Abraham B. Yehoshua
Viaggio alla fine del millennio

THE REVIEW

Tangier, on the eve of the Year Thousand: a vessel sets sail. A long journey will take its passengers up the coasts of the Caliphate of Cordoba, the apex of Islamic civilization, and on to Paris, a dark city in backward Christian Europe.

A wealthy Jewish merchant, his two wives, the varied company that populates the ship. An exploration of the ghosts that stir Christianity in anticipation of the second coming of Christ. A confrontation between the dark Mediterranean Jews and the pale Jews of the communities that arose in the muddy region of the Rhine. The clash between two worldviews, incredibly distant yet so close, bearing with them the wild scent of the desert and the damp aroma of the Rhine marshes.

In my opinion, the book is wonderfully written, with a sinuous and chiseled prose that fits well with the subjects discussed, the lapping of the ship, the contemplative thoughts that arise in the minds of the characters. The narration starts slow and then builds up inside you more and more. It's a watercolor with soft colors, where the total absence of direct dialogue keeps the narrative's outlines pleasantly blurred. At first, it can seem artificial, but then it slips inside you.

I had previously read and adored Yehoshua's "The Lover." "Voyage to the End of the Millennium" is written very differently, but you notice the same mastery in writing, which makes the surface of the narrated stories incredibly polished. Having also read work by Grossman, another Israeli, I notice a common attention to sensuality and a particular way of treating it so that it radiates throughout the narrative, even where it's not the protagonist.

A very rich and subtle book, though certainly someone might find it boring. 

To read for surrendering to the rolling of the navigation.