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The UnAmericans
In this auspicious debut, Molly Antopol cuts a wide swath through the fabric of time and place, exploring people from different cultures who are all painfully human in their joys, desires, tragedies, and heartaches. An actor, phased out of Hollywood for his Communist ties during McCarthyism, tries to share a meaningful moment with his son. An Israeli soldier comes of age when his brother is maimed on their communal farm. A gallerist, swept up by the 1970s dissident art movement, begins smuggling paintings out of Moscow and curating underground shows in her Jerusalem home. This is a rare collection as accomplished at capturing our soaring triumphs as it is our crippling defeats--a hopeful reminder that we are all closer and more capable than we sometimes feel.
272 pages, Hardcover
First published January 27, 2014
110 people are currently reading
5541 people want to read
About the author
Molly Antopol
9 books63 followersMolly Antopol’s debut story collection, The UnAmericans (W.W. Norton), won the New York Public Library’s Young Lions Fiction Award, a National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 Award, the French-American Prize, the Ribalow Prize and a California Book Award Silver Medal. The book was longlisted for the 2014 National Book Award and was a finalist the PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize, the Barnes & Noble Discover Award, the National Jewish Book Award and the Sami Rohr Prize, among others. The book appeared on over a dozen “Best of 2014” lists and was published in seven countries. Her writing has appeared widely, including in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Granta, One Story, The New Republic and San Francisco Chronicle, and won a 2015 O.Henry Prize. She’s the recent recipient of fellowships from the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard, the American Academy in Berlin and Stanford University, where she was a Wallace Stegner Fellow and has taught in their Creative Writing Program since 2008. She’s received residencies and fellowships from The MacDowell Colony, UCross, Blue Mountain Center, Bread Loaf Writers Conference, Sewanee Writers Conference and others. She’s at work on a novel, which will also be published by Norton.
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July 23, 2025
All the Lonely People, Where Do They All Come From?
Final Short Story is the Best I've Read Since Joyce's "The Dead"
"The loneliest moment in someone's life is when they are watching their whole world fall apart, and all they can do is stare blankly." The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Gatsby quote came to mind upon finishing "Retrospective," the final, juggernaut story in these collected thought-provoking stories that primarily revolve around Jews in WW II Europe, in Israel, as well as communists and the red scare in the McCarthy era U.S.
In "Retrospective," Ms. Antopol quilts a vivid landscape for what seems a conventional route for the reader's tour. My thinking while reading it: I know where this is headed, seen a lot of this before. Some turbulence, but I can set her on autopilot; four more to go, take foot off gas, coast; now put right foot easily on brake, and ..... WHAM!
It's not a contrived shock ending. I wish I could do justice to this story, but all I can do is say I was left speechless with my jumbled, racing thoughts after a final sweeping imagery that dropped like a boulder on my heart and left me feeling so isolated for a few fleeting moments that I felt my only remedy was my eternal consciousness, hope and faith. That story.... left me breathless.
It's the best short story I've read in many years, and the only one, besides The Dead, I can firmly place within Kafka's description of what a perfect story should be: "the axe for the frozen sea inside us.".
The other tales hit on a wide variety of relationships and a font of differing emotions, the common thread seemingly the character's revelation of self through alienation either caused by the circumstances or their own ego, including:
an elderly widower, remarrying late in life, desperately wanting to belong to an old world culture (and religion);
an Israeli soldier's desire for his amputee brother's love and to be an important part of their family contrasted with his selfish yearning for his brother's girlfriend and his guilt from what seems on track to be much more;
a woman's lonesomeness borne of her fear and the poisonous resentment she developed in being a 13-year-old Jewish girl escaping the Nazis through sewers then living in hiding and nearly starving during the coldest winter ever;
a older man's wounded pride from his lost status in the world causing a painful isolation from his only daughter;
a teen daughter's alienation from normal society in living within the narrow world of her father, a communist party leader in the U.S. during the Eisenhower years, and her eagerness to do anything to escape isolation; and,
a man's disaffection from losing his relationship with his wife and 10-year-old son due to his self-centeredness.
I highly recommend this book.
Final Short Story is the Best I've Read Since Joyce's "The Dead"
"The loneliest moment in someone's life is when they are watching their whole world fall apart, and all they can do is stare blankly." The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Gatsby quote came to mind upon finishing "Retrospective," the final, juggernaut story in these collected thought-provoking stories that primarily revolve around Jews in WW II Europe, in Israel, as well as communists and the red scare in the McCarthy era U.S.
In "Retrospective," Ms. Antopol quilts a vivid landscape for what seems a conventional route for the reader's tour. My thinking while reading it: I know where this is headed, seen a lot of this before. Some turbulence, but I can set her on autopilot; four more to go, take foot off gas, coast; now put right foot easily on brake, and ..... WHAM!
It's not a contrived shock ending. I wish I could do justice to this story, but all I can do is say I was left speechless with my jumbled, racing thoughts after a final sweeping imagery that dropped like a boulder on my heart and left me feeling so isolated for a few fleeting moments that I felt my only remedy was my eternal consciousness, hope and faith. That story.... left me breathless.
It's the best short story I've read in many years, and the only one, besides The Dead, I can firmly place within Kafka's description of what a perfect story should be: "the axe for the frozen sea inside us.".
The other tales hit on a wide variety of relationships and a font of differing emotions, the common thread seemingly the character's revelation of self through alienation either caused by the circumstances or their own ego, including:
an elderly widower, remarrying late in life, desperately wanting to belong to an old world culture (and religion);
an Israeli soldier's desire for his amputee brother's love and to be an important part of their family contrasted with his selfish yearning for his brother's girlfriend and his guilt from what seems on track to be much more;
a woman's lonesomeness borne of her fear and the poisonous resentment she developed in being a 13-year-old Jewish girl escaping the Nazis through sewers then living in hiding and nearly starving during the coldest winter ever;
a older man's wounded pride from his lost status in the world causing a painful isolation from his only daughter;
a teen daughter's alienation from normal society in living within the narrow world of her father, a communist party leader in the U.S. during the Eisenhower years, and her eagerness to do anything to escape isolation; and,
a man's disaffection from losing his relationship with his wife and 10-year-old son due to his self-centeredness.
I highly recommend this book.
May 28, 2014
It hardly seems credible that this 2014 debut collection was written by a woman recognized as one of the National Book Foundation’s “5 Under 35” in 2013. She has such old eyes.
Antopol’s stories have very clear and inescapable hooks; we readers recognize, accept, and ultimately rejoice in her power over us. Once begun, her stories are impossible to resist. We stretch them out, hoping they will last the night, the week. The human element in her characters is painfully evident and we wish to see how someone else would solve the familiar and not-as-familiar dilemmas we face. This glorious collection is a lasting achievement.
In “The Old World,” an aging divorcee marries a new immigrant from the Old World and wonders how he could be so lucky. In “Minor Heroics,” two Israeli brothers show their love and admiration for each other in the rough-and-tumble way brothers do, but when much more than adolescent pride is at stake. In “My Grandmother Tells Me This Story,” a grandmother tells a granddaughter with a personality too much like her own to dial herself down a notch and “enjoy yourself for once…rather than scratching at…these horrible things that happened before you were born.”
In “The Quietest Man” an insecure college professor estranged from his wife feels trepidation when he learns his daughter has written a play that will be performed Off Broadway in New York. He is certain it will reveal his daughter’s perceptions of weaknesses in his nature, in his marriage, in his inability to communicate convincingly with her.
All these stories have a foot in two worlds: the Old World from which parents and grandparents came, and the America to which they came. It is this wide and long perspective that gives Antopol’s stories their heft and depth and that feeling we get of “old eyes.” She seems to have understood and internalized the conflicts and conundrums faced by those tortured or jailed for their dissent in both countries. In “The Unknown Soldier,” an actor who had been jailed for his Communist Party affiliation in Hollywood during the McCarthy era is shown to have been guilty only of inattention and shallowness rather than affiliation. His son is not as hard on him as he is on himself.
