The Far Euphrates [Paperback]

Aryeh Lev Stollman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1998

In translucent prose, Aryeh Lev Stollman has created a stunning portrait of the coming of age of a young man's soul. Through the story of a lonely boy, The Far Euphrates questions how we can find meaning in a post-Holocaust world; how we define the notions of home and family; where the boundaries lie between sanity, madness, and transcendence; and what our responsibilities are to ourselves and to one another. Infused with a rich mystical and scientific understanding, it poignantly addresses the insatiable human longing to know and reclaim our origins, the mythic far Euphrates of Eden, to which we can never return.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Aryeh Lev Stollman's first novel, set in early 1960s Windsor, Canada, is a deep tale of isolation, secrecy, and eventual self-acceptance. Alexander's high-strung mother worries that he spends too much time on his own, a fear that seems almost ironic in view of the family's closed circle. Her best friend, Berenice, and her husband have no children--and Alexander eventually teases out the reason: the Cantor and his twin, Hannalore, were tortured in Auschwitz by Dr. Mengele. Hannalore works across the river in Grosse Pointe, as chief housekeeper for Henry Ford II, and now keeps her religion to herself--to the point of wearing a gold cross. "She once explained to my mother and Berenice, 'When I walk down a street it is only me, old Mademoiselle Hannalore, comprends? and I am practically, deliciously invisible. A happy and contented ghost.'" In fact, none of Alexander's role models are happy, and all are burdened by the Holocaust.

The Far Euphrates is a beautiful, riddling examination of familial pain and fear and religious passion. Alexander's rabbi father uses the Bible to instruct him in language's beauties and complexity: "My father had started reading Genesis with me, slowly, in its original tongue, where the dotted vowels clustered like bees around the honeyed consonants. We read each sentence together, carefully, first in Hebrew, then in English, and finally in German." But Alexander is also aware of language's dangers and religion's rigidity. Later in the novel, following one tragic revelation too many, he has "the unpleasant feeling that even loving words are dangerous." And if words are dangerous, what about the historical and emotional reality they attempt to express? Stollman takes on large subjects in a small, heightened setting. In lesser hands, his quiet opera would descend into melodrama. Stollman doesn't even skirt that possibility. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Windsor, Ontario, is the setting for this mystical debut novel, a coming-of-age story about the lonely son of Holocaust survivors. Alexander's parents?a rabbi and his fearful wife, along with the cantor and his wife, who live next door, try to protect the young boy, raising him in a tangle of "secrets and lies." But he learns that his mother has a brother in a mental institution and that the cantor and his sister were part of Josef Mengele's "medical" experiments on twins in Auschwitz. He tries to emulate his academic father and the grandfather he never knew by accumulating endless knowledge about the secrets of the universe. Alexander's small world is delightfully peopled by uncommon folk, and philosophical questions about the post-Holocaust world are probed through many of the boy's adventures. Highly recommended for all fiction collections.?Molly Abramowitz, Silver Spring, Md.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Riverhead Trade; 1st Riverhead Trade Pbk. Ed edition (October 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1573226971
• ISBN-13: 978-1573226974
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #647,688 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars short, lyrical, well written, December 10, 2003

By 

Michael Lewyn (Forest Hills, NY) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Far Euphrates (Paperback)

I agree with most of the positive comments made about this book (and even some of the negative ones- though the fact that the central character is essentially passive did not make this book any less enjoyable). One difference between this book and many Jewish writers from the past century or so- it is written from within Jewish Diaspora tradition, rather than about the purely secular Jews of a Phillip Roth novel.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful example of prose, March 30, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Far Euphrates (Hardcover)

This book is not reminiscent at all of any other book that I've read. It is wonderfully original in its approach. One does not really feel anything toward the main character. Emotive response only comes when a person whom he loves or is closely related divulges something about themselves. Aryeh Alexander seems to only be a vessel because he does not talk about any thing really emotionally, but his actions and the symbolism in this book draws one to him, and makes people relate to him. His calculated, even cold actions remind one of themself and give this book a magnetic feel to it.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Captivating, yet subtle..., November 1, 2004

By 

kattepusen (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Far Euphrates (Paperback)

I initially picked up this book (at the Salvation Army used books section) because on the back cover it had the following evaluation by Rebecca Goldstein (one of my favorite American authors): "The Far Euphrates is a beautiful book. Its radiance is not of the sun but of the moon:delicate, mournful, mysterious". And after having read the book in one sitting, I vehemently agree! I very much enjoyed it, and I felt a somewhat sweet and "fragile" connection to the characters. The main character, Alexander - or Aryeh, is the only son of a Rabbi (educated as a physicist) and a worried and embittered wife. The rest of the world is mainly composed of the Cantor and his wife Berniece, as well as the colorful and tragic figure of Hannalore - the cantor's twin ("sister"). There is also Marla, a very freaky yet strong and captivating presence in Alexander's life. We follow Alexander's narrative as he balances between sanity and mental turmoil, which is described so gently, yet vividly. I really like this "Jewish" book. I had never read much Jewish litterature before; however, after my discovery of Rebecca Goldstein and now Aryeh Lev Stollman, I find myself being drawn towards these unique writings...