Month: August 2008

Past into the present: review of Joseph Olshan’s novel The Conversion

The Jerusalem Post, August 29, 2008

Acclaimed author Joseph Olshan asserts his literary prowess once again with his latest novel, The Conversion. Hypnotic prose, several layers of intrigue, and a heady Old World setting harmonize to create a melodious, and immensely enjoyable, story. But The Conversion is more than a pleasurable read – Olshan addresses compelling themes such as religious identity, homosexuality and Europe’s current struggle to deal with an influx of immigrants from Muslim countries, deftly handling these potentially incendiary topics with thought and sensitivity.

This fast-paced read opens with a short and attention-grabbing first chapter. Russell Todaro, a struggling young writer, and his companion, Edward Cannon, an accomplished older poet, are surprised by intruders in their Paris hotel room. Edward subsequently dies and Russell is left to puzzle over both the mysterious intruders that led to his death and the unfinished autobiography he left behind.

Continue reading “Past into present”

Honor thy mother: review of Alyse Myers’s memoir Who Do You Think You Are?

The Jerusalem Post, August 1, 2008

Formerly fodder for the psychoanalyst’s couch, memoirs recounting the abuses one has suffered at the hands of one’s mother seem to have come into vogue. Alyse Myers’s Who Do You Think You Are? is one of the latest releases in this genre.

The memoir opens with the bold statement “I didn’t like my mother, and I certainly didn’t love her,” immediately giving the reader a sense of the troubled mother-daughter relationship that will follow. The book also begins with a mystery: Myers’s mother has died and she and her two sisters are going through her belongings at her apartment in Queens. Myers spirits away a box belonging to her mother – contents unknown – and returns to her Manhattan apartment and tells her husband she didn’t find anything. “I don’t know why I lied to him,” she recalls. After tucking the still unopened box deep into her closet, Myers says, “I can’t explain why I didn’t open the box that day. And I can’t explain why I didn’t open it until 12 years later. I don’t know what I was afraid of…”

Although the author’s lack of self-awareness and insight are a bit frustrating, the prologue does capture the reader’s attention and piques curiosity about what’s inside both the box and the story surrounding it.

Continue reading “Honor thy mother”