NOTICE: (Updated March 5, 2010)

Beginning December 19, 2009, Books 'N Border Collies will be posting but only intermittently while I pursue personal goals. I plan to share some reading I'm doing, but there will be no reviews. I will, however, be sharing my exploration of vegetarian cooking and the cookbooks and websites I use to educate myself. I hope you enjoy it!

Lezlie



Wednesday, May 13, 2009

THE SHAWL

by Cynthia Ozick



The Shawl opens with an eight page short story about a woman named Rosa who witnesses the killing of her child in a concentration camp. The novella which follows finds Rosa thirty years later in Florida still desperately keeping her daughter alive in her mind while her own life deteriorates.

In her depression, Rosa is an unreliable narrator causing the reader to call into question her version of events, intensifying her grief and denial. Rosa's antagonistic relationship with her niece, who had also been in the camp, provides what may be the truth about the past, but we never really know. In the end, it may be that it doesn't matter, because the future is the only thing Rosa has the power to change.

At only 70 pages, this would be a perfect Read-A-Thon book. While the premise sounds and is somber, the beauty of Cynthia Ozick's writing and the surrender to hope with which the novella ends make it all up to the reader. I had never heard of this author and just happened to find The Shawl while I was looking for books to fulfill the War Through The Generation Challenge. I finished the challenge before I got to it, but I'm most pleased that I went ahead with this read anyway. I will be on the lookout for some more of Ozick's short stories in the hope that she has more of this high caliber for me to discover!



13 comments:

Meghan said...

This sounds like a lovely little book! I will definitely keep it in mind for the next Read-a-Thon if I can wait that long. ;)

Lezlie said...

Meghan ~ It really is. It surprised me!

Lezlie

bermudaonion said...

Sounds like a hopeful read. Thanks for calling it and the author to our attention.

Jo-Jo said...

Oh my goodness...this sounds like a great book! Thanks for the review Lezlie.

Iliana said...

Another one for my wish list. Sounds very moving!

JoAnn said...

I recently bought Ozick's novel Heir To The Glimmering World. The beautiful writing of the first few pages just drew me right in...can't wait to read it! I will add The Shawl to my list, too.

Lezlie said...

Bermudaonion & Jo-Jo ~ You're welcome!

Iliana ~ I hope you like it when you get to it. It was wonderful!

JoAnn ~ That is so funny, because I was just looking at that one on Amazon this morning wondering if I should order it. I'll be waiting for you thoughts on it!

Lezlie

Teddy Rose said...

Wonderful and thoughtful review. It sounds really good and I added it to my TBR.

Lezlie said...

Teddy Rose ~ Thanks!
Lezlie

Andi said...

A professor of mine recommended this book when I was in grad school and I still haven't gotten around to read it. Thanks to your review I'm much more inclined to do so now. And it's short, which is appealing since my attention span sucks.

Lezlie said...

Andi ~ You'll whip through it in no time, and it will totally be worth it. :-)

Lezlie

Anna said...

This sounds like a must-read for me! We posted an excerpt of your review here.

--Anna
Diary of an Eccentric

Lezlie said...

Thanks, Anna!
Lezlie