Old Men at MidnightFrom the celebrated author of The Chosen and My Name Is Asher Lev, a trilogy of related novellas about a woman whose life touches three very different men—stories that encompass some of the profoundest themes of the twentieth century. Ilana Davita Dinn is the listener to whom three men relate their lives. As a young girl, she offers English lessons to a teenage survivor of the camps. In “The Ark Builder,” he shares with her the story of his friendship with a proud old builder of synagogue arks, and what happened when the German army invaded their Polish town. As a graduate student, she finds herself escorting a guest lecturer from the Soviet Union, and in “The War Doctor,” her sympathy moves him to put his painful past to paper recounting his experiences as a Soviet NKVD agent who was saved by an idealistic doctor during the Russian civil war, only to encounter him again during the terrifying period of the Kremlin doctors’ plot. And, finally, we meet her in “The Trope Teacher,” in which a distinguished professor of military history, trying to write his memoirs, is distracted by his wife’s illness and by the arrival next door of a new neighbor, the famous writer I. D. (Ilana Davita) Chandal. Poignant and profound, Chaim Potok’s newest fiction is a major addition to his remarkable—and remarkably loved—body of work. From the Hardcover edition. |
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LibraryThing Review
User Review - Maggie.Anton - LibraryThingI had a real problem with this book, or rather this set of 3 novella. I'm not going to detail each one; the many other reviews do that well. I admit the problem is partly with me. I'm not a fan of ... Read full review
LibraryThing Review
User Review - Dottiehaase - LibraryThingwhat terrific writing--what spare writing--not an extra word anywhere--3 stories told to 1 woman. As a young girl, she teaches Yiddish to a teenage surviver of the camps. As a graduate student, she ... Read full review
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apartment army asked aunt Auschwitz Benjamin Walter bimah binding of Isaac Chaim Potok chair closed Comrade dark desk doctors door drawing Dzerzhinsky Square East Germany Evelyn eyes face father fingers floor front gazed German gray hair hallway hand harp head heard horses I. D. Chandal inside Jakob Daw Jewish Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee Jews kitchen Kralov later Listen llana Davita looked memory morning Moscow mother moved night Noah notebook Pavel Rubinov Petrograd Politburo Potok Rachel rain Razumkov Reb Binyomin Red Army sleep smell snow Stalin stared stepfather stood stories street suddenly synagogue talk tall tefillin tell Tisha B'Av told took trees trope teacher Tudor turned voice waiting walked wall watching weeks wife window wooden woods Yiddish Yids Yoel Zapiski
Bibliographic information
| Title | Old Men at Midnight Ballantine Reader's Circle |
| Author | Chaim Potok |
| Edition | reprint, revised |
| Publisher | Ballantine Books, 2002 |
| ISBN | 0345439988, 9780345439987 |
| Length | 273 pages |
| Subjects | › Fiction / General Fiction / Literary |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |