"'Matches" is the Israel Defence Force code term for a soldier. Among the troops, it has come to mean someone who strikes, burns and dies.' Nathan Falk is an American Jew who leaves the relative comforts of New York City to serve in the IDF. Patrolling the streets of Gaza in the dead of night, playing a high-stakes off-duty game of Risk with his fellow soldiers, making passionate love to the wife of his best friend, Nathan Falk lives each moment with an increasing awareness of the arbitrary boundary between life and death. ...
Read More
"'Matches" is the Israel Defence Force code term for a soldier. Among the troops, it has come to mean someone who strikes, burns and dies.' Nathan Falk is an American Jew who leaves the relative comforts of New York City to serve in the IDF. Patrolling the streets of Gaza in the dead of night, playing a high-stakes off-duty game of Risk with his fellow soldiers, making passionate love to the wife of his best friend, Nathan Falk lives each moment with an increasing awareness of the arbitrary boundary between life and death. Poet Alan Kaufman writes as only a former soldier could about life in the dark heart of one of the most controversial and unremitting conflicts in the world. In this short, brilliant novel he offers an intensely revealing portrait of the damage war does to the soul of a man. 'Great war writing like this comes along once every fifty years. Kaufman's "Matches" does for Israeli soldiers and the Middle East conflict what Norman Mailer did for G.I.s in "The Naked" and "The Dead". "Matches" is not just terrific war fiction: it's a brilliant testament to the madness of war.' - Barney Rosset. '"Matches" provides us with the same pleasure, pain, and moral compromise that we feel in reading "The Red Badge of Courage" and "Heart of Darkness". A totally transformative reading experience.' - Thane Rosenbaum, author of "The Golems of Gotham" and "Second Hand Smoke".
Read Less
Add this copy of Matches: a Novel to cart. $4.70, like new condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Atlanta rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Austell, GA, UNITED STATES, published 2005 by Back Bay Books.
Add this copy of Matches: a Novel to cart. $4.70, very good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Baltimore rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Halethorpe, MD, UNITED STATES, published 2005 by Back Bay Books.
Add this copy of Matches: a Novel to cart. $7.00, very good condition, Sold by Powell's Books Chicago rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Chicago, IL, UNITED STATES, published 2005 by Back Bay Books.
Add this copy of Matches: a Novel to cart. $29.87, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2005 by Back Bay Books.
Add this copy of Matches: a Novel to cart. $104.35, new condition, Sold by GridFreed rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from North Las Vegas, NV, UNITED STATES, published 2005 by Back Bay Books.