Customer Reviews

And the Word Was: A Novel

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This is an absorbing tale that picks you up like a tornado and drops you down into the main character's very contemporary life. His deep feelings for his wife and son are movingly portrayed. I like that the author doesn't shrink from truth even when it punctures the received sanctimony. I also enjoyed this book's layers - political, philosophical, and emotional - and the biting satire. I'm going to suggest this novel to my book group because there's so much in it that I'd like to talk about.

I like books that grapple with the big, unanswerable questions. Bruce Bauman's And the Word Was (Other Press) asks this: "How much must you love god to accept Auschwitz? Or whatever happened to you? To accept that god exists after that?"

Neil Downs, an ER doctor living in NYC loses his only child in a Columbine-like school shooting. Unable to save his son in his own ER, he waits hours for his wife to arrive, learning then that she had spent the day with another man. In a tailspin against which his Judaism seems useless, he flees to India, not to set off on a spiritual quest so much as to become lost in a place as different and far way as he can imagine.

Downs seeks out one person there: his favorite author, the controversial Levi Furstenblum. A Holocaust survivor who lost his wife and child in Auschwitz, Furstenblum later penned (among other works quoted within this novel) the chilling and satirical novella, "Chamber of Commerce" --a story about Hitler's winning the Nobel Peace Prize. Downs hopes to learn from the cranky and reclusive Furstenblum how to persevere in what seems to be a cruel, meaningless world. Instead, his mentor teaches him a powerful lesson about the anguish of victims mirroring the hate of their oppressors. Downs faces a number of other challenges as the story progresses: a dogged media, a lawsuit filed against him by the parents of one of the gun-wielding students, an affair with an activist named Holika, and a surprising revelation from his grieving wife whom he'd hoped to stop loving. The triumph of this book is its ultimate hopefulness without any pat answers. Downs' spirituality remains elusive but life continues to engage him, and he has not lost his ability to love. He's retained enough, at least, to manage the pain and uncertainty of life.

I have rarely read a novel that has stayed with me for so long afterwards. And the Word Was is richly textured, engrossing, and deeply satisfying. Bauman draws realistic three-dimensional characters as he tells intertwining stories wrapped around a compelling central plot. He convincingly conveys the morass of Neil Downs' feelings as Downs wades through life shattered by grief, mistrust, and misunderstanding. Within the context of the story, Bauman links Downs' personal tragedy with the Holocaust and the archetypal story of Abraham and Isaac, raising the philosophical and spiritual stakes to their highest level. To read a book of such depth while still finding surprising plot twists is a rare treat. Bauman generates sympathy for Downs and a passionate interest in seeing where Downs' personal search for healing and his philosophical quest for meaning will lead him. Simply, it is the best novel I have read in a long time.

This compelling, tightly written novel chronicles Dr. Neil Downs as he copes with the shocking death of his son and the betrayal of his wife. Set with eloquent and honest beauty in Delhi, India, this novel is well paced and deeply challenges the reader's assumptions on the nature of God and the meaning of life. It is a brilliant book that quite simply deserves a space on everyone's bookshelf.

Neil Downs' escape from and search for answers brilliantly emblematizes the human condition. His character moves through layers of paradox: beauty and bitterness, nurture and apathy, spirituality and emptiness. It's storytelling at its finest. There's something in this novel for everyone: philosophy, history, love, loss, politics, art, sensuality; even a hint of baseball for those of us who still revere the sport. A sad and sophisticated meditation with moments of hope, "where the least articulate mumbler to the most able versifier is in possession of the same interminable ache." It's a smart, smart book.

The narrator of this book has a truly captivating voice. So captivating in fact that I was blissfully unaware of some the more subtle complexities at work. The narrative is rendered with such tenderness I found it hard to pause in my reading. Realizing the richness that lay underneath what I already found to be a rewarding read, I am anxious to go back, re-read and discuss.
This novel seems perfect for reading groups, and book clubs because of the themes and issues that lurk underneath the high-quality and satisfying surface content.
Just lovely!

Bruce Bauman accomplishes a rare feat in today's book culture--he not only writes a compelling and masterful novel, but he makes you think long after you've finished the book. The prose is incisive and satirical which complements the emotional journeys of his vivid characters. When everything is working this well, I don't want the book to end. But what was even more powerful for me was that it made me think about questions I have asked myself, questions I should be asking myself and that sometimes not having an answer to these questions is the only answer. This book lingers in the best way possible. I have given this as a gift to many people and I look forward to Mr. Bauman's next novel.

Bauman is amazing in putting forward a modern and fascinating story deeply rooted with passion and emotion towards the real issues of life and the soul. The story line is absolutely captivating and clear. Nothing is left untouched; issues of life, death, faith, relationships, medicine, legal drama and humanity are explored and experienced. Even the matter of perception plays a critical role especially when cultural differences come into play. This is a good book for readers who love stories about life and hold interests in culture, drama with happy endings, straightforward dialogue and even medicine. I am a medical student at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. Happy readings...

If you're looking for an intiguing story written with skill and sophistication, this is it. A wonderful first novel, filled with unexpected delights, both in story and in style. Try it, you'll like it.

The following review is based on a thorough reading of upto half the book and a flipped-through-the-rest coz me was yawning.

The cover is very telling - with the woman and her big bindi signifying the Indian motif. Well, she sure does not feel like Holika - the almost main character - who is an upper-class Delhi urbanite. Neil Downs, a doc, comes to Delhi, seeking refuge from his past made up of exactly one murdered son and one unfaithful wife, who he still loves. Of course, the author reveals this throughout the book, running breathlessly between Delhi and NY; throwing in some good old holocaust writing in-between. Why bring in the Nazis ? Aren't there enough books on holocaust to feed the voyeur in all of us ? The feeble connections that Downs is Jewish and his son was a target of anti-Jew sentiment does not warrant chapters devoted to concentration camps and tortures. I guess Bauman was not satisfied with doling out misery from the past, when he decides to introduce some typical issues that will depress the already depressed reader. The usual masala of sexual exploitation, child molestation, women's rights. For god's sake is this a foray into world pathos !

I would have loved to wallow in sorrow if the plot was any good. It is difficult to understand the sudden compassion between Holika and Downs, although we see later that they share similar losses; Holika's socialist agenda; Downs' wife Sarah's problems (her infidelity was built on some real weak ground) etc.

Bottomline: You can safely bypass this one.