It is difficult to choose a favorite from among these stellar stories, but if forced to pick one I suppose it would be the last, “Retrospective,” which twists our emotions this way and that and ends with a surprise that feels like dread. No matter how kind Antopol is to her characters (who look remarkably familiar in situations we have met before), she does not always give us a painless ending. “Beware,” the epigraph should read, “There is truth here.”
Antopol’s stories have very clear and inescapable hooks; we readers recognize, accept, and ultimately rejoice in her power over us. Once begun, her stories are impossible to resist. We stretch them out, hoping they will last the night, the week. The human element in her characters is painfully evident and we wish to see how someone else would solve the familiar and not-as-familiar dilemmas we face. This glorious collection is a lasting achievement.
In “The Old World,” an aging divorcee marries a new immigrant from the Old World and wonders how he could be so lucky. In “Minor Heroics,” two Israeli brothers show their love and admiration for each other in the rough-and-tumble way brothers do, but when much more than adolescent pride is at stake. In “My Grandmother Tells Me This Story,” a grandmother tells a granddaughter with a personality too much like her own to dial herself down a notch and “enjoy yourself for once…rather than scratching at…these horrible things that happened before you were born.”
In “The Quietest Man” an insecure college professor estranged from his wife feels trepidation when he learns his daughter has written a play that will be performed Off Broadway in New York. He is certain it will reveal his daughter’s perceptions of weaknesses in his nature, in his marriage, in his inability to communicate convincingly with her.
All these stories have a foot in two worlds: the Old World from which parents and grandparents came, and the America to which they came. It is this wide and long perspective that gives Antopol’s stories their heft and depth and that feeling we get of “old eyes.” She seems to have understood and internalized the conflicts and conundrums faced by those tortured or jailed for their dissent in both countries. In “The Unknown Soldier,” an actor who had been jailed for his Communist Party affiliation in Hollywood during the McCarthy era is shown to have been guilty only of inattention and shallowness rather than affiliation. His son is not as hard on him as he is on himself.
It is difficult to choose a favorite from among these stellar stories, but if forced to pick one I suppose it would be the last, “Retrospective,” which twists our emotions this way and that and ends with a surprise that feels like dread. No matter how kind Antopol is to her characters (who look remarkably familiar in situations we have met before), she does not always give us a painless ending. “Beware,” the epigraph should read, “There is truth here.”
August 29, 2018
Antopol's characters are on the move. They were born in Kiev, Belarus, Prague, the Bronx, Tel Aviv, Moscow, and Boston; though they live in New York, California, Maine, Tel Aviv and Jerusalem; with no guarantee they'll stay put. Each story has a political element, as fitting for its time and place; yet, with one notable exception, these stories could be set anywhere: a newly divorced man and a widow quickly falling for each other; a playwright-daughter yearning for her father's approval; a father reconnecting with his young son after a stint in prison.
The collection had to grow on me. I wasn't too impressed with the first story and one sentence in particular had me extremely frustrated. (I made my peace with the sentence after I finished the book.) The next two stories were better, though in each there was at least one phrase that jarred. I started hoping that all the stories wouldn't be written in the first person, wondering if that was my issue. And perhaps it was, because I fell in love with the third-to-last story (there are nine) and then even deeper into the final story, both third-person accounts. Those two are also the longest of the collection and their sentences, full of clauses (which I loved tracking), are as exuberant as the characters they describe.
Antopol's stories are full of happenings, but it is the characters that drive them. Her characters are contradictory, finding themselves doing things and saying things they thought they weren't capable of. After horrible experiences, they've changed or they haven't, most change being temporary. They overshare; they don't share enough. They analyze; they're stuck in a rut they don't see until it's too late. They're restless; they're listless. They live.
The collection had to grow on me. I wasn't too impressed with the first story and one sentence in particular had me extremely frustrated. (I made my peace with the sentence after I finished the book.) The next two stories were better, though in each there was at least one phrase that jarred. I started hoping that all the stories wouldn't be written in the first person, wondering if that was my issue. And perhaps it was, because I fell in love with the third-to-last story (there are nine) and then even deeper into the final story, both third-person accounts. Those two are also the longest of the collection and their sentences, full of clauses (which I loved tracking), are as exuberant as the characters they describe.
Antopol's stories are full of happenings, but it is the characters that drive them. Her characters are contradictory, finding themselves doing things and saying things they thought they weren't capable of. After horrible experiences, they've changed or they haven't, most change being temporary. They overshare; they don't share enough. They analyze; they're stuck in a rut they don't see until it's too late. They're restless; they're listless. They live.
September 28, 2021
Otto sorprendenti racconti della scrittrice americana Molly Antopol.
Non mi aspettavo questa qualità di scrittura e soprattutto la capacità di legare così bene passato e presente.
C’è un filo, in fatti, che rimane teso ed quello di mettere in scena personaggi di origine ebraica che si sono trasferiti oppure nati negli Stati Uniti.
Come, ad esempio, Howard Siegel, protagonista del primo racconto che dà il titolo alla raccolta.
Proprietario di quattro lavanderie e da poco separato, conosce una donna ucraina.
Caso vuole che anche lui abbia radici in quel paese che non solo non ha mai conosciuto ma a cui ha negato di appartenere...
Molto bello anche La nonna mi racconta una storia” che narra della resistenza di bande adolescenziali in Bielorussia...altro che Cappuccetto rosso!
”Alcuni dicono che la storia inizia in Europa, e senza dubbio tua madre li interromperebbe per dire che inizia a New York, ma solo perché non riesce a immaginarsi il mondo prima della sua nascita. E sì, so bene che secondo te la storia inizia in Bielorussia, perché te l’ha detto tuo nonno. L’ho sentito descrivere quelle grandi berline nere che sfrecciavano lungo Pinsker Street. Sono stata sposata con quell’uomo per quasi sessant’anni, e so bene come si comporta con te – fa sembrare ogni parola un segreto. Ma lui non c’era nemmeno. Era già con la sua brigata, e io, che c’ero, non ricordo di aver avuto paura – non sapevo cosa stesse succedendo, neanche quando bussarono alla porta. Neanche quando ci trascinarono fuori con le valigie strapiene che si aprivano spargendo vestiti dappertutto, o quando ci gridarono con il megafono di metterci in strada con il bestiame, neanche allora sapevo. Avevo tredici anni.”
Non mi aspettavo questa qualità di scrittura e soprattutto la capacità di legare così bene passato e presente.
C’è un filo, in fatti, che rimane teso ed quello di mettere in scena personaggi di origine ebraica che si sono trasferiti oppure nati negli Stati Uniti.
Come, ad esempio, Howard Siegel, protagonista del primo racconto che dà il titolo alla raccolta.
Proprietario di quattro lavanderie e da poco separato, conosce una donna ucraina.
Caso vuole che anche lui abbia radici in quel paese che non solo non ha mai conosciuto ma a cui ha negato di appartenere...
Molto bello anche La nonna mi racconta una storia” che narra della resistenza di bande adolescenziali in Bielorussia...altro che Cappuccetto rosso!
”Alcuni dicono che la storia inizia in Europa, e senza dubbio tua madre li interromperebbe per dire che inizia a New York, ma solo perché non riesce a immaginarsi il mondo prima della sua nascita. E sì, so bene che secondo te la storia inizia in Bielorussia, perché te l’ha detto tuo nonno. L’ho sentito descrivere quelle grandi berline nere che sfrecciavano lungo Pinsker Street. Sono stata sposata con quell’uomo per quasi sessant’anni, e so bene come si comporta con te – fa sembrare ogni parola un segreto. Ma lui non c’era nemmeno. Era già con la sua brigata, e io, che c’ero, non ricordo di aver avuto paura – non sapevo cosa stesse succedendo, neanche quando bussarono alla porta. Neanche quando ci trascinarono fuori con le valigie strapiene che si aprivano spargendo vestiti dappertutto, o quando ci gridarono con il megafono di metterci in strada con il bestiame, neanche allora sapevo. Avevo tredici anni.”
