Erika Dreifus

If you keep up with new books, you’re probably noticing a wave of critical attention being given to Philip Roth’s latest novel, Exit Ghost. I’m just going to point you to one review, by James Wood in this week’s New Yorker. But I will suggest that you spend additional reading time reading (or re-reading, as the case may be), Roth’s The Ghost Writer, which launched the Zuckerman series and, based on the reviews of the new work that I’ve seen thus far, is very much connected with Exit Ghost in a way that I’m not sure the other Zuckerman novels may be. (I admit I haven’t read them all [yet!].)

The “Mixed Multitudes” blog on MyJewishLearning.com featured an interview earlier this week with Joshua Henkin, author of the new novel, Matrimony, and participant on the panel I recently wrote about for Poets & Writers. MyJewishLearning.com also posted an excerpt from the novel, highlighting the Jewish background of one of the protagonists. Read and enjoy. (And if you still haven’t had enough of Josh, you can read another interview, one yours truly conducted, albeit one that isn’t focused on the specifically Jewish elements of his work.)