Masterly collection of short stories by an American novelist at the
height of her powers It is the stories upon which Cynthia Ozick's
literary reputation rests. She writes about bitterness, cruelty and
compulsion with brutal acuity and tenderness. She has created a
timeless collection in which Greek mythology, superstition and the
religious and cultural experience of the Jewish diaspora in America
collide. The Pagan Rabbi is seduced by a tree sprite after seeing
his daughter rescued from drowning by a water sprite. Such ecstasy
is not permitted to mortals and so the scholar must die. He hangs
himself with his prayer shawl as he watches the strangely beautiful
nymph decay. In Envy, a Yiddish poet who watches the success of a
contemporary, becomes very like a character in an I.B. Singer story
entrapped by his anguish and haunted by the memory of a child. In
the Doctor's Wife, the most gentle of the stories, a poor doctor
not unlike Chekhov endures family life in which he is adored by his
three sisters and oppressed by his family obligations. In these
stories, we see Ozick defining herself and her literary territory.
The stories may be read purely as evocations of Jewish experience,
where time seems to have by-passed these characters. In the
Butterfly and the Traffic Light, Jerusalem is seen upon a hill as
only it can be in legend, and America is said not to have cities
scarred by battles. This is a dazzling collection of short stories
by an internationally celebrated novelist.
General
Imprint: |
Weidenfeld & Nicolson
|
Country of origin: |
United Kingdom |
Series: |
W&N Essentials |
Release date: |
April 2021 |
Authors: |
Cynthia Ozick
|
Dimensions: |
198 x 126 x 36mm (L x W x T) |
Format: |
Paperback - B-format
|
Pages: |
496 |
ISBN-13: |
978-1-4746-2404-6 |
Categories: |
Books >
Fiction >
Special features >
Short stories
|
LSN: |
1-4746-2404-9 |
Barcode: |
9781474624046 |
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!