February 9, 2014
There was a time when I didn't read short stories, because I said I didn't like getting emotionally invested in characters and plot only to have to move on a short while later. It was a foolish sentiment, in retrospect, one which I abandoned about 15 years ago when I realized how rich the short story landscape truly was, filled with talented authors creating stories with the power of full-length novels, stories whose characters intrigued me and made me long to know more about what happened to them when the stories ended.
Molly Antopol's new collection, The UnAmericans, is one of the reasons I'm glad I read short stories. Every one of the eight stories in this collection packed a quiet power, richly drawn characters, and tremendously compelling explorations of human emotion in typical and unusual situations.
The characters in Antopol's stories are Jewish people spanning the 1950s through the present. Whether it's the former Czech dissident-turned-New England professor in "The Quietest Man," who tries to find out from his estranged daughter what her new play will say about their strained relationship; the restless Israeli journalist desperate to once again leave her country in search of work, but can't seem to get herself disentangled from a relationship with a widower and his teenage daughter, in "A Difficult Phase"; the actor recently released from prison after refusing to name names during the McCarthy era in "The Unknown Soldier," who has reinvented himself to get roles but can't seem to even act the part of good father to his young son; the young Israeli soldier in "Minor Heroics," who finds his loyalty to his family tested after an accident; or the woman recounting her exploits in the Yiddish Underground during World War II in "My Grandmother Tells Me This Story," these are seemingly ordinary people facing challenges that test their strength and their heart.
After I finished every one of these stories, I simply thought to myself, "That was so good!" Antopol's use of language and imagery, as well as the emotional richness with which she imbues her characters, really makes this a tremendously strong collection. It doesn't matter that I couldn't identify with the situations most of these people found themselves in; I just wanted to keep reading about them. And usually when I read, I'm struck by a sentence or two, something I like to use in my reviews, but there were so many amazing sentences in these stories it became an exercise of excess.
I've always felt that a good short story keeps you thinking about the characters after it has ended, and in many cases, you'd be willing to read more about them. I felt that way about nearly every story in The UnAmericans. I'm so glad I found this collection, and look forward to seeing what's next in Molly Antopol's career. I know we'll be hearing from her again soon.
Molly Antopol's new collection, The UnAmericans, is one of the reasons I'm glad I read short stories. Every one of the eight stories in this collection packed a quiet power, richly drawn characters, and tremendously compelling explorations of human emotion in typical and unusual situations.
The characters in Antopol's stories are Jewish people spanning the 1950s through the present. Whether it's the former Czech dissident-turned-New England professor in "The Quietest Man," who tries to find out from his estranged daughter what her new play will say about their strained relationship; the restless Israeli journalist desperate to once again leave her country in search of work, but can't seem to get herself disentangled from a relationship with a widower and his teenage daughter, in "A Difficult Phase"; the actor recently released from prison after refusing to name names during the McCarthy era in "The Unknown Soldier," who has reinvented himself to get roles but can't seem to even act the part of good father to his young son; the young Israeli soldier in "Minor Heroics," who finds his loyalty to his family tested after an accident; or the woman recounting her exploits in the Yiddish Underground during World War II in "My Grandmother Tells Me This Story," these are seemingly ordinary people facing challenges that test their strength and their heart.
After I finished every one of these stories, I simply thought to myself, "That was so good!" Antopol's use of language and imagery, as well as the emotional richness with which she imbues her characters, really makes this a tremendously strong collection. It doesn't matter that I couldn't identify with the situations most of these people found themselves in; I just wanted to keep reading about them. And usually when I read, I'm struck by a sentence or two, something I like to use in my reviews, but there were so many amazing sentences in these stories it became an exercise of excess.
I've always felt that a good short story keeps you thinking about the characters after it has ended, and in many cases, you'd be willing to read more about them. I felt that way about nearly every story in The UnAmericans. I'm so glad I found this collection, and look forward to seeing what's next in Molly Antopol's career. I know we'll be hearing from her again soon.
August 29, 2018
Often Painful, Always True
There are books you read in spare moments, happily going with the flow. There are rarer books that you can't put down. And there are rarer books still that you wish you could put down. Books that, rather than merely seducing you, catch you in a vise, forcing you to follow a story that you just know is going to turn out badly. I first noticed this phenomenon with Ian McEwan's Atonement and Ann Patchett's Bel Canto, where I would end one chapter terrified of going on to the next, yet nonetheless compelled to do so. Eventually, I came to trust these authors, knowing that however bad things seemed, they would somehow work their magic and produce an epiphany, a gift of grace.
Molly Antopol writes stories, so it is not a matter of chapters. But somewhere in the middle of almost each one, I similarly felt that it was too painful, too close to the bone. In many cases, I did not want to go on. But she has her magic too, though a different magic. She has little interest in producing happy endings. But the endings she does come up with are ambiguous, edgy, questions rather than statements, simultaneously sad and hopeful, and terrifyingly true. The only reason to put yourself through one of her stories is the most important one of all: that you will emerge with a deeper sense of humanity.
Antopol's title is presumably ironic, for most of the characters are quite recognizably American. Or will become so, for there is one Holocaust escape story and another one set in modern Israel whose characters end up on these shores. But all are of Jewish immigrant, Eastern European stock, mostly left-wing, and it is easy to see why some might regard them as outsiders. The title applies most specifically to two stories about people who fall afoul of McCarthy's Un-American Activities Committee: the father in "Duck and Cover" is a former labor organizer who moves his family from the Bronx to LA, but is unable to shake off the attentions of the FBI; the main character of "The Unknown Soldier" is a blacklisted movie actor, who spends a weekend with his ten-year-old son on his release from jail. The first of these is narrated by the man's daughter, whose work as a waitress is their only source of income; the second—one of those visiting-rights stories from hell—focuses largely on the boy, in each case in surprising ways.
The theme of parenting and the generations crops up in more than half of these eight stories. One of the loveliest is "The Quietest Man." Its protagonist is a former Czech activist brought over to this country with considerable fanfare, only to see both his marriage and his career decline. Hearing that his daughter has had a play based on family history accepted by a professional company, he invites her up to Maine, where he teaches as an adjunct in a small college, hoping to persuade her to go easy on his failures as a parent. The visit between father and daughter who are virtual strangers to one another is almost excruciating to read, but again Antopol works her particular wry magic. If this or any of the others is even partly autobiographical, one can only admire the young author for the grace with which she handles family histories that, in other hands, could all too easily curdle into rancor.
My favorite two stories are not set in America at all, but mostly in Israel, and the political elements take a back seat. Both are love stories, of a kind. In "A Difficult Phase," a young female reporter whose career is at a standstill meets the widowed father of a 14-year-old girl. Although both realize that their relationship is ill-timed and cannot work, circumstances (and the girl) conspire to foil their best intentions. The other, "The Retrospective," is larger in scope, featuring the death of a Russian-born woman who had a career on three continents, building up a world-class collection of dissident art. The only member of the family who can go over to advise on the setting up of her memorial foundation is Boaz, the Israeli-born husband of one of her granddaughters. But his wife has left him only days before, so his trip, and the story as a whole, has a painful emotional core at the heart of the practical negotiations.
But then all the stories have this core. You read them because of Molly Antopol's grasp of interesting politically-charged moments in the histories of America, Israel, and Eastern Europe. You keep reading, often painfully, because of the very real people caught up in them, making the mistakes they make, and suffering as a result. And you are glad you did because of her ability to find exactly the right ending for each, and to reveal even sorrow as but another facet of love.
November 18, 2013
Masterful writing. Nuanced characterization, urgent and compelling stories, this is a writer to watch and to learn from. I'm very excited to interview Molly Antopol at the 5 Under 35 National Book Awards, along with the other nominees. There is a keenly compassionate observation of the micro and macro struggles of humanity in these stories, and I admire her greatly for it. And one more thing, many of these stories have a delightfully neurotic humor. My favorite kind.
