Understanding Michael Chabon

2018 ◽  
pp. 1-22
Keyword(s):  
Michael Chabon

Cross Scripts: Inscribing Hebrew into Jewish American Literature

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 90-107
Author(s):  
Hana Wirth-Nesher
Keyword(s):  
American Literature ◽  
Rites Of Passage ◽  
Early 20Th Century ◽  
Jewish American ◽  
Philip Roth ◽  
Jewish American Literature ◽  
Achy Obejas ◽  
Joshua Cohen ◽  
Jewish Immigrants ◽  
Michael Chabon

Abstract Most Jewish immigrants to America during the early 20th century arrived speaking Yiddish or Ladino and using Hebrew and Aramaic for liturgical purposes. When subsequent generations abandoned the first two languages, Hebrew and Aramaic were retained, used primarily for liturgy and rites of passage. Jewish American writers have often inserted Hebrew into their English texts by either reproducing the original alphabet or transliterating into Latin letters. This essay focuses on diverse strategies for representing liturgical Hebrew with an emphasis on the poetic, thematic, and sociolinguistic aspects of these expressions of both home and the foreign. Hebrew transliteration is discussed for its literary (rather than phonetic) rendering, for its multilingual creative contact with the other languages and cultures of each narrative. Among the authors whose works are discussed are Philip Roth, Michael Chabon, Nathan Englander, Joshua Cohen, Achy Obejas, and Gary Shteyngart.

scholarly journals Age, Gender and Existentialism in the Late-Life Bildungsroman

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurie Petrou
Keyword(s):  
Coming Of Age ◽  
Albert Camus ◽  
Late Life ◽  
Simone De Beauvoir ◽  
Female Masculinity ◽  
Or Education ◽  
Jean Paul ◽  
Gender And Age ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Michael Chabon

This dissertation aims to reveal the echo of modernist existentialism in postmodern late-life fiction. In a close reading of works by Alistair MacLeod, Nick Hornby and Michael Chabon, as well as my own creative work, I have explored the continually shifting models of gender and age, as characters progress towards development and navigate questions of the self. Issues of modes of masculinity from the rural to the urban, as well as female masculinity are investigated in this sample of varying works of fiction. Grounded in an analysis of the philosophy and fiction of Soren Kierkegaard, Jean-Paul Sartre, Albert Camus and Simone de Beauvoir, with reference to traditional Bildungsroman (coming-of age, or education novel), I hope to have demonstrated the similar, but newly interpreted existential trajectory of self-development in contemporary narrative. This is reflected in postmodern and contemporary narratives that challenge existing conventions while prizing modernist philosophical tenets. Combining theoretical and creative acumen, this work aims to contribute to age and gender studies, while offering a fresh approach to scholarly work.

Telegraph Avenue by Michael Chabon

2013 ◽  
Vol 87 (3) ◽  
pp. 59-59
Author(s):  
Kevin Pickard
Keyword(s):  
Michael Chabon

Introduction: American Jewish Writing Today

AJS Review ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 227-230
Author(s):  
Naomi Sokoloff
Keyword(s):  
Jewish Literature ◽  
Philip Roth ◽  
Cynthia Ozick ◽  
The Holocaust ◽  
Allegra Goodman ◽  
Women's Lives ◽  
Thane Rosenbaum ◽  
American Jewish ◽  
Exciting Time ◽  
Michael Chabon

