Avner Shats
me, why don't you?

Born in 1959, I live in Haifa, Israel, and work at a shipping company. My first book, "printed circuits", a collection of short stories, was published in 1994. The second novel, "Sailing towards the Sunset" won the 1998 Schweipert literary award of the Hebrew University, Jerusalem (and the Haifa Cultural Fund award.) 

I Occasionally write literary reviews for Israeli daily papers "Haaretz" and "Yediot Achronot", as well as for other publications.
Contribute to "Animal Review" (in English) and have an internet column in Notes web site 

In 2002 I was Hebrew Writer Visiting Fellow at the Oxford Center for Hebrew and Jewish Studies in Yarnton.

I also featured in the [extremely obscure] documentary No War Last Night (Germany 2003), which chronicled the tense last few days leading up to the Iraq war.

Here's what ITHL (The Institute for the Translation of Hebrew Literature) has to say .

 

Is man descended from the seals?

Was pirate Sasportas's wife converted to Judaism?

Can one navigate at sea by Universal Energy?

Is the female breast-size a guarantee of genetic superiority?

Answers to these questions and others are to be found in "Sailing towards the Sunset", Avner Shats last book.
Regrettably, you'll have to learn Hebrew in order to do read it. But it's worth it. Here is the back cover blurb - actually, I wrote it - the P.R. people at Zemora-Bitan Publishing are that lazy - but I included things other people said:

Is this a love story or a thriller? a cruise into the maze of Israeli culture or just a post-modernist game? an espionage story or an excuse for a magic journey to the Shetland Islands, a kingdom by the sea?

"Sailing to the Sunset" evades definitions: it is at the same time funny and sad, cynical and emotional, nostalgic and skeptic, fantastic and realistic; a reading experience of a different kind.

members of the Schweipert literary award committee of the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, wrote in their award recommendations (among other flattering things:) 
"Shats has a virtuoso's ability to mimic artistic styles of different schools and periods, and he uses this amazing virtue to trick the reader, amuse him, and also hint at the tremendous difficulty - especially to those who grew up  in present day culture - to have authentic experiences, let alone reconstructing them in writing..."Sailing towards the Sunset" is a homage to literature and literary writing, and at the same time a book full of doubts as to the power of literature to fully express our feelings and thoughts...A brilliant and sophisticated post-modernist novel."

(Chaim Gury,  Prof. Igal Schwartz, Dr. Iris Parush - the Award committee)

Sailing towards the sunset

"Yeoshua", A short story from "Printed Circuits", English translation by Dalia Bilu)

"Figs" - (home-made, unprofessional  translation.)

"The limits of Historical precision" (ditto)

The Israeli press on "Printed Circuits", the first book by Avner Shats:

"Ma'agalim Mudpasim" ("Printed Circuits") by Avner Shats, published by Keter, is one of the most interesting and enjoyable collections of stories I have seen in quite a while. Shats writes a cerebral and amusing sort of fiction, highly self aware...genuine new talent. "

(Jeff Green, "Reading from right to left", Jerusalem Post, June 17 1994)

"Shats amazes with lingual uses and misuses... fantastic inventions gives an impetus to the content of the stories. "Printed Circuits" is a rich promise.."

(Talma Admon, "Ma'ariv")

"The formative inventions...reflects Shats' subversive tendencies, his will to revolt against everything, even the most excepted convention of literary texts as black printing marks on paper...but the experimentalism of Shats is not merely technical. It is far more than that...I await his next book with much curiosity"

(Haya Hoffman, "Yediot Acharonot")

"Along with the joy of a first meeting with a talented writer, the pages bring an air of captivating sincerity, almost naive, under the mask of sophistication and brilliance"

(Avi Katz, "Haaretz")

"In some of his stories there is an obvious influence of Borges...and Calvino. What makes this this book particularly good is the uncanny touch of emotion..."

(Sefi Shefer, "Haaretz - Sefarim")

"It is after all possible to be sophisticated, funny, creative, brilliant, demanding and "post modern", without being... an odourless fart...
a writer of anarchistic imagination... a wizard of disguise, changing identities like a chameleon, a virtuoso..."

(Iri Rikin, "Kol Ha'ir")

"Witty, brilliant and elegant...a very enjoyable reading, surprising, amusing, thought-provoking and mostly funny - sometimes to tears."

(Einat Avrahami, "Zman Tel-Aviv")

Shats' qualities as a poet comes out of many pages in the book...an experience inviting further reading"

(Alit Karp, " 'Arim")

Shats' pretensions are high, but his actual achievements leave much to be desired...his fiction may amuse at most, but not leave any substantial impression....its all external gimmicks lacking real content, emotion or meaning..."

("Printed Circuits", page 99)

 

Printed Circuits