March 24, 2015
A title such as “The UnAmericans” begs this question: what is an American? Or more specifically, what is an American in Molly Antopol’s world?
A traditional answer might be to have a personal sense of identity and to be unencumbered to pursue one’s most shining hopes and dreams in a land where anything is possible.
Molly Antopol’s characters are mostly Jewish and they are mostly alienated – from spouse or kids, from past ideology and beliefs, and often, from their most authentic selves. Each story is a little gem onto itself.
We meet an American actor of Russian ancestry who has eschewed his Russian past, only to leverage it in order win a part with a leftist film director. Fingered during the McCarthy era, he goes to prison in support of beliefs that aren’t even truly his. Upon release, he spends a weekend with his admiring 10-year-old son and comes face-to-face with his hypocrisy.
In one of my favorites, A Difficult Phase, a downsized Israeli journalist –floundering in her life – begins to question her life choices when she meets an attractive widower and his young teenage daughter. “This is what she was good at: being the blank, understanding face across the table; putting people so at ease they revealed the things they didn’t want to share with anyone, the things they wished didn’t exist at all.”
Another story, The Old World, focuses on a middle-aged tailor who meets and marries a Ukrainian widow, and travels with her back to her hometown, only to discover that he is a poor substitute for her dead husband. He reflects on his grown daughter who is a “born-again Jew”: “Maybe in religion, Beth really had discovered a way never to be alone. Maybe I am the lost one, wandering the streets of Kiev, competing with a dead man.”
Other stories are equally well-crafted and psychologically acute: a decorated Israeli solder comes home and suffers a fluke accident, which sets in play some poignant dynamics between him and his brother. A political dissident in Russia discovers that his neglected daughter has written an autobiographical play with himself as a key character. A young American woman and her Israeli husband must face the reality of their marriage, which is “so scary and real it required an entirely different language, new and strange and yet to be invented.”
Psychologically astute, subtlety crafted and haunted, this is a confident and poised debut, which may very well end up on my Top Ten of 2014 list. There is not one mediocre story in this whole remarkable collection. It's one of the best debut story collections in years.
A traditional answer might be to have a personal sense of identity and to be unencumbered to pursue one’s most shining hopes and dreams in a land where anything is possible.
Molly Antopol’s characters are mostly Jewish and they are mostly alienated – from spouse or kids, from past ideology and beliefs, and often, from their most authentic selves. Each story is a little gem onto itself.
We meet an American actor of Russian ancestry who has eschewed his Russian past, only to leverage it in order win a part with a leftist film director. Fingered during the McCarthy era, he goes to prison in support of beliefs that aren’t even truly his. Upon release, he spends a weekend with his admiring 10-year-old son and comes face-to-face with his hypocrisy.
In one of my favorites, A Difficult Phase, a downsized Israeli journalist –floundering in her life – begins to question her life choices when she meets an attractive widower and his young teenage daughter. “This is what she was good at: being the blank, understanding face across the table; putting people so at ease they revealed the things they didn’t want to share with anyone, the things they wished didn’t exist at all.”
Another story, The Old World, focuses on a middle-aged tailor who meets and marries a Ukrainian widow, and travels with her back to her hometown, only to discover that he is a poor substitute for her dead husband. He reflects on his grown daughter who is a “born-again Jew”: “Maybe in religion, Beth really had discovered a way never to be alone. Maybe I am the lost one, wandering the streets of Kiev, competing with a dead man.”
Other stories are equally well-crafted and psychologically acute: a decorated Israeli solder comes home and suffers a fluke accident, which sets in play some poignant dynamics between him and his brother. A political dissident in Russia discovers that his neglected daughter has written an autobiographical play with himself as a key character. A young American woman and her Israeli husband must face the reality of their marriage, which is “so scary and real it required an entirely different language, new and strange and yet to be invented.”
Psychologically astute, subtlety crafted and haunted, this is a confident and poised debut, which may very well end up on my Top Ten of 2014 list. There is not one mediocre story in this whole remarkable collection. It's one of the best debut story collections in years.
May 14, 2014
The UnAmericans is a very pleasant surprise, especially considering the state of contemporary western short story. Most contemporary collections of short stories - especially debut ones - don't tend to contain actual stories anymore; they're mostly comprised of individual situations (often very fantastical) which often do paint distinct images, but fail to provide a story to surround them with and interesting characters to drive them forward. There are of course notable exceptions, such as Karen Russell, but they're few and far between.
Which is why Molly Antopol's debut collection is such a pleasant surprise. The UnAmericans is a set of real stories populated with real people, linked by the oldest topic in the world - search for personal identity and their relationships with others. However, the stories are varied and expansive, with a real interest in history and personal journeys of their protagonists. An elderly grandmother remembers her youth in occupied Belarus, and reassesses the actions of the Jewish underground resistance; A struggling actor returns to his eschewed Russian roots to gain part in a leftist film project ; A young girl struggles with the life as a daughter of the Communist Party leader in Los Angeles at the height of McCarthyism.
No one wants to listen to a man lament his solitary nights, opens the beginning story, >i>The Old World - perhaps an allusion to Martin Amis's famous opening paragraph of The Information - where Howard Siegel a middle-aged tailor and a recent divorcee decides to flirt with Sveta, one of his clients. Howard and Sveta are both from Ukraine - he's left it as a young boy and is now a fully adapted American, while Sveta's left with her former, deceased husband and is still learning English. They develop a relationship and eventually decide to go together to Kiev, the city of Sveta's birth and youth, for an unexpected and sad and a bit mysterious ending to their story.
I thoroughly enjoyed Molly Antopol's debut and would definitely read more of her work. The author note at the end of the book mentions that she is currently working at a novel; it's one that I'd like to read and look forward to.
Which is why Molly Antopol's debut collection is such a pleasant surprise. The UnAmericans is a set of real stories populated with real people, linked by the oldest topic in the world - search for personal identity and their relationships with others. However, the stories are varied and expansive, with a real interest in history and personal journeys of their protagonists. An elderly grandmother remembers her youth in occupied Belarus, and reassesses the actions of the Jewish underground resistance; A struggling actor returns to his eschewed Russian roots to gain part in a leftist film project ; A young girl struggles with the life as a daughter of the Communist Party leader in Los Angeles at the height of McCarthyism.
No one wants to listen to a man lament his solitary nights, opens the beginning story, >i>The Old World - perhaps an allusion to Martin Amis's famous opening paragraph of The Information - where Howard Siegel a middle-aged tailor and a recent divorcee decides to flirt with Sveta, one of his clients. Howard and Sveta are both from Ukraine - he's left it as a young boy and is now a fully adapted American, while Sveta's left with her former, deceased husband and is still learning English. They develop a relationship and eventually decide to go together to Kiev, the city of Sveta's birth and youth, for an unexpected and sad and a bit mysterious ending to their story.
I thoroughly enjoyed Molly Antopol's debut and would definitely read more of her work. The author note at the end of the book mentions that she is currently working at a novel; it's one that I'd like to read and look forward to.
February 27, 2022
This is the kind of dark, depressing, realist short story collection that I appreciated more than I enjoyed. The stories are impeccably structured and wonderfully realized, if sometimes ending a bit abruptly. But they are also relentless in their themes of difficult parents and broken familial relationships. The last story, however, was just brilliant, perfect, no notes. I wish they all had been like this.
January 11, 2014
According to the cover of this book, Adam Johnson (author of The Orphan Master's Son) describes Molly Antopol as "a writer of seismic talent." After reading The UnAmericans, I could not agree more. Antopol is a master craftswoman of words and her writing is extraordinary. It is so nice to find an author that you immediately love and I can't wait for her to start putting out more stories and hopefully novels.
Many, if not all, of these stories are about Israel/Russia and being Jewish/from the Soviet Union. Antopol writes that her family history inspired some of the stories in this collection. But she makes it feel universal, as if anyone's family history can be made into stories such as these. The UnAmericans starts off strongly with "The Old World", in which a man falls for a woman, only to learn she may have been mistaken in marrying him. Each story in this collection is like that, with potential tragedy and deep emotions. However, there is also humor and lightheartedness as well which creates a nice balance.
