Selected Publications

The Master and Margarita quickly became one of the most-read works of Russian literature, and its popularity seems to expand even as readers acknowledge not being able to understand much if any of it. I sympathize. Though this novel drew me in at a young age, and though I re-read it often, our relationship has required much maintenance and has not been harmonious.

In this book, literature comes first, history is mixed in second. Thus, discussion of Isaac Babel, David Bergelson and Moyshe Kulbak acquires a panoramic perspective.

Accidental Czar packs its punch by sticking to the facts as we see how Russia's Vladimir Putin went from chasing rats to threatening world peace.

Did the Jews act mafia-style to promote their own, perhaps swinging the votes of those National Book Award juries? According to author Josh Lambert: No.

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Ear­li­er this week, author Paul Gold­berg wrote about the fam­i­ly sto­ries that sparked The Yid and the pop­u­lar­i­ty of King Lear in mid­cen­tu­ry Moscow and Yid­dish the­ater. With the release of his first nov­el, Paul has been guest blog­ging as a Vis­it­ing Scribe all week here on The ProsenPeo­ple.

As a jour­nal­ist, I sep­a­rate fact from fable. As a nov­el­ist, I go through the same process, but keep the fable. You need facts to ground a sto­ry; you need fables make it soar.

Imag­ine Moscow in late Feb­ru­ary of 1953.

I grew up in Moscow, speaking a surprising amount of Yiddish for a secular kid born in 1959. I could haggle with my grandmother about whether the weather required that a hat be worn, and I knew the meaning of the colorful insults my grandparents lovingly flung at each other.

A Bit Contrived features interviews with authors who exist about books that don't, with covers designed by people who do

Excerpt­ed from The Yid: A Nov­el by Paul Gold­berg, pub­lished by arrange­ment with Picador.

Book review: A memoir of a Polish Jew who lived through Stalin's gulag to become a surgeon in Iowa.