WASP suddenly understands that he is
a Jew: "The Jewish day begins in the
calm of evening, when it won't shock
the system with its arrival. It was then,
three stars visible in the Manhattan
sky and a new day fallen, that Charles
Morton Luger understood he was the
bearer of a Jewish soul."
Wanting to share the news, Luger
tells a taxi Ldriver, "Oddly, it seems
that I'm Jewish. Jewish in your cab."
No problem here. Meter ticks the
same for all creeds," the driver replies.
Though he hopes the stories will
appeal to a wide audience, Englander
doesn't shy away from Yiddishisms
and yeshivish — the informal medley
of English, Yiddish and Hebrew spo-
ken by some Orthodox Jews — and
he doesn't stop his stories to explain
terms. Readers either get them in con-
text, or don't.
The nine stories cover a lot of terri-
tory, from a suburban synagogue to
Park Avenue, from Stalin's Soviet
Union, where Jewish writers are gath-
ered to be shot, to the Chasidim who
escape the Nazis by posing in their
underwear as circus tumblers.
Though he is single, Englander has
a fine ear for the complexities of mar-
ried life. Gitta, the frustrated aguna (a
woman whose husband won't give her
a get, a Jewish divorce) in "The Last
One Way," has a life of "infinite
patience and unfinished business, an
existence of relations drawn out. The
only quick she had known was her
shidduch (betrothal)."
Gitta may be patient, but she is
not a passive figure. She seeks help
from the matchmaker to undo her
marriage. "Knocking did not bring
him, so Gitta lOoked round the alley
for something with heft. Next to a
dumpster she found a pipe with a
joint on the end and tested its weight.
This she swung against the metal
door at the back of the matchmaker's
apartment. Each blow left a dent and
made a noise that carried."
But it is when Englander's charac-
ters begin to act that the situation
spirals out of their control. The
Chasid whose wife forces him to
work as a department store Santa to
bring money to his family cannot
stop, despite his deep shame. "But
telling the man in the red suit that he
is not Santa Claus is another matter
completely. That, this woman hadn't
the power to decide; Reb Yitzhak
from Royal Hills, Brooklyn, hadn't
the power to decide. The only one
who could make such a decision was
Buna Michla herself, and she had
said that Itzik would finish out the

year. This was the truth, he knew."
The stories are about self-under-
standing, Englander says in an inter-
view in yet another hotel lobby. It was
stop seven on an 11-city tour in three
weeks. He'd flown in that morning,
read at a trendy bookstore and was
meeting friends for a drink after sign-
ing dozens and dozens of books,
many the third and fourth copy
bought by collectors hot on the trail
of first editions. The book had already
gone into a fifth printing, another
unheard-of event for an unknown
writer.
Englander likes to talk about his
work, but reporters keep asking him
about his life. Why he left
Orthodoxy: "I'd been out emotionally
for many years. It was an intellectual
decision," he says. How his parents
feel about his decision: "They respect
If I'm now happy and I wasn't
before, why wouldn't they?" he asks.
7 won't be drawn into discussions
about —ligious pluralism here or in
Israel, th'e peace process or anything
but l
icing, although he admits
Israel r.
:omplicated and hard"
place to live.
His decisions are personal, not
political, and getting back to the writ-
ing, the stories aren't about Judaism.
I was trying for bigger issues," he
says. "I'm not climbing onto a soap-
box."
He is disciplined about his writing,
a discipline that comes from his yeshi-
va training. "I've taken my religious
structure and [applied it to my] writ-
ing," he says. "Writing is a form of
dedication. I know dedication. You
write when you're tired, when it does-
n't feel good."
Does he feel overwhelmed by the
scrutiny? "I refuse to complain about
things that I must be thankful for," he
says, like one of his characters. "I
refuse to complain." 17

Anchorage Pasta Tender, sauteed shrimp
tossed with wild mushrooms, asparagus and
parmesan cheese over angel hair pasta.

-

T

he Kodiak Creek Inn,
formerly Duffy's, opened
its doors in the fall of
1998 and_already is considered
one of the lakes area's
"premier" dining spots.

We at the Kodiak Creek Inn
invite you to experience the
caring, friendly service and
Chef Steve's mouth-watering
entrees. We feature black
angus meats, the io-ounce
Grizzly Burger, fresh seafood,
"Fall-off-the-bone" tender ribs,
as ‘vell as a number of "wild
game" entrees.

We also offer the "Cub" kids
menu for all our little diners.

So come on down to the
Kodiak Creek Inn, where fami-
ly £1 friends gather for unbeat-
able food and service in a
cozy, comfortable atmosphere.

Pan-fried Walleye
Fresh walleye lightly
breaded and pan-fried, then topped with a
citrus compound butter.

-

Northern Ridge Appetizer Tender venison
sauteed with wild mushrooms, shallots and garlic
in a balsamic glaze. Finished with Gorgonzola
cheese and topped with fried pasta.

-

Edward Island Salmon - Fresh, mild salmon
chargrilled and topped with marinated roasted
peppers and sundried tomatoes.
r

INN WIN

. FREE .

.

.

I

: Big Dipper Appetizer 'I

I

I

Country-Fresh Smoked Whitefish

Thru November 15th, 1999
when an entree is purchased

■■

is mot

;

Rya No S lir ma

•

BAR ,HOURS:

Opens with kitchen.
Clbses sometime before 2 am.

$5,

'0,45(^,P.

— This article originally appeared
in Chicago's JUF News.

Nathan Englander speaks 8
p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 9, at the D.
Dan and Betty Kahn Building of
the Jewish Community Center in
West Bloomfield. His talk is co-
sponsored by Adat Shalom Study
Commission, Adat Shalom Men's
Club, Adat Shalom Sisterhood,
Congregation B'nai Moshe,
Temple Beth El Sisterhood and
Young Adult Division of the
Jewish Federation of Metropolitan
Detroit.

1

1

W-17A'.t

Ferjo

in person

Champagne Reception • Sunday, November

1-5 p.m.

7,

DANIELLE PELEG GALLERY

4301 Orchard Lake Road, Suite 145 • Crosswinds Mall
West Bloomfield, MI 48322

(248) 626-5810

Mon - Sat 10:30-6, Sun 12 5

10
191

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Detroit Jewish News

91