I guess I would say that the theme of this collection is what it is like being human and experiencing life. Although the stories feature characters who are Jewish and/or Eastern European, anyone could enjoy this collection. Antopol creates plausible scenarios, realistic problems, and natural-sounding dialogue. The UnAmericans is fairly short and a quick read, but I know I will go back and reread these stories, finding more each time I revisit them. It is hard to express how satisfied I am after reading this. Of course, it has some flaws but that only makes it better. I did not love every story but I got something out of each one, and for the first time in a long time after reading fiction, I feel like Antopol's characters, the "UnAmericans", could be real people. And not just because they resemble her family members. All of them are ordinary people and each has a story, things like whether they were part of the Communist party or had lost someone they really cared about.
I am rarely optimistic about anything but, I don't know, this book kind of made me feel good. Sure there are bad parts and a lot of sadness, but the aspects of family and perseverance and recreation were a nice break from the dark, depressing books I often read. There is still so much to be said about this collection of short stories but I will let the book speak for itself. The UnAmericans is the best book I've read in a while and it became an instant favorite of mine and I could not recommend it highly enough.
Many, if not all, of these stories are about Israel/Russia and being Jewish/from the Soviet Union. Antopol writes that her family history inspired some of the stories in this collection. But she makes it feel universal, as if anyone's family history can be made into stories such as these. The UnAmericans starts off strongly with "The Old World", in which a man falls for a woman, only to learn she may have been mistaken in marrying him. Each story in this collection is like that, with potential tragedy and deep emotions. However, there is also humor and lightheartedness as well which creates a nice balance.
I guess I would say that the theme of this collection is what it is like being human and experiencing life. Although the stories feature characters who are Jewish and/or Eastern European, anyone could enjoy this collection. Antopol creates plausible scenarios, realistic problems, and natural-sounding dialogue. The UnAmericans is fairly short and a quick read, but I know I will go back and reread these stories, finding more each time I revisit them. It is hard to express how satisfied I am after reading this. Of course, it has some flaws but that only makes it better. I did not love every story but I got something out of each one, and for the first time in a long time after reading fiction, I feel like Antopol's characters, the "UnAmericans", could be real people. And not just because they resemble her family members. All of them are ordinary people and each has a story, things like whether they were part of the Communist party or had lost someone they really cared about.
I am rarely optimistic about anything but, I don't know, this book kind of made me feel good. Sure there are bad parts and a lot of sadness, but the aspects of family and perseverance and recreation were a nice break from the dark, depressing books I often read. There is still so much to be said about this collection of short stories but I will let the book speak for itself. The UnAmericans is the best book I've read in a while and it became an instant favorite of mine and I could not recommend it highly enough.
January 1, 2015
Exceptional collection by a very talented writer. I think my favorite story was "My Grandmother Tells Me This Story". I can see the comparisons to Philip Roth in some of these. I think there were a couple of moments that could've been better. There was one story set in the 1950s, but the use of language didn't seem to match. Overall, this is an impressive debut, and I look forward to her future works.
December 3, 2017
The stories in the The UnAmericans struck a chord in me. Each one of these wise and generous stories contains an entire world and feels like a mini novel. The book title isn't just a random title of one of the stories -but perfectly describes each story. I couldn't help referring several times to the very young looking photo of Antopol on the dust jacket. So impressive.
November 27, 2021
Otto racconti che catturano subito l’attenzione e coinvolgono come un romanzo. Perché sono articolati, complessi e ci trasportano con sapiente naturalezza in un mondo di espatriati, fuggitivi, eredi di una storia recente che ha plasmato il destino dei popoli, in particolare di origine e cultura ebraica.
Ogni racconto è un piccolo microcosmo che ci permette di entrare nel contesto e nelle relazioni fra i personaggi, di partecipare ai loro drammi e di interrogarci su alcune fondamentali questioni umane.
Una scrittura già esperta, un esordio molto promettente.
1.Luna di miele con nostalgia
“Sveta aveva l’aria molto più serena del resto della città, piccola e sorridente nel grande separé verde, con una tazza di tè tra le mani. Io presi un sorso di caffè e ascoltai il mio cuore battere impacciato”.
2. Eroismi inutili
“Lei aveva reso lui più gentile, lui aveva reso lei più rilassata, e insieme sembravano una specie di potente, inarrestabile forza che attraversava la vita su un’agile e magnifica nave, mentre il resto di noi li guardava dalla riva”.
3. La nonna mi racconta una storia
“Non ero più abituata alla luce del sole dopo una notte intera nelle fogne - era lì, splendeva sulle case, e la foresta vicina scintillava tanto da sembrare dipinta. La terra, il fiume, il cielo: trovai tutto stupefacente”.
4. L’uomo più silenzioso
“Desiderai di poterle dire che durante quelle riunioni pensavo a lei- come desideravo di poterle dire di essermi sempre ricordato delle feste di compleanno, dei weekend insieme, di riempire la casa di succhi di frutta e snack al formaggio prima del suo arrivo. Dirle che mi faceva tenerezza vederla costruire città immaginarie e riscrivere a modo suo libri già esistenti, e che quel weekend l’avevo invitata lì non per paura, ma per quel senso di orgoglio semplice e altruistico che in sua madre sembrava così naturale”.
5. Giù la testa
“Aspetto che mio padre alzi lo sguardo e mi veda con Hal. Per un momento si bloccherà: una forchettata di torta a mezz’aria, il giornale abbassato, le sopracciglia alzate. Poi verrà al mio tavolo, ci appoggerà sopra le mani, e prima ancora di aprire bocca mi guarderà e capirà che è troppo tardi: le porte della mia vita si sono già spalancate, e non c’è niente che lui possa fare per richiuderle.”
6. Una fase difficile
“Era così che le persone finivano per essere infelici, pensò- evitando di fare scelte, lasciando che un attimo avvolgente, meraviglioso, dettasse quello successivo, fino a quando non si ritrovavano a vivere un’esistenza completamente diversa dai loro sogni.”
7. Il milite ignoto
“Ecco cosa significava essere tornati nel mondo reale. Cambiare idea da un momento all’altro, sfrecciare giù per quello stretto senso unico con il figlio accanto, lasciarsi alle spalle città e imboccare il ponte, con i finestrini abbassati, circondati di possibilità”.
8. Retrospettiva
“D’improvviso anche Boaz venne investito da una felicità totale e spontanea. D’improvviso sembrò molto facile lasciarsi alle spalle i problemi per un minuto e sentirsi grati di far parte di qualcosa di grande e fondamentale come quel mattino, quella città, quella strada.”
Ogni racconto è un piccolo microcosmo che ci permette di entrare nel contesto e nelle relazioni fra i personaggi, di partecipare ai loro drammi e di interrogarci su alcune fondamentali questioni umane.
Una scrittura già esperta, un esordio molto promettente.
1.Luna di miele con nostalgia
“Sveta aveva l’aria molto più serena del resto della città, piccola e sorridente nel grande separé verde, con una tazza di tè tra le mani. Io presi un sorso di caffè e ascoltai il mio cuore battere impacciato”.
2. Eroismi inutili
“Lei aveva reso lui più gentile, lui aveva reso lei più rilassata, e insieme sembravano una specie di potente, inarrestabile forza che attraversava la vita su un’agile e magnifica nave, mentre il resto di noi li guardava dalla riva”.
3. La nonna mi racconta una storia
“Non ero più abituata alla luce del sole dopo una notte intera nelle fogne - era lì, splendeva sulle case, e la foresta vicina scintillava tanto da sembrare dipinta. La terra, il fiume, il cielo: trovai tutto stupefacente”.
4. L’uomo più silenzioso
“Desiderai di poterle dire che durante quelle riunioni pensavo a lei- come desideravo di poterle dire di essermi sempre ricordato delle feste di compleanno, dei weekend insieme, di riempire la casa di succhi di frutta e snack al formaggio prima del suo arrivo. Dirle che mi faceva tenerezza vederla costruire città immaginarie e riscrivere a modo suo libri già esistenti, e che quel weekend l’avevo invitata lì non per paura, ma per quel senso di orgoglio semplice e altruistico che in sua madre sembrava così naturale”.
