Miri, Who Charms [Paperback]

Joanne Greenberg (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 2009

From girlhood through middle age, Rachel and Miri -- two Jewish women living in Colorado -- struggle to sustain a complex, often competitive friendship throughout the challenges that arise over many decades. Miri's young daughter, Tamar, initially appears to offer the long-time friends a link that will strengthen their uneasy bond. But when Tamar develops a passion for a dangerous sport even before the girl reaches puberty, Rachel and Miri's friendship faces a test more severe than any the women have ever experienced.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Joanne Greenberg has received numerous awards for her fiction such as the William & Janice Eppstein Award, the H & E Daroff Memorial Award and the 1991 Colorado Author of the Year . She has written 4 collections of short stories and 14 novels including the highly acclaimed best selling novel, I Never Promised You a Rose Garden. She teaches fiction at the Colorado School of Mines near Denver.

Diana Andrade is an award winning actress, director and teacher with more than 30 years of theatrical and commercial success. After she studied acting at Iowa State University, she honed her skills at the Omaha Community Playhouse. Her acting roles have been varied ranging from Abby in Desire Under the Elms to Sarah in Guys and Dolls. She lives with her husband in the mountains of Colorado. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 280 pages
• Publisher: Montemayor Press (December 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1932727094
• ISBN-13: 978-1932727098
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 8.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,413,352 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Miri, Who Charms, January 21, 2010

By 

Ann A. Miller (Longmont, Colorado) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Miri, Who Charms (Paperback)

Miri, Who Charms is about the friendship between two women as they mature, marry and develop their professional lives. The relationship between the women is unequal, and Ms. Greenberg explores the stresses created by the disparate measure of their give and take. Most of all in this novel, however, Ms. Greenberg does what she does best in so many novels from I Never Promised You a Rose Garden to In This Sign: that is to turn a discerning eye on the ethics and ramifications of every-day decisions. This is a thoughtful book that lingers in the mind long after one has finished reading it.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Charming and Bewitching, November 27, 2009

By 

Elayne Shapiro (Portland, OR USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Miri, Who Charms (Paperback)

Miri who Charms is like a rich pastry which you want to savor, but it's so good, you wolf it down. Our most important relationships drive the plot: family, friendship and community. Through the eyes of her childhood friend, Rachel, we learn about the title character, Miri whose beauty, charisma, and intelligence enable her to manipulate people throughout her life. To Rachel, Miri and her family,represent an order that contrasts with the chaos of her own contentious and bitter parents.

The prologue frames the story: Rachel accompanies Miri in a police car to the rescue site of Miri's eleven year old daughter, Tamar, who has been in a caving accident.

Using flashbacks, Greenberg fills out the canvas of these relationships. Tensions between the desire for autonomy and connection, order and chaos infuse the story. This is a bewitchingly written book. Just as bread crumbs inexorably led Hansel and Gretel to the witch's house, so too are readers lured as the plot unfolds. Moreover, the reader is privy to absorbing snippets about caving, architecture and cell pathology. It all works. Joyce Carol Oates is quoted on the cover as saying, "Not only artistically `beautiful,' but morally and spiritually beautiful as well." I couldn't agree more.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Growing up in Denver, January 31, 2011

By 

Henry B. Ledyard - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Miri, Who Charms (Paperback)

The latest from one of the better serious novelists writing today. Her first novel where her Jewish background is highlighted but is not the focus of the tale of two women and their regard for the daughter of one. A delightful read.