Days of Ziklag

Days of Ziklag (Hebrew: ימי צקלג, Yemei Tziklag) is a novel by S. Yizhar, first published in 1958. It is widely considered to be one of the most prominent works in Israeli literature.

The novel describes 7 days during the Israeli War of Independence in which it follows a squad of IDF soldiers trying to hold a godforsaken post in the Negev desert. The story's stream of consciousness focuses on the inner worlds of the Palmach soldiers, both during and between battles. The story is based on the real-life battle for Horbat Ma'achaz fought by the Yiftach Brigade in October 1948, although the battle is never mentioned by name.

Yizhar received the Israel Prize in 1959 for his novel.

Famous quotes containing the words days of and/or days:

    One of the necessary qualifications of an efficient business man in these days of industrial literature seems to be the ability to write, in clear and idiomatic English, a 1,000-word story on how efficient he is and how he got that way.... It seems that the entire business world were devoting its working hours to the creation of a school of introspective literature.
    Robert Benchley (1889–1945)

    These are days when no one should rely unduly on his “competence.” Strength lies in improvisation. All the decisive blows are struck left-handed.
    Walter Benjamin (1892–1940)