boy.

The stories give insight into Isreael’s recent history, but more importantly they give a human voice. Beautifully written with compassion and care.