Marcus Weiss, age fifty-two, is deeply engaged in writing his first novel as well as a dictionary, and keeping numerous journals. He is in a loving, but evolving relationship. He is first a Jew, with all the history and complications that implies. He has kept track of his life by remembering “what came first and what happened later.” Student life in Paris, a marriage, a business, parenthood, divorce, and now retirement propel and nourish his current literary journey. He is disciplined, self-indulgent, and often pompous. He lectures his few friends and chides them for not reading enough, not enriching their intellects. When his friend suggests that he spend less time writing his daily journals and live life more, Marcus assures him that he “lives it doubly. When I live it and when I write it.” His lover, Gina, names him The Prophet of Tenth Street because he “can’t bear the idea that others, friends in particular, are not like him.”
Tsipi Keller has taken us into a writer’s very being. It is hard work and all-consuming. While at times we may be impatient with Marcus the social person, we always admire his drive. We cheer when he is joyous upon finishing the second draft of his novel, so pleased with the progress of his craft. He says, “From revision to revision you actually see how your book evolves, how it is transformed. And the same happens to you, you become transformed.” Yes, writing transforms him, but real, life-changing experiences do as well. We even get to feel kinder toward Marcus. This is a provocative story that stays with the reader.
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