[.ca] Panther in the Basement (ISBN 0151002878)

You have to get used to the style and than it is wonderful!:
For us, as westerners, starting this book is hard, because it is different from what we are used to. But once you get into it, you appreciate the still and exact observations, the philosophical insight to another world. Getting aquainted with A.O. it is good to start with his children books. I woutd recommend "Don't call it night", to be read second.

Disappointed:
After all the hype, I was sadly disappointed by this book--I found Mr. Oz's writing style to be irritating and self-involved, full of unnecessary tangents ("Five minutes ago, as I was writing about closing the window and shutters, I stopped writing because I remembered to get up and close the bathroom door...") Toward the end I found myself skipping over several pages listing the inventory of his father's library! Another irritation: it seemed quite plausible that the boy would dream of sending a rocket to London; but to self-destruct as a suicide bomber? That is a dream of a very different boy at a very different time, and Oz knows it.

A novel for that speaks to the past and the present!:
Attack in Jerusalem...Suicide bombings...Reoccupation of West bank...Bush proposal for Palestinian State... Yes - the headlines are horrendous... and, as an American Jew, there are times when I find myself questioning my feelings toward the situation in Israel. ...That is until a book such as this, as told through the eyes of the 12-year-old son of 2 Holocaust survivors, comes along reminding me of the importance of Israel to Jews all over the world! Panther in the Basement is set in in 1947 British-occupied Palestine. While a real Underground is actively working toward the formation of a "Hebrew State", 12-year old Proffy and his friends are operating a make-believe underground movement. This first-person narrative tracks the growing pains of Proffy, from his "traiterous" relationship with British Sargeant Dunlop to his crush on his friend's older sister and, most importantly, to his understanding of a true need for a Jewish homeland as made evident through his relationship with his parents. Once I got used to his style of writing, I found Mr. Oz poetic in his prose and I look forward to reading some of his other works.

A deceptively simple meditation on ethnic hatred.:
1947 Jerusalem - "Proffy," age 12, spends his days recreating famous battles on his living room floor and plotting with two friends the overthrow of the British occupation. His firm conviction that all British are evil, however, is shaken when he meets Sgt. Stephen Dunlop. Dunlop is an overweight, asthmatic, lonely man who loves Israel and longs to speak her language better. Convincing himself that teaching Dunlop Hebrew is a form of espionage, Proffy begins regular meetings with Dunlop. Proffy's friends, however, declare the meetings treason. This forces the intellectual boy to think long and hard about what constitutes an enemy and why wars begin in the first place. Both Proffy and Dunlop love the Bible. In fact, Dunlop's greatest desire is to read the Bible in Hebrew. He shares Proffy's conviction that God wants Israel belong to the Jews. How can such a man be an enemy? Oz is one of Israel's most famous authors. Clearly this novel is as much about Israel's present conflict with the Palestinians as it is about the wars of his youth. Proffy's friend said, "Loving the enemy is the height of treachery." Yet that is what Jesus commanded. Panther in the Basement, then, is a novel as much for Christians as Jews, and I heartily recommend it. Kathleen T. Choi, HAWAII CATHOLIC HERALD

A childýs view of history!:
Proffy is a 12-year-old Jewish child in British-occupied Palestine before the establishment of the state of Israel. When his two friends, Ben Hur and Chita, find out that he's been keeping company with Stephen Dunlop, a British solder, they bring Proffy to trial and accuse him of being a "low-down traitor" and not at all the underground resistance fighter he professes to be. PANTHER IN THE BASEMENT presents a child's view of the political situation in 1947 Palestine. It questions who the enemy truly is and whether one's enemy can be a friend at the same time or possibly later. Oz does a great job of bringing politics down to it's simplest form as he examines how three children view the enemy differently. There is an element of danger introduced through Proffy's parents who are, in fact, involved with the resistance movement against the British, although they try to keep their son feeling safe and secure. Here's an interesting story, brimming with nostalgia, sometimes purposely going off on tangents, but eventually coming to a warm, moving conclusion.