Hasefer Hechadash shel Orly Castel-Bloom = Taking The Trend / In this original social satire, written in stand-up comedy style, Orly Castel-Bloom strikes out right and left and pokes fun at the rapidly changing fashions in our postmodern life. The trends that the narrator and her friends get caught up in are often global, though some seem to be distinctly Israeli, such as volunteering to travel in search of lost persons, or even simply to get lost somewhere. Some trends are pleasant, some extremely unpleasant, but all are affected and meaningless. What is a trend, wonders the narrator, if not a substitute for the urge to wander in search of adventure? In the past, people wandered from place to place, whereas today the trend carries them from one thing to another. Emptiness? Maybe, but at least it makes you feel that you belong, you’re a part of things.
One of the trends that the narrator cannot stop is that of the petroleum-eating giraffes, a mutation of the standard animal. She is selected to bring a thousand of these novel giraffes to the charming prince of Abu Dhabi. She travels to the desert principality and meets its ruler. She passes the test with flying colors, but does not lose interest in the pygmy giraffes, and even flies to the remote, scarcely-known Solid Islands, to meet the ailing Roy Macintosh, who dropped everything to study the small giraffes. He dies while she is on the islands, but never mind – "Tomorrow there's sure to be another trend. What else can tomorrow bring if not a new trend?"
Beyond being clever and making fine distinctions, this book has an aura of originality and uncompromising individualism that are found only in true artists.
Maariv
This is a clever book whose parodic strength derives from its impossible ventures…It is an essay against vulgarity, pigheadedness, dulling of the senses... Taking the Trend is a glittering showcase for [Castel-Bloom's] linguistic musicality and virtuousity.
Yedioth Ahronoth