5. Giù la testa
“Aspetto che mio padre alzi lo sguardo e mi veda con Hal. Per un momento si bloccherà: una forchettata di torta a mezz’aria, il giornale abbassato, le sopracciglia alzate. Poi verrà al mio tavolo, ci appoggerà sopra le mani, e prima ancora di aprire bocca mi guarderà e capirà che è troppo tardi: le porte della mia vita si sono già spalancate, e non c’è niente che lui possa fare per richiuderle.”
6. Una fase difficile
“Era così che le persone finivano per essere infelici, pensò- evitando di fare scelte, lasciando che un attimo avvolgente, meraviglioso, dettasse quello successivo, fino a quando non si ritrovavano a vivere un’esistenza completamente diversa dai loro sogni.”
7. Il milite ignoto
“Ecco cosa significava essere tornati nel mondo reale. Cambiare idea da un momento all’altro, sfrecciare giù per quello stretto senso unico con il figlio accanto, lasciarsi alle spalle città e imboccare il ponte, con i finestrini abbassati, circondati di possibilità”.
8. Retrospettiva
“D’improvviso anche Boaz venne investito da una felicità totale e spontanea. D’improvviso sembrò molto facile lasciarsi alle spalle i problemi per un minuto e sentirsi grati di far parte di qualcosa di grande e fondamentale come quel mattino, quella città, quella strada.”
March 27, 2015
I LOVED this - very unexpectedly. I am usually not a fan of short story collections, as I find it difficult to switch gears between stories. For this book, each story was so self-contained and well-written that I didn't mind - but I did have to pause between each story to really let them sink in.
My favorite of the book is probably "Retrospective," the last story, in which an Israeli man is forced to reconsider his marriage once his wife's grandmother dies. I also loved "The Quietest Man," where an absentee father finds out that his daughter is writing a play about their family, and "A Difficult Phase," in which a journalist attempts to disentangle herself from a widower she's dating and his teenage daughter. But really, all of these are very good, with gorgeous writing and strong characterization. Molly Antopol can jump from a teenage girl escaping the Nazis to an older, divorced man who runs a dry cleaning business in New York without breaking a sweat.
Adam Johnson is quoted on this book as saying, "A writer of seismic talent," which is the kind of thing that normally makes me roll my eyes. In this case, it's totally warranted: Molly Antopol is a writer of seismic talent. I am more than excited for her to come out with a novel.
My favorite of the book is probably "Retrospective," the last story, in which an Israeli man is forced to reconsider his marriage once his wife's grandmother dies. I also loved "The Quietest Man," where an absentee father finds out that his daughter is writing a play about their family, and "A Difficult Phase," in which a journalist attempts to disentangle herself from a widower she's dating and his teenage daughter. But really, all of these are very good, with gorgeous writing and strong characterization. Molly Antopol can jump from a teenage girl escaping the Nazis to an older, divorced man who runs a dry cleaning business in New York without breaking a sweat.
Adam Johnson is quoted on this book as saying, "A writer of seismic talent," which is the kind of thing that normally makes me roll my eyes. In this case, it's totally warranted: Molly Antopol is a writer of seismic talent. I am more than excited for her to come out with a novel.
April 7, 2014
3.5 The thread connecting all these stories is that of the immigrant, hence unamericans. They take place in different times and places. Ordinary people often caught up in matters beyond their control, how tenuous are the connections between people and how they react to these changed circumstances. All looking for clues, their own road maps for the future.
These stories are extremely well written, some seem to be so fully contained they seemed much longer than they appear, fully realized stories. I for some reason, found myself drawn to the story, "Minor Heroes, even though it was rather sad, based on a personal tragedy, I identified with Oren. Though really all the stories are very good and this is definitely a writer to watch.
These stories are extremely well written, some seem to be so fully contained they seemed much longer than they appear, fully realized stories. I for some reason, found myself drawn to the story, "Minor Heroes, even though it was rather sad, based on a personal tragedy, I identified with Oren. Though really all the stories are very good and this is definitely a writer to watch.
April 2, 2014
I read a review of this book on NPR and since I do enjoy a good collection of short stories, I thought I'd give it a whirl. I was a bit disappointed by this collection, though. I feel a little out of place with my three-star review after perusing the many, many four- and five-star ratings here, but I'm sticking with my initial reaction. My basic problem with the collection was not with the writing, which, sentence to sentence, was excellent. I found Antopol's stories inconsistent in terms of character development and relatability, which meant that, while reading several of the stories, I found myself bored and unengaged, despite the marvelous descriptions of setting. There is a lot of good work in this collection. Some of the stories, like My Grandmother Tells Me This Story, about Eastern European Jewish refugees during World War II, are gripping and vivid. Others, though, like Duck and Cover, about communists in Southern California during the McCarthy area, left me completely cold. All of the stories feature Jewish protagonists, many of whom are struggling with questions of identity – religious, national, familial, or otherwise. These are broad questions and provide fertile ground for interesting storytelling, and sometimes, Antopol nails it. But the stories varied too widely for me to wholeheartedly recommend this book.
November 14, 2014
" She grabbed his arm and asked what was wrong. But for the first time, Boaz couldn't think of a single word to describe this kind of loneliness, so scary and real it required an entirely different language, new and strange and yet to be invented.".
March 23, 2023
I know my opinion is an unpopular one, but for me this was a really disappointing collection. I have been looking forward to reading The UnAmericans for quite some time. The reviews I read made it sound as if written specifically for me.
Antopol's writing skills are irreproachable. Each sentence is very well crafted, and I admire well-crafted prose. She also clearly benefited from what I assume was a Workman's Circle preschool and a nice Birthright trip. But the stories themselves seem clunky and old-fashioned (and not in a good way.) Everything is viewed from a very lefty lens. The book is populated with dissidents whose fervor is now out of style, gritty kibbutzim and earnest best generation types struggling with evolving definitions of what it means to be a Jew. Even as I write this I am confused as to why I didn't like the book. Depressed Jews at a crossroads? That's my jam! Bring on your Chabon, your Safran-Foer, your Bellow and Roth. But Antopol's depressed Jews don't rail at the heavens or live in-your-face iconoclastic lives. These depressed Jews whine, abdicate responsibility for creating a worthwhile life, or resign themselves to "leave me alone to sit in the dark" martyrdom. I know plenty of real people like that, and they are no bargain. I read to escape them, not to analyze them.
I have some other beefs. Some of the stories felt derivative of things I had read before, and even of one another. Additionally the stories are really slow moving. I don't need car chases, but its nice when something happens in a story.
Antopol is a good writer, and I would be interested to see what she writes next. I hope by the time the next book is published she learns to be interesting, to be audacious. It would be nice if she took on some of the things that give people wings, or even the things they kick against that tether them spreadeagled to the ground. Meticulously chronicling bitter resignation and social obsolescence is not what lures me as a reader.
Antopol's writing skills are irreproachable. Each sentence is very well crafted, and I admire well-crafted prose. She also clearly benefited from what I assume was a Workman's Circle preschool and a nice Birthright trip. But the stories themselves seem clunky and old-fashioned (and not in a good way.) Everything is viewed from a very lefty lens. The book is populated with dissidents whose fervor is now out of style, gritty kibbutzim and earnest best generation types struggling with evolving definitions of what it means to be a Jew. Even as I write this I am confused as to why I didn't like the book. Depressed Jews at a crossroads? That's my jam! Bring on your Chabon, your Safran-Foer, your Bellow and Roth. But Antopol's depressed Jews don't rail at the heavens or live in-your-face iconoclastic lives. These depressed Jews whine, abdicate responsibility for creating a worthwhile life, or resign themselves to "leave me alone to sit in the dark" martyrdom. I know plenty of real people like that, and they are no bargain. I read to escape them, not to analyze them.
