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:
“Hoping that, when the devil days of my hurt
Drag out to their last dregs and I resume
On such legs as are left me, in such heart
As I can manage, remember to go home,
My taste will not have turned insensitive
To honey and bread old purity could love.”
—Gwendolyn Brooks (b. 1917)
“Gone are the days when my heart was young and gay,
Gone are my friends from the cotton fields away,
Gone from the earth to a better land I know,
I hear their gentle voices calling “Old Black Joe.””
—Stephen Collins Foster (1826–1864)