The Day My Mother Cried: And Other Stories (Library of Modern Jewish Literature) - Hardcover

Kaufman, William D.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0815609558 ISBN 13: 9780815609551

Publisher: Syracuse University Press, 2010

Synopsis

The lasting charm of Kaufman’s stories lies in a delightful mix of personal incidents and observations set against an anchoring backdrop of cultural tradition. His new collection is filled with tales from his parents’ homeland in the Ukraine, his own childhood reminiscences, and his adult travels. We watch the young author forced alongside ""every Jewish boy on the block"" to emulate Yehudi Menuhin on a ten-dollar violin with a moldy bow until the boy is spared by an innate lack of talent and his father’s judgment of his concert: ""Enough is enough is more than enough."" Kaufman is carefully attuned to the awkwardness of adulthood as well as to that of early adolescence. In ""Interlude in Bangkok,"" his narrator scours the city for a synagogue while pursued by a prostitute. Later he and a friend encounter Greta Garbo in a museum café and are too frightened to approach her. ""I am not she,"" intones the mysterious movie star, and in his own way, Kaufman says that of himself in these stories through an autobiographical narrator whose memories take on resonant, literary shapes in their retelling.

About this title

About the Author

William D. Kaufman’s first collection of short stories, The Day My Mother Changed Her Name, was published by Syracuse University Press in 2008. His stories have also appeared in Forward, Moment, and Columbia Magazine. Kaufman was a professional fund-raiser at the Jewish Theological Seminary until his retirement.

About this edition

• Publisher: Syracuse University Press
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 0815609558
• ISBN 13: 9780815609551
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 195