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Posted by Naomi Firestone-Teeter
Friedrich Torberg was born in Vienna in 1908 to a Jewish family, but was forced to emigrate to France in 1938 due to Nazi persecution. From there he moved to America and then ultimately back to Vienna in 1951, where he died in 1979. Written in 1930, Torberg’s Young Gerber was a response to a recent wave of schoolboy suicides and tells the story of a schoolboy driven to madness by his bullying teacher. In November, Pushkin Press will publish Anthea Bell’s translation of Torberg’s novel with this beautiful cover:
Originally from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Naomi Firestone-Teeter is the CEO of the Jewish Book Council. Prior to becoming executive director and then CEO, she served as founding editor of the JBC website and managing editor of Jewish Book World. Naomi sits on the board of Jewish Creativity International.Naomi was named to the New York Jewish Week’s 2019 “36 Under 36” and Algemeiner’s 2018 list of the 100 people positively influencing Jewish life and was included on the Global Jewish 100 list by Izzy in 2020. She graduated from Emory University with degrees in English and Art History and, in addition, studied at University College London. She lives in Brooklyn with her family.
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