My WorksTattoo for a Slave
When the author's Southern-born grandmother dies, her father tells her: "Your grandmother never kept slaves." But when she reaches adulthood, she discovers in the family lockbox a receipt for insurance on a slave. This memoir explores the complex themes of growing up in New York City in a transplanted Southern household. Sunday Jews
This novel explores a family united in blood yet divided by ideas. Charles, the eldest son, hopes to be a Supreme Court justice; family beauty Nell has children by different lovers; art expert Erika has altered her appearance, yet clings to her role as custodian of the family's Jewishness; and artist Zach has two wives. Their mother, infamous in Israel, born of a well-to-do Boston family but no longer rich, is bound to a past that never quite dies. The buried history of this unusual and very American family comes to light unexpectedly when grandson Bert brings home as a wife the woman who, some years ago, joined the family circle and then mysteriously disappeared. The Novellas of Hortense Calisher
From the Author's Preface: "The novella can take on any of the novel's roles. It has but one departure--one that can make it unique. It is not merely a shorter novel, of less wordage than commonly. It is a small one, tenaciously complete." |
|
