Yoram Kaniuk, 83, Maverick Israeli Writer

A scion of Jewish Palestine’s high-culture aristocracy, a veteran of Israel’s war of independence, a prolific author with an innovative (not to say quirky) prose style, and a provocative commentator on his nation’s social and political issues, Kaniuk struggled for acceptance in literary circles (and a decent income) until a 2010 memoir made him into a national celebrity.