Tell Me a Riddle: Tillie Olsen (Women Writers : Texts and Contexts) - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 081352136X ISBN 13: 9780813521367

Publisher: Rutgers University Press, 1995

Synopsis

"Tell Me a Riddle" renders an unforgettable portrait of a working class couple when the gender determined differences in their experiences of poverty and familial life give rise to bitter conflict after almost four decades of marriage. As she dies from cancer, Eva, the protagonist, recollects a revolutionary past that both critiques and offers hope for the present. Deborah Rosenfelt's introduction and the essays in this volume survey the critical reception of this highly acclaimed story, analyze its biographical and historical contexts, examine the text's language, structure, spiritual and moral significance, and illuminate Olsen's relationship to the American midwest, the American left, and the Jewish enlightenment tradition. This casebook includes an introduction by the editor, a chronology of Olsen's life, an authoritative text of "Tell Me a Riddle," relevant essays by Olsen, seven critical essays, and a bibliography. The contributors are: Joanne Trautmann Banks, Constance Coiner, Rachel Blau Duplessis, Mara Faulkner, Elaine Orr, Linda Ray Pratt, and Deborah Silverton Rosenfelt.

About this title

Review:

Almost unbearable in its harsh poetry and bitter fidelity to lives that are now forgotten, or never known (ALICE WALKER)

Tillie Olsen's is a unique voice. Few writers have gained such ... reverence (MARGARET ATWOOD)

Book Description:

Two classics of American literature from one of the twentieth century's most gifted writers.

About this edition

• Publisher: Rutgers University Press
• Publication date: 1995
• ISBN 10: 081352136X
• ISBN 13: 9780813521367
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 310
• Editor: Rosenfelt Deborah