This is an exciting time for North American Jewish literature. In the past ten years, there has been an explosion of writing by new and established authors. In the field of fiction alone, the shelves have filled with titles by such fine talent as Pearl Abraham, Melvin Jules Bukiet, Michael Chabon, Nathan Englander, Myla Goldberg, Ehud Havatzelet, Dara Horn, Jonathan Safran Foer, Joan Leegant, Tova Mirvis, Jon Papernick, Jonathan Rosen, Aryeh Lev Stollman, and many others, as well as new works by veteran writers such as Allegra Goodman, Thane Rosenbaum, and Steve Stern. Add to these names the preeminent Cynthia Ozick, and don’t forget Philip Roth, whose productivity continues unabated and whose latest novels include some of his strongest work ever. A variety of striking themes has come to the fore in this new wave of literary creativity. Notable trends include an unprecedented attention to religion (especially Orthodox Jewish life); a fascination with women’s lives and with questions of gender and sexual orientation; a concern with the experiences of the second and succeeding generations of the Holocaust; a nostalgia for and rediscovery of the old country; a consideration of new Americans in the 1980s and 1990s; and a rethinking of what it means to be a Jew in Israel and in the Diaspora.

Waiting

2017 ◽  
pp. 93-123
Author(s):  
Theodore Martin
Keyword(s):  
Risk Society ◽  
Detective Novel ◽  
Cultural Logic ◽  
Detective Novels ◽  
Michael Chabon ◽  
Current Risk

Chapter 3 investigates what happens when contemporary time is felt to be a time of seemingly interminable waiting. I show how this question has become central to the contemporary detective novel, which depicts the temporality of waiting as both a symptom of and a hedge against the cultural logic of uncertainty that dominates our current risk society. Skeptical of the sense of indeterminacy that enthralls and confounds our contemporary moment, recent detective novels by Vikram Chandra, Michael Chabon, and China Miéville, I argue, use the logic of the wait to solve the mysteries of contemporary time.

scholarly journals The Phantom Tollbooth by N. Juster

2012 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy Paterson
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
50Th Anniversary ◽  
Interdisciplinary Management ◽  
Reading Levels ◽  
Parents And Children ◽  
Maurice Sendak ◽  
General Experience ◽  
The Many ◽  
The One ◽  
Michael Chabon

Juster, Norton. The Phantom Tollbooth. 50th Anniversary Edition. Illus. Jules Feiffer.  New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2011. Print. The 50th Anniversary Edition of The Phantom Tollbooth is geared as much toward nostalgic adults as it is to a new generation of children. New introductions by the author himself, as well as fellow children’s author Maurice Sendak, accompany a slew of admiring essays by authors ranging from Suzanne Collins to Michael Chabon. The new hardcover edition retains all of the original maps and illustrations, as well as new and old photos of both Juster and Feiffer. As a child, I missed out on Norton Juster’s wonderful tale of Milo’s journey through the Kingdom of Wisdom; excited as I was to finally delve into a much-hyped classic, I was slightly nervous that my adult gaze would render its charms less pointed. Of course, I needn’t have worried. Juster’s prose highlights a keen ear for dialogue, and his rollicking imagination manifests itself in a mastery of wordplay. While children will delight in the many nonsensical games afoot, adults will marvel at the higher levels of logic that string the plot together. Of course, The Phantom Tollbooth’s madcap adventures may not have made such a lasting impact were it not grounded in the touching story of Milo’s growth from a bored, unsatisfied child to one who revels in the magic and mystery of the world around him. Juster’s story mimics the general experience of reading—where brief forays into magical kingdoms only serve to make our own world brighter and more marvelous. It would be difficult to leave this book without being somehow improved by it. While The Phantom Tollbooth will certainly appeal to young teens and pre-teens, younger children (ages 8-10) with high reading levels would perhaps appreciate a book that appeals to their complicated imaginations. However, if there were ever a book that was meant to be experienced by parents and children together, this is the one. The 50th Anniversary Edition is perfect for adults looking to share a childhood treasure with their own children and grandchildren. Highly recommended: 4 out of 4 stars Reviewer: Amy PatersonAmy Paterson is a Public Services Librarian at the University of Alberta’s H. T. Coutts Education Library. She was previously the Editor of the Dalhousie Journal of Interdisciplinary Management and is very happy to be involved in the Deakin Review and the delightful world of children’s literature.

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