Cynthia Ozick Knihy

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.

Exploring the complex relationship between writers' lives and their art, this collection features insightful essays on notable literary figures like T. S. Eliot, Isaac Babel, Salman Rushdie, and Henry James. It delves into the tension between public personas and private experiences, offering a profound examination of the struggles that shape their creative expressions. This work reflects on the broader theme of the conflict between art and life, showcasing the depth and richness of the literary world through a critical lens.

Cynthia Ozick's essay collection explores the joys of great literature through a lens of wit and vitality. Delving into the works of notable figures like Tolstoy, Bellow, and Plath, she uncovers unexpected insights and highlights the transformative power of literary imagination. The essays confront complex literary, historical, and moral themes, showcasing Ozick's critical prowess while celebrating the enriching experience of reading. This collection is both a tribute to literature and a reflection on its capacity to heal and inspire.

From the winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award comes a story about the Holocaust that "burns itself into the reader's imagination with almost surreal powers" (The New York Times). "Read this great little book of Cynthia Ozick's: It contains dazzling staggering pages filled with sadness and truth." —Elie Wiesel, Chicago Tribune A devastating vision of the Holocaust and the unfillable emptiness it left in the lives of those who passed through it.

Ozick is a kind of narrative hypnotist. Her range is extraordinary; there is seemingly nothing she can't do. Her stories contain passages of intense lyricism and brilliant, hilarious, uncontainable inventiveness.

The collection features four engaging stories that blend comedy, deception, and revenge, showcasing the author's sharp wit and storytelling prowess. Among these tales is a previously unpublished piece, offering readers a fresh glimpse into the author's imaginative world. Each story promises to entertain while exploring complex themes through unique characters and situations, highlighting the author's talent for crafting compelling narratives.

'A strange and compelling new book from one of America's greatest living authors' TLSA new novella about memory and ageing and three short stories

Yearning for a life of the mind, Ruth Puttermesser finds herself mired in the lowest circles of city bureaucracy. Her love life hopeless, her fantasies more influential than wan reality, she nevertheless turns out to be the best mayor New York City has ever elected. Soon enough, though, paradise gained becomes paradise lost, and--even for a wistful visionary like Puttermesser--the problem of disappointment remains unresolved.

Exploring themes of money and conscience, this debut novel follows a nameless young woman's journey across wealthy New York, postwar Europe, and a Shakespearean isle in search of her elusive father, a scandalous figure from her past. Spanning four decades, the narrative delves into her complex relationship with identity and family. In a thought-provoking afterword, the author reflects on her writing process and the evolving landscape of literary ambition over the years.

"From one of our most pre eminent writers, a tale that captures the shifting meanings of the past, and how our experience colors those meanings. Lloyd Wilkinson Petrie, one of the seven surviving trustees of the now defunct (for 34 years) Temple Academy for Boys, is preparing a memoir of his days at the school, intertwined with a description of present events. As he navigates, with faltering recall, between the subtle anti-semitism that pervaded the school's ethos and his fascination with his own family history-in particular, his illustrious cousin, the renowned archaeologist Sir Flinders Petrie (check out his Wikipedia entry!), the source of his interest in antiquity-he reconstructs the story of his encounter from his school days with a younger student named Ben-Zion Elefantin, who seems to belong to a lost ancient Jewish sect. From this seed emerges one of Ozick's most wondrous tales, one that displays her delight in Jamesian irony and the mythical flavor of a Kafka parable, woven into her own distinct voice"--