I have some other beefs. Some of the stories felt derivative of things I had read before, and even of one another. Additionally the stories are really slow moving. I don't need car chases, but its nice when something happens in a story.
Antopol is a good writer, and I would be interested to see what she writes next. I hope by the time the next book is published she learns to be interesting, to be audacious. It would be nice if she took on some of the things that give people wings, or even the things they kick against that tether them spreadeagled to the ground. Meticulously chronicling bitter resignation and social obsolescence is not what lures me as a reader.
Read
September 1, 2016The third story in this collection bears the title "My Grandmother Tells Me This Story" and that captures the overall flavor of Antopol’s work: wordy, comforting, unreliable in the details. These are stories told over coffee at the local deli, elbows on the table and bagel crumbs on the plate, or at night after dinner, while the coffee brews. There’s a sense of oral history here which is quite beguiling, but also, because Antopol is skilled, of the way the stories we tell reveal more about who we are than about actual events.
The success of this approach varies from story to story and Antopol is strongest when political strife forms the backdrop. Novak of "The Quietest Man" embroiders his political past in Communist Czechoslovakia for his daughter’s play based on his life. "Duck and Cover" tells a story of McCarthy-era sexual awakening which would earn an approving nod from the likes of Margaret Atwood. In others — "Minor Heroics" and "A Difficult Phase", both set in modern Israel — she is less surefooted. The strife exists, we all know that, but it’s almost invisible here, and without the sense of wider oppression and discord to focus the action, her stories tend to ramble.
That said this is an assured debut from a writer with talent and energy. I will be interested to see what Antopol produces next.
--
Review by Cath Murphy
Check out more from this review at LitReactor (http://litreactor.com/reviews/booksho...)!
The success of this approach varies from story to story and Antopol is strongest when political strife forms the backdrop. Novak of "The Quietest Man" embroiders his political past in Communist Czechoslovakia for his daughter’s play based on his life. "Duck and Cover" tells a story of McCarthy-era sexual awakening which would earn an approving nod from the likes of Margaret Atwood. In others — "Minor Heroics" and "A Difficult Phase", both set in modern Israel — she is less surefooted. The strife exists, we all know that, but it’s almost invisible here, and without the sense of wider oppression and discord to focus the action, her stories tend to ramble.
That said this is an assured debut from a writer with talent and energy. I will be interested to see what Antopol produces next.
--
Review by Cath Murphy
Check out more from this review at LitReactor (http://litreactor.com/reviews/booksho...)!
May 4, 2016
These short stories are wonderful--and reminds me that I really need to read more of them. Antopol has a talent for unlocking the emotional lives of frazzled Jewish intellectuals. It is clear that she has traveled widely in Eastern Europe and has a complicated family history in Belarus, a history she frequently draws upon in these stories. Some can be bleakly funny--one dissident writer, talking about the interrogation he once underwent in Prague, comments, "Did they really believe sleep deprivation would crack a father with a newborn?"
Radical politics play a role in some of her stories--a Russian-born actor whose career is ruined in the 1950s by the House Un-American Activities Committee. Or latent paranoia, "Lately our house has felt cramped with secrets," the labor organizer's daughter comments, "as though his politics will seep out the windows if we aren't careful." Recommend.
Radical politics play a role in some of her stories--a Russian-born actor whose career is ruined in the 1950s by the House Un-American Activities Committee. Or latent paranoia, "Lately our house has felt cramped with secrets," the labor organizer's daughter comments, "as though his politics will seep out the windows if we aren't careful." Recommend.
December 12, 2021
Titolo e immagini suggestivi, la lettura di qualche recensione che parlava bene di questa raccolta di racconti, mi hanno spinto ad approcciarmi a questa scrittrice, di cui nulla sapevo e che avevo incontrato solo qui su Goodreads.
Che dire? Una bella scoperta. Sono stata investita da un’ondata emotiva: in ogni racconto ci sono persone e non personaggi; ci sono sentimenti: dominanti la tristezza e insuperabili solitudini, ma d’altra parte il titolo lo preannunciava e a dire il vero quel che meno c’è è la luna di miele, o quanto meno ce n’è solo un accenno, più che altro un’illusione; luoghi, che sono più stati d’animo che spazi; parole che si susseguono senza cesure stilistiche, ognuna in felice armonia con le altre, che disegnano, scavano, portano in superficie il dentro.
Tutti i racconti mi sono piaciuti, ma in particolare ho apprezzato quello che dà il titolo alla raccolta e Il milite ignoto, questo l’ho trovato proprio toccante.
Questi racconti mi hanno fatto pensare all’altrettanto bella raccolta di Yates “Undici solitudini”, sia per la nitidezza della scrittura sia per lo struggimento che mi hanno provocato.
4 stelle e mezzo.
Che dire? Una bella scoperta. Sono stata investita da un’ondata emotiva: in ogni racconto ci sono persone e non personaggi; ci sono sentimenti: dominanti la tristezza e insuperabili solitudini, ma d’altra parte il titolo lo preannunciava e a dire il vero quel che meno c’è è la luna di miele, o quanto meno ce n’è solo un accenno, più che altro un’illusione; luoghi, che sono più stati d’animo che spazi; parole che si susseguono senza cesure stilistiche, ognuna in felice armonia con le altre, che disegnano, scavano, portano in superficie il dentro.
Tutti i racconti mi sono piaciuti, ma in particolare ho apprezzato quello che dà il titolo alla raccolta e Il milite ignoto, questo l’ho trovato proprio toccante.
Questi racconti mi hanno fatto pensare all’altrettanto bella raccolta di Yates “Undici solitudini”, sia per la nitidezza della scrittura sia per lo struggimento che mi hanno provocato.
4 stelle e mezzo.
March 5, 2014
Not since Edith Pearlman’s Binocular Vision, have I read a set of stories that so captured the heart of immigrant and ex-pat America. I don’t mean to belittle Molly Antopol by saying that her The UnAmericans doesn’t quite measure up to Pearlman’s work. She’s so very young, after all, having just received an award for under-35′ers, and she has a long time to develop her prodigious talent. Plus, I haven’t read any collection by anybody save maybe Munro or Chekov that compares with Pearlman. However, Antopol both in subject matter and impact does approach the quality of Binocular Vision.
I always have trouble reviewing short story collections because it seems one has to pick either a favorite or a couple of single stories that typify the whole. Which seems sort of like picking favorite chapters from a novel. But, gun to my head, I’d have to point to the opening story “The Old World” about a widower who falls in love with a Ukrainian woman. It’s rather remarkable that Antopol’s able to get these two oldsters right, given her youth. But she does. And we end up in Kiev (how many post-Tolstoy stories go there?) for a sad and mysterious ending that’s well and truly drawn.
And skipping all the way to the end, you’ll have a hard time beating “Retrospective” about a fresh marriage between a couple of Americans with close ties to Israel who go to Jerusalem to help settle the estate of the wife’s grandmother. The ending is one of those surprising, yet inevitable moments of anagnorisis that leaves you nearly breathless.
And thought she proves herself more than proficient in creating male protagonists, women get their due as well. Talia in “A Difficult Phase” pulls us into what is literally a very thorny situation, and we’re never sure whether she escapes or not.
Just a sample, inadequately described. This is a writer and a book well worth the time of any reader. And I’m sure we’ll hear more from her.
I always have trouble reviewing short story collections because it seems one has to pick either a favorite or a couple of single stories that typify the whole. Which seems sort of like picking favorite chapters from a novel. But, gun to my head, I’d have to point to the opening story “The Old World” about a widower who falls in love with a Ukrainian woman. It’s rather remarkable that Antopol’s able to get these two oldsters right, given her youth. But she does. And we end up in Kiev (how many post-Tolstoy stories go there?) for a sad and mysterious ending that’s well and truly drawn.
And skipping all the way to the end, you’ll have a hard time beating “Retrospective” about a fresh marriage between a couple of Americans with close ties to Israel who go to Jerusalem to help settle the estate of the wife’s grandmother. The ending is one of those surprising, yet inevitable moments of anagnorisis that leaves you nearly breathless.
