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Goodbye, Evil Eye: Stories

Gloria DeVidas Kirchheimer
Goodbye, Evil Eye: Stories
ISBN: 978-0-8419-1404-9
$21.95
2000/150 pages/LC: 00020443
Distributed for Holmes & Meier Publishers

"A reflective and witty collection of stories by the second-generation Sephardi-American writer, Gloria DeVidas Kirchheimer.... [Her] stance is ironic and her humor dry in these stories of contradiction and accommodation, of individual freedom against a backdrop of family tension and cultural displacement.... As Kirchheimer’s Sephardim remind us that intergenerational and intercultural tension is real, even inevitable, they also assure us that reconciliation is possible, often in surprising ways."—Shofar

"[Kirchheimer] imbues even the most frustrating moments with tenderness. She does not probe religious or philosophical depths, focusing instead on small remnants of a long, rich heritage, in stories invested with the personal honesty and emotions only one’s family can inspire."—Publishers Weekly

"For Kirchheimer, as for so many Sephardim here who feel that American observers have slighted their contributions to Jewish culture in favor of the more visible Yiddish-speaking Ashkenazi communities, the intergenerational elements of the collection are really about preserving this culture in all its diverse elements. As seriously as she takes that mission, Kirchheimer is never somber about it; on the contrary, her tone is wry and warm."—Kirkus Reviews

DESCRIPTION

National Jewish Book Awards Finalist!

Humorous and endearing, while dealing with complex issues, the stories in Goodbye, Evil Eye reflect the tensions between Sephardic Jews and contemporary urban life in the United States. The characters—with their superstitions, myths, and contradictions, the still-palpable heritage of the Inquisition and the expulsion of the Jews from Spain—fight to retain the old ways or struggle to be free of them, always with intriguing consequences.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Gloria DeVidas Kirchheimer is a writer, editor, and translator whose work has been published widely in magazines and anthologies.