Katschen & The Book of Joseph

In kaleidoscopic fragments, Hoffmann refracts Jewish popular lore and folk wisdom through a postmodernist prism, brightening his prose with snatches of verse, songs, diary excerpts, letters, ominous dreams, lush erotic passages and Yiddish sayings. "The Book of Joseph" tells the tragic story of a widowed Jewish tailor and his son in 1930s Berlin. "Katschen" gives an astounding child's-eye view of a boy orphaned in the new state of Israel. The novellas radiate the original poetry of Hoffmann's atomized hypnotic language, which Rosmarie Waldrop has called "utterly enchanting-it's like nothing else."

About the author

Yoel Hoffmann was born in Brasow, Romania in 1937. He is presently a citizen of Israel, and is Professor of Eastern Philosophy at the U. of Haifa. He has had a lifelong scholarly engagement with Hebrew literature, Western philosophy, and Japanese Buddhism. His is the winner of the first Koret Jewish Book Award. His books include The Heart is Katmandu, Bernhardt, The Christ of Fish, and Katschen & The Book of Joseph.

Summary

"These two quietly stunning novellas mark the American debut of a writer of international importance."—Publishers Weekly

Product details

• Authors: Yoel Hoffmann
• Assisted by: David Kriss (Translation), Eddie Levenston (Translation), Edward A. Levenston (Translation)
• Publisher: New Directions Publishing Corporation
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 01.09.1999
• EAN: 9780811214056
• ISBN: 978-0-8112-1405-6
• No. of pages: 162
• Dimensions: 136 mm x 203 mm x 41 mm
• Weight: 194 g
• Series: New Directions Paperbook; New Directions Paperbook
• Subject: Fiction > Narrative literature