THE MAGICIAN OF LUBLIN

Singer's prestidigitating hero personifies Jewish artists of fin-de-siècle Eastern Europe. For a guy who lives a self-indulgent existence, Yasha sure wrings his hands a lot--about his women, his faith (or lack of it), his Jewishness, his morals, his career, his finances. His Nobel Prize-winning creator relates his adventures and nail-biting with that virile lust for life, humor, insight, universality, and pathos for which he is justly lauded. This pristine audio delivers it all, thanks to Larry Keith's zealous performance. He sounds as if he has lovingly studied and rehearsed this book before entering the studio, as if he has walked along the same Polish streets as Yasha. Better, he combines this intimate knowledge of his hero and his milieu with an ability to make the listener see, touch, and smell. An enchanting book enchantingly read. Y.R. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, 2002 Audie Award Finalist © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine [Published: JUN/JUL 01]