Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley door pickup 10am - 7pm 3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611

  • Open Daily: 10am - 10pm
    Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm

    3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
    612-822-4611

Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
Nathan and His Wives

Nathan and His Wives

Izakson, Miron C.
Frieden, Ken
Rosenberg, Betsy

Hardcover

Series: Judaic Traditions in Literature, Music, and Art

General FictionLiterary Fiction

Publisher Price: $19.95

ISBN10: 0815607881
ISBN13: 9780815607885
Publisher: Syracuse Univ Pr
Published: May 1 2003
Pages: 224
Weight: 0.86
Height: 0.76 Width: 5.80 Depth: 8.88
Language: English

Meir, the narrator of the story, is the personal servant of Nathan, a rich tycoon consumed with bizarre obsessions. The deep connection between Meir and Nathan takes its toll on the relationships each man has with the women in his life: Rina, Nathan's first wife; Rachel, Meir's wife; and Dana, Meir's lover.

Wealth makes Nathan powerful, shameless, able to satisfy his every whim--buying up priceless art and antiques, collecting women, founding a political party, purchasing an entire village in Galilee, or assembling his own team of experts from all over the world, among them a chess master. Why? Because he can. Wealth fuels Nathan's control over those around him, particularly the faithful Meir.

While exploring the complicated personalities of his characters, Izakson neatly combines surreal and real elements to deal with questions of Jewish culture and beliefs. Nathan's obsession with collecting is driven by his desire to obtain a fourteenth-century manuscript written by the King of France when he was in exile in England. This record sheds light on issues about royalty and regime, exile and national identity. Meir's assistance in this pursuit is at first innocent and touching, but soon turns morbid and ironic.

The power struggles in this book speak to issues of human weakness and reveal connections between attraction and rejection, dependency and exploitation. Izakson explores the intricacies of human relationships and the instability of moral and geographic boundaries in contemporary society.

Also in

Literary Fiction

View All