David Grossman, one of Israel’s preeminent writers, whose works have been translated into 35 languages, is the recipient of numerous national and international prices – the Nelly Sachs Prize (Germany, 1991), the Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (France, 1998), the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade (2010), the Wingate Prize (UK, 2011), and the Brenner Prize (Israel, 2012) – attesting to his importance as a writer, but also as a spokesperson for his country in Israel and beyond.

His fellow writer and friend Amos Oz observes that in Israel “people look upon writers as pseudo-prophets” (45), drawing attention to the role of writers in predicting and responding to society and politics. There is indeed a conflation between the writer and the nation, and for David

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Citation: Hesse, Isabelle. "David Grossman". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 11 November 2013 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=13258, accessed 19 March 2024.]

13258 David Grossman 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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