Tell Me a Riddle (Paperback)

by Tillie Olsen (Author) "I stand here ironing, and what you asked me moves tormented back and forth with the iron..." (more)
Key Phrases: Book of the Martyrs, Ellen Mays, Norbert Jacklebaum (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal
Olsen, the writer, teacher, and 1930s left-wing activist, was born in 1912 of East European parents committed to Socialist and Jewish enlightenment values. Her work reflects the discrimination and marginalization she felt as a young girl growing up in Omaha, Nebraska. Like other women of the time, Olsen was underappreciated even in leftist circles, which suffered much the same gender bias as the larger society. "Tell Me a Riddle," which received the O. Henry first prize for best American short story in 1961, is reprinted in this volume (edited by Rosenfelt, women's studies, Univ. of Maryland) along with seven critical essays by feminist literary scholars, previously published in books or journals, that give a contemporary appreciation to Olsen's work. Highly recommended for multicultural collections, women's studies, and all American literature collections.?Lesley Jorbin, Cleveland State Univ. Lib.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review
"These stories have the lyric intensity of an Emily Dickinson poem and the scope of a Balzac novel." -- from the judges' citation for the Rea Award for the Short Story -- Review

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Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Delta (July 15, 1971)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385290101
• ISBN-13: 978-0385290104
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #334,522 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars She has a magic with words.., November 14, 1998

By A Customer

Olsen writes stories that are so powerful, and so well-written, you'll want to read them again and again. Although she uses Jewish culture as a backdrop, her talents bring a universaility to her stories which reminds me of Steinbeck in its power, and Morrison in its complexity.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Powerful, March 14, 2005

By	Hal B. Grossman (New York NY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

"Hey Sailor, What Ship" is the most powerful, concentrated portrayal of alcoholism that I have ever read. Olsen gets inside the mind of a late-stage alcoholic. Her prose seems to stretch and distort as her main character goes on an unplanned bender while on shore leave.

She shows beautiful restraint, too: there is nothing sensational or mawkish here. I am in awe of this story.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant, sad, and wise, August 22, 2006

By	Brandon Mann (Jacksonville, Alabama) - See all my reviews

Tillie Olsen packs a lifetime of enforced silences into this slender work of art. These are dense and poetic evocations of Joyce and Woolf, but with an added proletarian knife-thrust to the heart.