What do you think?
Rate this book
Why Should I Have All the Grief?
Gotlieb's haunting tale of what it takes to survive in the world after Auschwitz.
149 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1969
6 people want to read
About the author
Phyllis Gotlieb
57 books25 followersPhyllis Fay Gotlieb, née Bloom, BA, MA was a Canadian science fiction novelist and poet.
The Sunburst Award is named for her first novel, Sunburst. Three years before Sunburst was published, Gotlieb published the pamphlet Who Knows One, a collection of poems. Gotlieb won the Aurora Award for Best Novel in 1982 for her novel A Judgement of Dragons.
She was married to Calvin Gotlieb, a computer science professor, and lived in Toronto, Ontario.
The Sunburst Award is named for her first novel, Sunburst. Three years before Sunburst was published, Gotlieb published the pamphlet Who Knows One, a collection of poems. Gotlieb won the Aurora Award for Best Novel in 1982 for her novel A Judgement of Dragons.
She was married to Calvin Gotlieb, a computer science professor, and lived in Toronto, Ontario.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
February 18, 2016
It's been about a year since I read this novel and it still haunts me. The text is subtle and has a slow build which, admittedly, turned me off my first time reading; but, it is well-written, genuine and, at times, heartbreakingly beautiful. Highly recommend.
Passage (slight spoiler):
"He was not repelled by her feelings, fears, strangeness; he understood them. She was hurt, friendless, alone, and needed help; he knew that. But she was a symbol, and he could not force himself to accept anything the symbol stood for. The marks on her body externalized the scars on his spirit; her liquid, loser’s eyes were windows looking out on days of torture and filth. He added her hurt to his guilt and kept going with a heavier burden. But one thing all the force of his reason could never tell him was whether by neglect he had shamefully wounded a living person, or merely stepped back from the edge of a precipice." (111-2)
Passage (slight spoiler):
"He was not repelled by her feelings, fears, strangeness; he understood them. She was hurt, friendless, alone, and needed help; he knew that. But she was a symbol, and he could not force himself to accept anything the symbol stood for. The marks on her body externalized the scars on his spirit; her liquid, loser’s eyes were windows looking out on days of torture and filth. He added her hurt to his guilt and kept going with a heavier burden. But one thing all the force of his reason could never tell him was whether by neglect he had shamefully wounded a living person, or merely stepped back from the edge of a precipice." (111-2)
Displaying 1 of 1 review