An evocative debut novel chronicles the lives and fortunes of four generations of Jewish women, as their stories span two continents, from Eastern Europe to modern-day Cleveland, and one young woman, Hannah Felber, struggles to resolve her troubled relationship with her mother. Reprint.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Katie Singer's work has been published in Lilith, Heresies, Sojourner, and The Jewish Women's 1997 Annual, among other publications. The Wholeness of a Broken Heart is her first novel.
A first novel revisits, over four generations, the exhaustively plumbed relationship between mothers and daughters who learn to accept each other only when it's almost too late. Told against the background of recent Jewish history, the tale this time has several narrators. The strongest is 29-year-old Hannah Fried, a writing teacher and poet who, as she struggles to understand mother Celia's increasingly bizarre treatment of her, tells her own as well the family's story. That story is supplemented by contributions from Great-grandmothers Leah, who died in the Holocaust, and Channa, who emigrated from Russia; from Grandmother Ida in Cleveland; from Hannahs own mother, Celia; and from such voices beyond the grave as Channa's miscarried Vitl; and as Leo, a camp survivor who briefly dated Celia, then commuted suicide. These ghostly contributions serve mostly to describe the Holocaust and the fate of those family members who were unable to escape it. Until she was 20, Hannah and her mother were extremely close, but then abruptly Celiawho had divorced Hannah's father Allan when Hannah was three and married gutless Normtells Hannah to move out of the house. For the next ten years, as she graduates, moves to Boston to write, teach, and eventually fall in love with Jonathan Lev, a photographer, Hannah struggles to understand Celia. She's close to Grandmother Ida, but otherwise she spends a great deal of time thinking about her unhappiness. Her mother seems to have been abused by her own father, Moe, and then wounded by Leo's suicide; so that, fearing her closeness to Hannah, she was driven to reject her. And yet Singers explanations for all her characters' behaviors remain strained and schematic, though Hannah does eventually get through to Mom, who grudgingly suggests she can come back into her lifeon her own terms, naturally. A novel written around an idea that, instead of liberating the tales possibilities, confines them like a kind of conceptual corset. -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
Shipping:
FREE
Within U.S.A.
Shipping:
US$ 6.95
Within U.S.A.
Seller: SecondSale, Montgomery, IL, U.S.A.
Condition: Very Good. Item in very good condition! Textbooks may not include supplemental items i.e. CDs, access codes etc. Seller Inventory # 00074521668
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: SecondSale, Montgomery, IL, U.S.A.
Condition: Good. Item in good condition. Textbooks may not include supplemental items i.e. CDs, access codes etc. Seller Inventory # 00032336176
Quantity: 5 available
Seller: Gulf Coast Books, Memphis, TN, U.S.A.
paperback. Condition: Good. Seller Inventory # 1573228311-3-28238921
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Wonder Book, Frederick, MD, U.S.A.
Condition: Very Good. Very Good condition. A copy that may have a few cosmetic defects. May also contain light spine creasing or a few markings such as an owner's name, short gifter's inscription or light stamp. Bundled media such as CDs, DVDs, floppy disks or access codes may not be included. Seller Inventory # Z03M-01333
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Goodwill, Brooklyn Park, MN, U.S.A.
Condition: Acceptable. There is handwriting, stickers or numbers inside the front cover Item has stickers or notes attached to cover and/or pages that have not been removed to prevent further damage Corners are bent. Cover/Case has some rubbing and edgewear. Access codes, CDs, slipcovers and other accessories may not be included. Seller Inventory # 2Y6RVP003JO7_ns
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: The Maryland Book Bank, Baltimore, MD, U.S.A.
paperback. Condition: Very Good. Remainder. Used - Very Good. Seller Inventory # 6-B-4-0268
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: ThriftBooks-Atlanta, AUSTELL, GA, U.S.A.
Paperback. Condition: As New. No Jacket. Pages are clean and are not marred by notes or folds of any kind. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less 0.85. Seller Inventory # G1573228311I2N00
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Irish Booksellers, Portland, ME, U.S.A.
Condition: Good. SHIPS FROM USA. Used books have different signs of use and do not include supplemental materials such as CDs, Dvds, Access Codes, charts or any other extra material. All used books might have various degrees of writing, highliting and wear and tear and possibly be an ex-library with the usual stickers and stamps. Dust Jackets are not guaranteed and when still present, they will have various degrees of tear and damage. All images are Stock Photos, not of the actual item. book. Seller Inventory # 21-1573228311-G
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Half Price Books Inc., Dallas, TX, U.S.A.
paperback. Condition: Very Good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!. Seller Inventory # S_399834995
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: HPB-Ruby, Dallas, TX, U.S.A.
Paperback. Condition: Very Good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!. Seller Inventory # S_396508693
Quantity: 1 available