![]() ![]() In “Sister Hills,” another very affecting story, Englander reveals the heart-wrenching unfolding of a promise in the Promised Land over a span of thirty-eight years. Jewish life and the Holocaust feature in every one of these stories, but in varying ways. It has everything: finely limned characters, reunion after many years, religious and cultural argument, and moments of epiphany, the coup de grâce, an ending that forces you to reconsider your own commitments and definitions of love. The title story-a delicious riff on Raymond Carver’s iconic story “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love”-is perfect. His first collection of short stories, For the Relief of Unbearable Urges, proved that, and this new collection has reconfirmed it. Satisfyingly often, my assumptions about what story and character are might be up for grabs. ![]() ![]() Even if I think I know where the tale is going, it’s probably not going to go there. One of the most intriguing things about Nathan Englander’s stories is the element of surprise. ![]()
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