Belonging too well [electronic resource] : portraits of identity in Cynthia Ozick's fiction / Miriam Sivan.

ISBN:

9781441607836

Title:

Author:

Sivan, Miriam.

Personal Author:

Sivan, Miriam.

Publication Information:

Physical Description:

1 online resource (ix, 235 pages).

Series:

SUNY series in modern Jewish literature and culture

Contents:

Introduction -- Mishkan: the ungraven image -- Golem: the seeker and the sought -- Shekhina: the whole and holy mother -- Etz HaSadeh: a reconciliation with nature -- Shoah: words in spite of themselves -- Afterword.

Local Note:

eBooks on EBSCOhost

Personal Subject:

Ozick, Cynthia-Criticism and interpretation.

Subject Term:

Jews in literature.

Jews -- Identity.

Format:

Electronic Resources

Electronic Access:

Click here to view

Publication Date:

2009

Publication Information:

Available:*

Shelf Number	Material Type	Copy	Shelf Location	Status
813.54 22	1:E-BOOK	1	1:ONLINE	Searching... Unknown

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

Shows how Ozick s characters attempt to mediate a complex Jewish identity, one that bridges the differences between traditional Judaism and secular American culture. In Belonging Too Well, Miriam Sivan draws on contemporary literary theory as well as traditional Jewish texts and culture to explore the question of identity in Cynthia Ozick s fiction. Many critics have pointed to a split in Ozick s work between Judaic and secular culture and values. Sivan suggests, however, that Ozick never settles for a simple either/or dichotomy between traditional Judaism and secular American culture, but that her protagonists instead fashion new means of living genuinely Jewish lives within the American Diaspora. Often they struggle not with not belonging to either the Old or the New Worlds, but of belonging too well to both. Part of a recent trend toward analyzing Jewish American literature in the context of a deep encounter with and understanding of Judaism and traditional Jewish texts, Sivan s study enables readers of Ozick s fiction to penetrate the complex webs she creates among cultures, time periods, and characters, some quite sober, others fantastic, all unusual. Miriam Sivan teaches in the Department of English Language and Literature at the University of Haifa in Israel.

Reviews (1)

Choice Review

In this intelligent, thoughtful analysis of the Hebraic/Western components of Ozick's fiction, Sivan (English, Univ. of Haifa, Israel) extends and diverges from earlier assessments of the literary and cultural influences on Ozick. Sivan's application of contemporary theory is enhanced by her extraordinary, rich knowledge of Hebraic sources, which informs her erudite reading of this complex, compelling contemporary writer. Unlike critics who dichotomize the Judaic and secular in Ozick's fiction, Sivan convincingly argues that Ozick's characters belong comfortably in both cultural worlds. She supports her thesis with a superb reading of The Puttermesser Papers and a surprising but engaging interpretation of the natural world of "The Pagan Rabbi." Given Ozick's enormous attention to the Holocaust throughout her canon, one is not surprised that Sivan examines these texts, despite their lesser adherence to her central thesis, "belonging too well." Well versed not only in literary theory and Judaica but also in the critical literature devoted to Ozick, Sivan joins the ranks of the best thinkers in the field, e.g., Elaine Kauvar (Cynthia Ozick's Fiction: Tradition and Invention, CH, Sep'93, 31-0138) and Joseph Lowin (Cynthia Ozick, CH, Jun'89, 26-5535). Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty. S. L. Kremer emerita, Kansas State University