Faulkner's presence is everywhere felt in this remarkable novel ["A Late Divorce"]. It is a presence that both exhilarates and depresses, so sustained is the emotional intensity of the story, not just recalling but indeed being structured upon what many regard as the Southern writer's single most important work, "The Sound and the Fury." Not simply derivative, "A Late Divorce" is a Faulknerian tour de force, with enormous power in its own originality, enabling it to function organically and soundly in its own right….

[The] sheer lyrical quality of Yehoshua's prose [is] a poetic accomplishment which was also a noteworthy feature of Faulkner's writing. Though both books are fiction of an exceptionally high order, each functions somewhat as poetry does, communicating on an emotional level, making it easy for the reader to relate to the characters and to respond to their actions….

What do all these nice Israelis...