Like Never Before

by Ehud Havazelet

The 10 interrelated stories that make up Ehud Havazelet's Like Never Before revolve around one big, if not invariably happy, family. The author introduces us to the Birnbaum clan--Max and Ruth, and their children, David and Rachel--as well as an assortment of the people they love and hate and date and marry and divorce. Yet the central focus in this sprawl of relationships is that between father and son. Theirs is also the most troubled connection. Max is an immigrant, a true if sometimes desperate believer, while David, even as a youth, is "aggrieved, put upon, a boy who carries anger like a stone in his pocket to caress." Growing up in Queens in the 1960s, the rapidly assimilating David rebels against the heritage Max has transported so carefully from the Old World. Yet David's defiance brings him little joy. "David," Rachel says, "was a boy constantly on the edge, of laughter, of panic, of some unaccountable act of friendship or some meanness that would leave you stunned." David is unsparingly drawn and quite miraculously lovable. However, all of the central figures are just as deeply realized--and Havazelet's frequently entertaining, frequently agonizing skill at presenting each as an alarming composite of beauty and ugliness gives this intensely realistic work what Annie Dillard once called a "broad and sanctifying vision." Near the end of her life, Ruth Birnbaum muses unhappily that "despite everyone's good intentions ... love hurts more than it heals." Havazelet's gift is to let us feel both how right and how wrong she is. --Daniel Hintzsche

Genres: Short Stories, Judaica, Historical Fiction

Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Havazalet was born in Jerusalem, Israel. His father, Meir Havazalet, a rabbi and professor at Yeshiva University emigrated to the United States in 1957. He graduated from Columbia University in 1977, and received an M.F.A at the University of Iowa Writers Workshop in 1984. He became a Jones Lecturer at Stanford University, from 1985 to 1989, and a Wallace Stegner Fellow. He taught creative writing at Oregon State University from 1989 to 1999. Since 1999, he has taught creative writing at the University of Oregon.

Reviews

[sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did not care for the first two stories but loved the rest so keep reading!

[Christopher Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

The mostly unknown author, Ehud Havazelet, writes stories that can't be forgotten. Following the Birnbaum family, and David Birnbaum in large part, this collection centers on the incomprehensible, but undeniable universal conflict between fathers and sons. In it, pain, sorrow, and joy. In it, the willingness to forgive. Recommended to everyone, the stories are almost all written in parts (1, 2, 3...) but climaxes with the powerful "Ruth's Story" which begins with the very beautiful and true: "In a waiting room, you wait."

Highly recommended.

-C

[Olivier Lepetit · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some very good short stories in this book, seen from the eyes of different members of a Jewish family in America. The writing is excellent, but uneven. A mildly pleasant surprise, although quite depressing.

[SmarterLilac · Rating 5 out of 5]

This gorgeous novel helped me understand modern American Jewish identity.

[David Hirning · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great stories by my old Stanford creative writing instructor!

[b bb bbbb bbbbbbbb]

this was a recommendation from somewhere. tried to read it, but the writing was too bland.

[Dora · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very moving and well-written short stories. I liked how each story gave a glimpse of the family from a different view-point and time. It was a nice twist on a collection of short stories.