Mention About Books Hope: A Tragedy
| Title | : | Hope: A Tragedy |
| Author | : | Shalom Auslander |
| Book Format | : | Hardcover |
| Book Edition | : | First Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 292 pages |
| Published | : | January 12th 2012 by Riverhead Books (first published January 2012) |
| Categories | : | Fiction. Humor. Literature. Jewish. World War II. Holocaust. Contemporary |
Shalom Auslander
Hardcover | Pages: 292 pages Rating: 3.38 | 5074 Users | 802 Reviews
Description Concering Books Hope: A Tragedy
FROM THE CREATOR OF SHOWTIME'S "HAPPYISH"The bestselling debut novel from Shalom Auslander, the darkly comic author of Foreskin’s Lament and Beware of God.
A New York Times Notable Book 2012
The rural town of Stockton, New York, is famous for nothing: no one was born there, no one died there, nothing of any historical import at all has ever happened there, which is why Solomon Kugel, like other urbanites fleeing their pasts and histories, decided to move his wife and young son there.
To begin again. To start anew. But it isn’t quite working out that way for Kugel…
His ailing mother stubbornly holds on to life, and won’t stop reminiscing about the Nazi concentration camps she never actually suffered through. To complicate matters further, some lunatic is burning down farmhouses just like the one Kugel bought, and when, one night, he discovers history—a living, breathing, thought-to-be-dead specimen of history—hiding upstairs in his attic, bad quickly becomes worse.
Hope: A Tragedy is a hilarious and haunting examination of the burdens and abuse of history, propelled with unstoppable rhythm and filled with existential musings and mordant wit. It is a comic and compelling story of the hopeless longing to be free of those pasts that haunt our every present.
Itemize Books As Hope: A Tragedy
| Original Title: | Hope: A Tragedy |
| ISBN: | 159448838X (ISBN13: 9781594488382) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Characters: | Anne Frank, Solomon Kugel |
| Setting: | Stockton, New York,2011(United States) |
| Literary Awards: | Jewish Quarterly-Wingate Prize (2013), Thurber Prize Nominee for American Humor (2013) |
Rating About Books Hope: A Tragedy
Ratings: 3.38 From 5074 Users | 802 ReviewsEvaluate About Books Hope: A Tragedy
This book is an original, well written work that had me laughing out loud many times. I give Auslander 4 stars for creativity and witticism, but I give 2 for plot and other elements. After about 1/3 of the book the funny bits get recycled and the plot becomes very thin. A lot of his jokes turn up six times in the same book! Lines like: 'Live each day as something, go enjoy the whatever, stop to smell the what-have-you' that mock cliches are funny at first but after a few times feel very old andShalom Auslander's first full-length novel takes a slight detour from his usual angst about Orthodoxy (see Foreskin's Lament and Beware of God: Stories) to poke fun at gluten intolerance, muse about epitaphs and take Anne Frank off her historical pedestal by finding her alive and well (and old and curmudgeonly) in the attic of a bucolic farmhouse recently bought by a neurotic Jewish guy. What's not to like? After a day of reflection, though, I think what's holding me back from a higher review is
Ive been called a Pollyannna. Seriously. I know, right? Funny. Granted, Pollyanna is from Vermont and she does tend to look at the bright side of lifeand I do agree with the statement Just breathing isnt living! but, I draw the line at believing in stupid glad games. And this song is really irritating and doesn't at all describe me. I much prefer this version and its not like I ALWAYS find the good in things I mean, there is absolutely nothing good about that song Ive got the moves like Mick
This book is an original, well written work that had me laughing out loud many times. I give Auslander 4 stars for creativity and witticism, but I give 2 for plot and other elements. After about 1/3 of the book the funny bits get recycled and the plot becomes very thin. A lot of his jokes turn up six times in the same book! Lines like: 'Live each day as something, go enjoy the whatever, stop to smell the what-have-you' that mock cliches are funny at first but after a few times feel very old and
Outrageously funny, so wildly original you forgive a certain amount of repetitiveness, a rude offspring of Philip Roth and Franz Kafka. The sort of book where you constantly want to put it down and call everyone you know to read them the passages you just read.Solomon Kugel is a neurotic obsessed with death who recently moved with his family to a farmhouse in upstate New York. One night he hears noise coming from the attic, goes up to investigate, and discovers Anne Frank living up there. But
Update: a good friend of mind just read this ...and reminded me how much I enjoyed this comic/tragic GEM. I still own my book!!You cant have my copy - It makes me laugh too much. But ... Ive give this book to others many times. ( I bought stacks when it went on sale years ago at Barnes and Noble)I really dont understand why some readers were offended- or didnt care for it...I know some Jewish people from my temple who felt it was in bad taste ...Maybe? I absolutely loved it.., so sue me? AND.. I
Solomon Kugel moves to a small town with his wife and son. He is soon joined by his mother, who claims she is a holocaust survivor (although she isn't) and a disgruntled tenant. Oh, and yes, there is the small matter of a very much alive Anne Frank living in the attic... Black humour at it's best, this is a wickedly funny and, often moving, novel.
0 Comments:
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.