Retelling [Paperback]

Tsipi Keller (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 2006

Fiction. "The mystery of who butchered ethereally beautiful and pregnant Elsbeth is at the heart of Keller's elegant and spooky second novel (part of a trilogy, after Jackpot). Was it the traumatized and fragile narrator, Sally, whose friendship with the dead woman verged on the obsessive? Or was it Elsbeth's arrogant and demanding boyfriend, Drew, who resented Sally's relationship with her? Keller flirts with the answer as her novel slips back and forth through time to depict tantalizing glimpses of possible truths filtered through Sally's uncertain memories. As her emotions unravel, Sally finds solace in the gentlemen who play chess in the park where she breakfasts, and maintains, however fitfully, an uneasy reliance on Lydia, a self-centered and mean-spirited friend who thinks Sally is better off with Elsbeth dead. The police, bent on extracting a confession from Sally, harangue her during increasingly abusive interrogation sessions that provide her a forum for creepily pondering her (questionable) innocence. This opaque yet beguiling novel showcases the work of a talented and original writer"--Publishers Weekly.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The mystery of who butchered ethereally beautiful and pregnant Elsbeth is at the heart of Keller's elegant and spooky second novel (part of a trilogy, after Jackpot). Was it the traumatized and fragile narrator, Sally, whose friendship with the dead woman verged on the obsessive? Or was it Elsbeth's arrogant and demanding boyfriend, Drew, who resented Sally's relationship with her? Keller flirts with the answer as her novel slips back and forth through time to depict tantalizing glimpses of possible truths filtered through Sally's uncertain memories. As her emotions unravel, Sally finds solace in the gentlemen who play chess in the park where she breakfasts, and maintains, however fitfully, an uneasy reliance on Lydia, a self-centered and mean-spirited friend who thinks Sally is better off with Elsbeth dead. The police, bent on extracting a confession from Sally, harangue her during increasingly abusive interrogation sessions that provide her a forum for creepily pondering her (questionable) innocence. This opaque yet beguiling novel showcases the work of a talented and original writer. (July)
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Review

In her new trilogy, Tsipi Keller is revealed as a superlative psychological novelist....among the most subtly compelling of our time. -- The Forward/Joshua Cohen, Aug. 4, 2006

Keller has a keen eye for the territorial pissings and unspoken resentments of immature female friendships. -- Village Voice, July 17, 2006, Jessica Winter

TimeOut NY: 7/6/06 Fusing Patricia Highsmith...with Jean Rhys’s woman-in-a-jam claustrophobia... Retelling is great at maintaining mind-bending suspense. — Michael Miller -- time out NY

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Product Details

• Paperback: 286 pages
• Publisher: Spuyten Duyvil (July 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1933132191
• ISBN-13: 978-1933132198
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 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: #325,343 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Tsipi Keller was born in Prague, raised in Israel, and has been living in the U.S. since 1974. The author of eight books, she is the recipient of several literary prizes, including a National Endowment for the Arts Translation Fellowship, and a New York Foundation for the Arts Fiction Award. Her novels include "Retelling" and "Jackpot"; and her most recent translation collections are: "Poets on the Edge: An Anthology of Contemporary Hebrew Poetry"; and "The Hymns of Job & Other Poems." Her novel "The Prophet of Tenth Street" will be out in early 2012.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stunning combo of suspense and claustrophobia, July 29, 2006

By 

JE (nyc) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Retelling (Paperback)

I loved this book. Can't wait for the next one! Stunning combo of suspense novel and claustrophobic psychological study. An exquisite torture. I highly recommend it.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a character portrayal that swallows you up, August 1, 2006

By 

Position "Vis-a-Vis" (Paris) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Retelling (Paperback)

This is the second book by Keller I have read. Quite gradually it wove its tentacles around me until I was trapped inside it. Two-thirds of the way through, I couldn't put it down and got so absorbed I stood up a date who was waiting for me. At first the character seems unpleasant, with a painful lack of self-awareness. Then, bit by bit, her way of seeing the world becomes your way, her fear becomes your fear, and her feeling of being trapped becomes your feeling of being trapped. Keller is a brilliant spinner of suspense stories, and each of her books (Jackpot and this one) worked like hypnosis on me. Her narrative style is seamless and builds in slow, irresistible waves. She understands that the portrayal of character is a cumulative process. No suspension of disbelief is necessary when reading this book. Without even trying, you become a part of it, as if you've been plunged into a dream. _Retelling_ is the best book I've read in years. I can't stop thinking about it.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Virginia Woolf meet Nathalie Sarraute meet Jane Bowles, July 25, 2006

By 

avidreader (ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Retelling (Paperback)

It is impossible for me to begin to describe this novel, except to say that while reading it I kept thinking about my favorite authors. I kept thinking about Woolf's The Waves, about Bowles's Two Serious Ladies, and about Sarraute's Do You Hear Them? Quite simply, Retelling has joined - on my list - these exceptional works of art made of words. I haven't read Keller's Jackpot, and I'm still kind of wavering, afraid to be "disappointed," but curiosity, soon, will win the upper hand.