The Owl and Other Stories [Hardcover]

John Auerbach (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 2003

This is the first collection of John Auerbach's stories to appear in English. The stories drawn upon his years at sea, on a kibbutz in Israel, as an alienated man in America, survival of the war and the Holocaust.

PEN/UNISCO Prize 1993

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

The title story won the first PEN/UNESCO Award in 1993, and, as in many pieces in this posthumous collection, the setting is a ship on a stormy ocean. The protagonist takes part in the crew's intense physical activity, but he's also secretly alien and apart. Allusions to Conrad abound, and in stories such as "My Captain and I," the secret sharer is a morose first officer, doing his work, furious when he sees himself in the captain opposite him. Auerbach's autobiographical stories in Tales of Grabowski [BKL Je 1 & 15 03] focused on his Holocaust survivor experience, where he fought with the foe in himself. Here the manic story "Cohen" shows that "survival is above absurdity," as two Polish Jewish sailors find their past connection from the Warsaw Ghetto via tobacco bales stacked in the hold of an Israeli steamer off the coast of Ireland in 1974. Not all the stories are as good as these, but the best of them speak with terse drama about the pain and power of being alone. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

The best hours for a critic are of unexpected discovery. I experienced such hours when I discovered ...Auerbach. -- YEDIOT AHARONOT - Israel

Writing that is concise, direct, subtle; not "literary" and most important: gripping and entertaining. -- MA’ARIV Maariv - Israel

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 306 pages
• Publisher: The Toby Press, LLC; 1st English Language Ed edition (July 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1902881796
• ISBN-13: 978-1902881799
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,115,165 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Quite a trip, August 19, 2007

By 

B. Grier (Statesville, NC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Owl and Other Stories (Hardcover)

This is a collection of short stories written of Auerbach's post-WWII life as a seaman, that includes life on dry land in various countries in Europe, the US and at home on an Israeli kibbutz. The descriptions of the duties and conditions of a mariner's lot are captivating, but the ship is really a vehicle for studying the lives of souls he meets along the way.

The title story is a perfect opener, with the sudden discovery of an owl on board. How did it come to alight on their ship? Where did it come from? Did it choose the ship as refuge from the Stromboli volcano they passed a while back? After causing much fascination and debate among the crew, it is finally, mercifully granted freedom as the ship nears the Calabrian coast.

Auerbach has a deep cerebral style, with a philosophical and psychological angle. He manages to command full understanding efficiently with dialogue - with others, his dog Mississippi, or with himself, internally. The narratives can run a little on the dark side, but with sympathy and a sense of humor. He is somewhat of a sick ____, in a good way. Sort of like Bukowski with a vocation and better manners.

He has a rare ability to keep the reader in bondage, to see what he sees and experience it all alongside of him. Once through with the book, like the owl, you hesitate to move on. There are reportedly several of his publications in Europe and Israel - I hope they become available in the US soon. He is a unique and masterful author who should be better known, albeit posthumously.