And thought she proves herself more than proficient in creating male protagonists, women get their due as well. Talia in “A Difficult Phase” pulls us into what is literally a very thorny situation, and we’re never sure whether she escapes or not.
Just a sample, inadequately described. This is a writer and a book well worth the time of any reader. And I’m sure we’ll hear more from her.
March 17, 2014
this debut came with lots of hype and power blurbs, which is ok by me, let'em blurb. but instead of new and exciting these semi-connected stories are as mannered and fashioned as could be. stories of the horrible stew made before, during, and after wwii in eastern europe (ukraine), the scifi horror show of ussr from 1945-1991, and the many lives and families, if they survived it all, flung to the far corners of nyc and all points imaginable in between. stories to recommend to your teabag uncle, or cuss word and drugs phobic aunt, stories that could have come from andrea barrett or o'hara, or better, hemon and obreht. plus you get to learn all about the place called antopol.
October 30, 2013
I loved these stories. Antopol's a powerhouse of a writer who nails the way people behave in families and relationships. The stories do a beautiful job of incorporating the broader historical and political landscapes while creating fascinating characters. They truly feel expansive. The last collection I devoured this quickly was Alice Munro's A Friend of My Youth. In fact the scope and depth of these stories often remind me of Munro -- as does the elegant and authoritative prose style.
October 2, 2014
It would be impossible to pick a favorite from this collection, and the fact that it is a debut makes it all the more remarkable. Each is set against a larger canvas of history, but is a microcosm of life. Most of the characters face huge issues, nothing is rudimentary. No surprise that Antopol, a Stegner Fellow and professor at Stanford, has already received such acclaim. Her writing is deep and meaty without a superfluous word.
November 3, 2013
I just finished reading these beautiful stories and I'm still in that frozen, barely able to move state I get into after finishing a great book. In other words, if this book had been a movie, I'd have just sat there at the end watching the credits roll, praying it never ended. A little Nicole Krauss, a little Bernard Malamud, a little Jonathan Franzen. So glad I scored an ARC!
September 28, 2015
The world of short stories has had a rocky history, but every now and then there are authors that make you excited about a collection of stories again. When I think about great short story collections, I think Raymond Carver with his book What We Talk About When We Talk about Love, George Sanders (especially his recent collection Tenth of December) and now Molly Antopol with her debut collection The UnAmericans. Even I have to admit that I have often struggled with short stories but then something like The UnAmericans comes along and I feel ready to take on more collections.
Molly Antopol is a lecturer at Stanford University where she teaches as part of their writing program. In 2013, she was one of the recipients of the “5 Under 35″ award from the National Book Foundation, which highlights five young writers to watch and she has been someone well worth watching. Her debut, The UnAmericans was nominated for countless awards including the National Jewish Book Award and the National Book Award. Though her collection of short stories did not take home any major awards, this is the start of a very promising career for Molly Antopol and is someone I plan to follow closely.
The UnAmericans is a collection full of stories about families, heritage, identity and all the things that define us as humans. With a strong focus on immigration this book is a post 9/11 exploration into America. Exploring the lives of all those people that might have felt excluded as American due to difference in heritage, skin colour, religion, and political or moral beliefs. While it does not typically focus on America or events post 9/11, it is the kind of story that could have only been told after a tragedy like that day.
Each character is richly developed, coming from places like Kiev, Prague, Tel Avid and Soviet Moscow, the stories all explore the same similar themes but in away that never feels repetitive or preachy. Antopol appears to be interested in exploring peoples differences and similarities and trying to get the message across that we are all the same. All the different places these people live in and they all want the very same things, love and acceptance. While their heritage often plays a big part in their identity it doesn’t make them UnAmerican; we are all humans.
I was extremely impressed and it made me want to read more short stories; if Molly Antopol can give so much depth into her characters as she did in The UnAmericans then it makes me excited for the rest of the genre. I did go on to read another collection of short stories right after this one, this time it was by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. I hate to say it; The UnAmericans was great but then going on to read The Yellow Wallpaper and Other Stories, changed everything yet again.
This review originally appeared on my blog; http://literary-exploration.com/2015/...
Molly Antopol is a lecturer at Stanford University where she teaches as part of their writing program. In 2013, she was one of the recipients of the “5 Under 35″ award from the National Book Foundation, which highlights five young writers to watch and she has been someone well worth watching. Her debut, The UnAmericans was nominated for countless awards including the National Jewish Book Award and the National Book Award. Though her collection of short stories did not take home any major awards, this is the start of a very promising career for Molly Antopol and is someone I plan to follow closely.
The UnAmericans is a collection full of stories about families, heritage, identity and all the things that define us as humans. With a strong focus on immigration this book is a post 9/11 exploration into America. Exploring the lives of all those people that might have felt excluded as American due to difference in heritage, skin colour, religion, and political or moral beliefs. While it does not typically focus on America or events post 9/11, it is the kind of story that could have only been told after a tragedy like that day.
Each character is richly developed, coming from places like Kiev, Prague, Tel Avid and Soviet Moscow, the stories all explore the same similar themes but in away that never feels repetitive or preachy. Antopol appears to be interested in exploring peoples differences and similarities and trying to get the message across that we are all the same. All the different places these people live in and they all want the very same things, love and acceptance. While their heritage often plays a big part in their identity it doesn’t make them UnAmerican; we are all humans.
I was extremely impressed and it made me want to read more short stories; if Molly Antopol can give so much depth into her characters as she did in The UnAmericans then it makes me excited for the rest of the genre. I did go on to read another collection of short stories right after this one, this time it was by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. I hate to say it; The UnAmericans was great but then going on to read The Yellow Wallpaper and Other Stories, changed everything yet again.
This review originally appeared on my blog; http://literary-exploration.com/2015/...
February 25, 2015
Looking at the impressive endorsements on the back cover, as well as the overwhelmingly positive reviews here on GoodReads, I’m wondering what I missed. I enjoyed many of the individual stories, but the collection as a whole doesn’t work for me. The good: I like the concept – stories about contemporary Jewish life, about alienation and despondency. (The title is a clever play on this, but in the end, somewhat distracting and unintentionally political, I believe.) I love how quickly Antopol was able to establish character and setting, often within a couple key sentences. That’s an incredible skill. There were a couple seminal moments in this book that were so beautifully described, that felt so specific and real to me. I’m thinking of the expatriate returning to post-Socialist Kiev. The angry grandmother trying to correct her granddaughter’s assumptions. The 30-year-old journalist coping with her professional failure. If I read any of these stories individually in the New Yorker, I’d be a big fan. So what’s the problem? 5 of the 8 stories were essentially about the same thing: public heroes and their private failures. The other 3 were also thematically overlapping: about the loss of one’s rooting or home. The lack of diversity in this collection took away from each individual story and made the collection somewhat tedious. Just the same thing over and over again. It’s really unfortunate.
March 26, 2017
From a purely aesthetic perspective, these short stories are well-written. I struggled with the rating on this one because I enjoyed reading the stories as stories, and found them full of interesting insights. At the same time, that this was done so well made it more important to me that it was possible for the author to create a representation of Israel from which Palestinians are so completely absent. It's a perfect fantasy in a time where the justification for this state's existence hangs on the belief in this very fantasy version of the state. That the Palestinians just don't exist makes the stories of Israel a window into the Zionist worldview and mythology: making the desert bloom, enjoying the seaside, but never noticing or acknowledging an ongoing staggering human rights crisis. The memory of the Holocaust is ever present, but the reality of Palestinians is not acknowledged. In an interview with the Rumpus, Antopol commented that she didn't want to engage the "Arab-Israeli" question because she didn't want to make the novel about politics. However, with this avoidance, she did not avoid politics, so much as erase an entire people. I was interested in this novel because of the HUAC stories, but I also found these to be the least interesting of the bunch, not capturing the time period or the characters especially well.
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