Resumo de "happy Birthday, Noah"

Everyone who has a Tel-Aviv soul, who lives and breathes Tel Aviv, who eats and sleeps it, has to read "Happy Birthday, Noah", by Noam Ziv.

In the centre of the book stands Tel Aviv of the 80's, Tel Aviv of Cafe Tamar and Gan Meir, of Ibn Gavirol street and Dizzengoff Cinema.
Noah, a Modern Philosopher in his 30's, married to an intelligent activist woman, is trying to work his way in the world, inside the Tel Aviv mind, in the modern life that can be sometimes quite inbearable.
Whilst insisting on sticking to his life Philosophy, by which "you should never suffer", he tries to work his way in the world that works by the "manner of the flock", and refuses to suffer. This way, he finds himself unemployed, becuase work makes him suffer; he doesn't wash the dishes and he doesn't nurture himself. Noah just avoids anything that makes him suffer.He lives as we all want to live: he is uncommitted, nonchalant, wakes up in the late afternoon, and spends his day in wandering or staring at the TV. Noah has nothing to worry about: his feminist wife takes the active place in their lives, and she is their maintainer that puts the food on the table.

Along with his weird friends, he spends hours over hours in philosophic conversations in Cafe Tamar, passively looking at the world running around to and fro, right in front of him as he sips from his glass of coffee, and refuses to be "a part of the game", so he will not suffer.
However, Noah, against his will, is anguished. He's restless, bored, depressed and languorous. He cries for a child, to save him from this meaningless life that he lives. A child to fill his world with a little joy. His wife refuses to have his child, and justifiably: "Who will take care of him?" she asks, "you will?". And Indeed, there is an impression that Noah wants a child for selfish reasons only: to fill up his day, though not taking care of him or investing in his education. Noah is just like a young kid, asking for a dog he couldn't take care of. Noah, frustrated after his wife assertively refuses to have his child, decides to do something - by his birthday, his wife gets pregnant, or he will take severe actions. Yet this is another problem - how can one believe that Noah, who doesn't take any action, but only plans it, will execute his plan?

Eventually, the book is not dealing with the birth of Noah's child, but deals with the small and hidden meanings of life - Who are we? Where are we going to? Why are we here? And is it really possible to "live without suffering"?
Noah finds out that the more he strives not to suffer, he is drawn deeper into agony, and that doing nothing - which is supposed to "set him free" - restrains him even more.

"Happy Birthday, Noah" is a wonderfull small book about big philosophies, or if you will - "philosophy in a penny", about thoughts, and about how to survive in this world of adults, when you want to grasp and remain a child from time to time.

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