Research Catalog

Title

Cynthia Ozick's comic art : from levity to liturgy / Sarah Blacher Cohen.

Author

Cohen, Sarah Blacher.

Publication

Bloomington : Indiana University Press, [1994], ©1994.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Holdings

Details

Description

xii, 193 pages; 22 cm.

Summary

• Bringing to bear insights from Jewish, literary, and cultural studies, Sarah Blacher Cohen sheds new light on the works of one of America's foremost writers. Arguing persuasively that Ozick's fiction is a form of comedy, Cohen interweaves religion and literature, skillfully illuminating the complex relationship between the comic and the sacred.
• Where others have emphasized Ozick's intellectualism and Jewish learning, Cohen foregrounds whimsicality, grotesque realism, irony, satire, and exuberance as the defining characteristics of Ozick's art in such works as Trust, The Cannibal Galaxy, The Messiah of Stockholm, "The Pagan Rabbi," and the Puttermesser stories.

Series Statement

Jewish literature and culture

Uniform Title

Jewish literature and culture.

Subjects

• Judaism in literature
• Jews in literature
• Ozick, Cynthia > Criticism and interpretation
• Comic, The, in literature

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references and index.

Contents

I. Introduction: Cynthia Ozick's Comic Art of Truth-Telling -- II. Trust: Comedy of Manners and Morals -- III. "Envy; or, Yiddish in America": Elegy, Satire, and Celebration -- IV. "The Pagan Rabbi," "Levitation," and "Usurpation": Wry Jokes on Realism -- V. The Puttermesser Stories: Feminist Follies -- VI. The Cannibal Galaxy: From Caustic Humor to Midrashic Laughter -- VII. The Messiah of Stockholm and the "Cackle of Satire" -- VIII. The Shawl: The Tragicomedy of Revolt and Survival -- IX. Conclusion: From Low to High Comedy.

ISBN

0253313988

LCCN

93013994

OCLC

• 28218057
• ocm28218057

Owning Institutions

Columbia University Libraries