Soul of Wood (New York Review Books): And Other Stories (New York Review Books (Paperback)) - Softcover

Jakov Lind

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1590173309 ISBN 13: 9781590173305

Publisher: NYRB Classics, 2010

Synopsis

Jakov Lind's Soul of Wood brought its author immediate fame when it was published in 1962, earning him a reputation as one of the most boldly imaginative post war writers. In the title novella and six stories here, Lind deals masterfully with a world of horror through fantasy, paradox, and sardonic distortion and brings to life the agonies of 20th century Europe. In "Soul of Wood," Anton Barth, a paralyzed young Jew, is smuggled to safety as his parents are shipped off to their deaths. Then, however, we discover that Barth's purported protector, the wooden-legged war invalid Wohlbrecht who is the deeply unreliable, self-pitying, half-mad narrator of the story, has simply abandoned the helpless boy in a forest cabin. Wohlbrecht returns to Vienna, where he is soon busy assisting a psychiatrist in administering lethal injections to his patient. But as the Germany collapses before the Russian offensive, Wohlbrecht rushes back to the woods in the frenzied hope that he will somehow be able to reclaim "his" Jew, and so preserve himself from retribution. Horrifying and humorous by turns, Lind's stories alternate scenes of pure savagery and madcap hilarity, displaying a grim inventiveness unmatched ion modern literature.

About this title

Product Description:

Rare Book

Review:

Jakov was a bad boy. . . . He was a coyote, a trickster. He enjoyed hash and LSD. A wicked smile played around his mouth, while witty aphorisms and deep insights tripped off his lips. He emanated inner strength--and an electric intelligence that we all wanted to emulate. --Anthony Rudolf

Soul of Wood succeeds through the sheer wickedly comic telling; for all the surrealist gags, frenetic symbolism and laughs, the horror strikes one full in the face. --Irish Times

Reading Lind can feel a bit like chasing the dissolving threads of a dream (or nightmare). But at its best his prose can be devastatingly illuminating... Jakov Lind had a rare ability to shake the foundations of ethical constructions. And he could make us laugh. The combination is irresistible. --Jewish Chronicle

About this edition

• Publisher: NYRB Classics
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 1590173309
• ISBN 13: 9781590173305
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 208