E.G. NICK'S

pasta • ribs • plankfish

Restaurant

6066 MAPLE,

North of Orchard Lake Rd. •

851-0805

and Carry-Out Dept. next door • 851-8577

guru and you find a Bernstein?"
Phoebe, the middle child, tries to
find her way, drawn to both her
grandfather and brother. The author
seems to understand a lot about sib-
ling relationships and the sort of
worship and loyalty a younger sister
feels for her brother.
Just as Ira is finding peace, he is
struck by brain cancer. When Abbey
visits, he reveals much about his own
life, and the struggles with the
Orthodox Judaism he grew up with
as he found his love for
science. Ultimately, Abbey
finds redemption as the
novel ends in a startling
scene.
Lichtenstein's writing is
spare and expressive, with
touches of humor.
Published as a paperback
original, this is a book to
be read slowly, with its
deep yearnings and ques-
tions. Readers who grew
up in the '60s will appreci-
ate many of the cultural references.
The Genius of the World is dedicat-
ed to the author's own brother, who
also chose Buddhism, and died of
cancer. "There are many similarities
to his path, although the novel is fic
tion. It can be confusing," she says.
When Lichtenstein, who is the
recipient of a New York Foundation
of the Arts Grant in fiction and has
twice been a fellow at the
MacDowell Colony, writes, she has
to have certain books — "my spiri-
tual guides, the works I admire
most" — in the room.
James Agee's Death in the Family
and Henry Roth's Call It Sleep are
two "deeply psychological" novels
that speak most to what I'm trying
to accomplish," she says. Those
authors are also "writing mentors."
Another book she likes to have
nearby is Job, as she very much
appreciates the biblical author's sense
of "overwhelming awe."
The author, who lives in Oneonta,
in rural central New York State,
belongs to a "wonderful small shul"
that brings together people from all
walks of life, across race and ethnic
backgrounds.

About her own spiritual life she says,
"I live a very modern life. I don't have
a particularly satisfying spiritual path
or practice, but I'm continually seek-
ing. I try to cultivate as much aware-
ness as possible as a writer and feel
blessed that my vocation is fiction
writing. It allows you to have your
eyes open all the time. I try to be as
awake as possible."
As the interview is drawing to a
close, a question about Jewish study
leads Lichtenstein to discuss her

"There's a spiritual
energy in Jews. Why
do you think you
scratch a guru and
you find a Bernstein?"

"

Tony Berri & Cia Niciw las
with their management & staff
Extend Most Sincere
Wishes For A
(Very Y-kafthy and Happy
g ■ w Year
To (Their Customers and Friends -
A n 9kartify Thank
Everyone
For glieir
Wcmdelfur
Support

own family background, which
seems very much connected to her
subject matter, and her particular
take on it.
Her grandfather Rabbi Morris
Lichtenstein and her grandmother
Tehilla were the founders in 1922 of
the Society of Jewish Science, a
branching out from Reform to
attract back Jews who found
Christian Science appealing.
When Rabbi Lichtenstein, who
had both Orthodox and Reform rab-
binic ordinations, died in 1938,
Tehilla became the society's spiritual
leader, delivering sermons and coun-
seling the congregation — 34 years
before women were ordained as rab-
bis.
Tehilla, who died in 1973, was the
descendent of a long line of rabbis,
and her grandfather founded a
Palestine yeshiva in the late 1800s
based on the use of modern Hebrew,
which was an idea ahead of its time.
"It does seem as though there is
this wonderful ancestry of deeply
spiritual people," Lichtenstein
reflects, agreeing that they are people
— like her characters — who found
their own distinctive paths. ❑

ONE-

YARD BARB

Family Restaurant
OPEN 7 DAYS -11 am. to 12 Mid.

TM.
I •LAC f

HAPPY
NEW YEAR

SLAB FOR 2 BBQ CHICKEN FOR 2
$2 OFF
$2 OFF
•

Includes: 2 Potatoes, 2 Slaws & 2 Garlic Breads NI

Includes: 2 Potatoes, 2 Slaws & 2 Garlic Breads

• 1 Coupon Per Order • Dine In or Carry-Out • Expires 10/13/00 JN

• 1 Coupon Per Order • Dine In or Carry -Out • Expires 10/11'00

ORCHARD LAKE RD. SOUTH OF 14 • Farm. Hills •

851-7000

;MD

C

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or

of NOVI
IEVERYONir A "SAPPY
8t, thEALTRY NEW irrAlln

LOUIE, LOWE,. ROI

STAFF

git

We Wish Our Friends and Customers
A Healthy and Happy New Year

6rdlden Phoenix

Chinese American Restaurant

6257 Orchard Lake Rd.

Sugar Dye Plaza

■

West Bloomfield (248) 855-3570

9/29
2000

R55