Daniel Torday
Autore di The Last Flight of Poxl West
Opere di Daniel Torday
Salt Hill, 19 (Winter 2007) 1 copia
Etichette
Informazioni generali
- Data di nascita
- 1978
- Nazionalità
- USA
- Istruzione
- Kenyon College
Syracuse University - Breve biografia
- Daniel Torday's novella, THE SENSUALIST, won the 2012 National Jewish Book Award for debut fiction. His debut novel, THE LAST FLIGHT OF POXL WEST, will be published by St. Martin's Press in 2015, and has received early praise from Karen Russell, Rivka Galchen, Gary Shteyngart, Jim Shepard, Robin Black, Phil Klay, Edan Lepucki and Daniel Smith. George Saunders has called the novel "a wonderful accomplishment of storytelling verve: tender, lyrical, surprising, full of beautifully rendered details. Torday is a prodigiously talented writer, with a huge heart."
Torday's short stories and essays have appeared in Esquire Magazine, Glimmer Train, Harvard Review, The New York Times and The Kenyon Review. A former editor at Esquire and now an editor at The Kenyon Review, he is currently the Director of Creative Writing at Bryn Mawr College.
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Statistiche
- Opere
- 6
- Utenti
- 259
- Popolarità
- #88,671
- Voto
- 3.6
- Recensioni
- 21
- ISBN
- 20
- Lingue
- 2
The Dönme are perpetual outsiders. In Turkey, they are perceived as Jews and oppressed, but in Israel, they are seen as Muslim and denied the right of return. So why not establish a community in the United States where they will meet with tolerance? Except, it seems the tolerance is provisional. The Dönme believe Natan’s son was murdered by his classmates in a bias crime. They feel persecuted by local authorities.
When Zeke Leger returns to Ohio for a funeral, he is caught up by the idea of the Dönme. Add a recent murder that tests the limits of religious freedom and he thinks he’s found a fantastic story for the respected national magazine he writes for. I pictured The New Yorker or The Atlantic. As an added bonus, he can spend time with his former love, rekindling old flames. A complicating factor is she is the person who prosecuted Natan of Flatbush.
I liked the people in The 12th Commandment more than I liked the story. That is how I felt about Daniel Torday’s Boomer1 as well. He does a great job of creating credible characters that feel lived in. In particular, I loved the passive obstinance that propelled Zeke forward, continuing to investigate in the face of harassment, violence, and threats, but not with bravado or great proclamations of the rights of a free press. No, he will appear intimidated, ready to obey, but then do his thing. That’s so much more real than the self-righteous orator of liberty that is far more common.
I liked Natan of Flatbush, but why Flatbush? It just is zany and perhaps that is an intentional sign to readers not to take the story too seriously. There are a lot of towns in New Jersey to choose from, Natan of Newark just doesn’t have that touch of the ridiculous that Natan of Flatbush has. He’s a great character, though. A willing martyr to his faith, whether to the judicial system or to more venal opponents.
I was disappointed in the final resolution, however. I guess it was fair. There were hints and suggestions that laid a sketchy foundation for the ending, but it seemed so banal compared to the much more serious implications of other possibilities. However, I do think Torday has with The 12th Commandment and Boomer1 shown us how very ordinary our prophets and trailblazers are.
I received an ARC of The 12th Commandment from the publisher through Shelf Awareness
The 12th Commandment at St. Martin’s Press | Macmillan
Daniel Torday author site
My review of Boomer1 by Daniel Torday
https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpress.com/2023/02/15/the-12th-commandment-by-d...… (altro)