Fiction
THE PROPHET’S WIFE Milton Steinberg; Ari L. Goldman, fwd. Behrman House, 2010. 384 pp. $24.95 ISBN: 978-0874411409
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his long awaited story by the author of the highly acclaimed book As a Driven Leaf is a cliffhanger. Rabbi Milton Steinberg passed away in 1950, leaving behind the unfinished manuscript for The Prophet’s Wife. This is a fictional tale about the biblical prophet Hosea, his family life and philosophical views. It describes a fascinating period of Jewish history when corrupt kings and high priests ruled the Israelites and the Northern Kingdom was in decline. We learn about Hosea’s passion for Gomer and his quest for answers and honesty in religious practice. The story is written in Hosea’s voice in biblical times, so although it takes a bit of time to get used to the pace, the effort is worthwhile. This book provides the interested reader with great insight into Jewish life in the era of the biblical prophets. There is a note from the publisher, David Behrman, a foreword by author Ari L. Goldman, and a reader’s guide which includes commentaries by Rabbi Harold S. Kushner and author Norma Rosen about how they imagine the manuscript would have been finished. Included are questions for discussion and a glossary. MBA
spiritually. Offstage, endless war is being fought—against whom, nobody knows— maybe themselves? The unreality is underscored by the figure of Olga, a ‘translator’ (censor) for a military newspaper, whose job is to recast events in a nonfrightening way— there are no casualties, Russia is winning.... Her only son returns damaged from one battle and will probably be drafted again. Juxtaposed against this vision of a cracked and broken Russia, where everything is in short supply but anything can be bought, Tanya writes in her dreambook, lyric poetry; purple prose; flights of fancy. She’s a creative artist whose job is to paste together cheap imitations for a museum. One day, wealthy donors arrive from America; perhaps they will choose this museum for their largess. Azade is keeper of the outdoor latrine, the building’s only toilet. Her husband becomes a ghost who harasses the living, and with the help of feral children, who may or may not be dogs, undoes every effort to clean up their yard and make the property presentable for the American visitors. The three women and their families must learn to live and love as the terrain becomes evermore bizarre. SS
SARAH/SARA Jacob Paul IG Publishing, 2010. 251 pp. $15.95 ISBN: 978-1935439134
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THE RUSSIAN DREAMBOOK OF COLOR AND FLIGHT Gina Ochsner Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2010. 370 pp. $25.00 ISBN: 978-0-618-56373-9
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n a surreal, barren landscape, three families (Jewish, Christian, Moslem) struggle to survive physically, mentally, emotionally, and
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n unusual Orthodox Jewish adventure story, a Jewish Into the Wild. The premise is cinematic, and powerful: an Orthodox young woman, innocent in so many ways, decides to take a trip in a kayak, on her own, across the Arctic Ocean, not long after she has endured two significant tragedies: the unexpected death of her parents, and then, a terrorist bomb in a Jerusalem café that left her encased in tubes and bandages from head to foot—so severely injured that she missed her parents’ funeral. These devastating events lead Sarah to do what she’d dreamed—to explore her emotional and spiritual self with a voyage into the cold Arctic wilderness. Perilous, frightening, and in the end surprising, this is the story of
REVIEWS
one woman and her faith, loss, adventure, and transformation. EC
SOMETHING RED Jennifer Gilmore Scribner, 2010. 306 pp. $25.00 ISBN: 9781416571704
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n interlocking puzzle of a story forming a unique, original whole, Something Red presents a fascinating picture of a complex but loving family but more importantly of a complicated and unnerving time in recent American history. The Goldsteins, a second generation Jewish family consisting of parents and two teenaged children, navigate life in suburban D.C. as the 1970’s draw to a close. It is a tricky and uncertain period for the country: the Iranian Hostage Crisis is raging, the U.S. is fumbling for a foothold in a new relationship with Moscow, youthful rebellion is taking a new and less idealistic turn. The HUAC hearings, the Vietnam protests, and the roiling 60’s are not all that deeply in the past and are still exerting a mighty pull on the present. The Goldsteins, like many others, must find a place in the newly emerging decade and must discover which emotional baggage can be jettisoned, and which follows and clings and cannot be disposed of at will. This is superbly written fiction. Not only does time and place ring with perfectly authentic pitch, but the characters feel real enough to be your family. Gilmore’s technique of frequently repeating a scene from a different point of view adds substance and depth to the narrative and adds sympathy to the characters. Each character is faceted and layered, each has integrity and flaws, each has the capacity to grow. Symbols and themes are richly and densely woven into the fabric of the story and seamlessly appear and reappear throughout—heavy symbols on occasion but always presented with a light and deft touch. The careful reader will want to ferret out and examine these symbols as they appear so I will touch here on only two of the most major, that of sports, which means something different and personal to each of the characters, and that of food. Food is more than mere sus-
Fall 5771/2010
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