A Blessing on the Moon

( 4 )

Overview

Joseph Skibell’s magical tale about the Holocaust—a fable inspired by fact—received unanimous nationwide acclaim when first published in 1997.

At the center of A Blessing on the Moon is Chaim Skibelski. Death is merely the beginning of Chaim’s troubles. In the opening pages, he is shot along with the other Jews of his small Polish village. But instead of resting peacefully in the World to Come, Chaim, for reasons unclear to him, is left to wander the earth, accompanied by his ...

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A Blessing on the Moon

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More About This Book

Overview

Joseph Skibell’s magical tale about the Holocaust—a fable inspired by fact—received unanimous nationwide acclaim when first published in 1997.

At the center of A Blessing on the Moon is Chaim Skibelski. Death is merely the beginning of Chaim’s troubles. In the opening pages, he is shot along with the other Jews of his small Polish village. But instead of resting peacefully in the World to Come, Chaim, for reasons unclear to him, is left to wander the earth, accompanied by his rabbi, who has taken the form of a talking crow. Chaim’s afterlife journey is filled with extraordinary encounters whose consequences are far greater than he realizes.

Not since art Spiegelman’s Maus has a work so powerfully evoked one of the darkest moments of the twentieth century with such daring originality.

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Editorial Reviews

NY Times Book Review
Rich with emotion, humor, and invention.
The New Yorker
As magical as it is macabre.
The Boston Globe
“Brilliant ... Astonishing.”
—The Boston Globe
The Washington Post
“Startlingly original. . . . Recalls the dark, hallucinatory world of Jerzy Kosinski’s The Painted Bird while at the same time surpassing it.”
—The Washington Post
The Denver Post
“As mesmerizing as a folk tale, as rich as gold itself.”
—The Denver Post
Houston Chronicle
“A compelling tour de force, a surreal but thoroughly accessible page-turner.”
—Houston Chronicle
The New Yorker
“As magical as it is macabre.”
—The New Yorker
AudioFile
“The considerable talents of author Joseph Skibell and narrator Allen Lewis Rickman join to deliver a captivating Holocaust story that is as magical and joyous as it is tragic and heartrending. . . . an utterly engrossing story that, like Chaim’s odyssey, cannot be abandoned.”
—AudioFile [Earphones Award]
Library Journal
Chaim Skibelski climbs out of a mass grave containing 3000 residents of his Polish village who were slaughtered along with him. Shortly after realizing he's dead, he rouses the decayed ghosts of his neighbors and, in search of the "World to Come," the grisly parade wanders through the forest to a luxury hotel, where the horrors of the Holocaust are reenacted. Actor Allen Rickman brilliantly narrates Skibell's debut novel, a macabre tale first published in 1997 to rave reviews and newly available on audio. His tone of determined cheerfulness creates the mood of a Yiddish folktale. An unconventional but interesting addition to Holocaust literature collections that will appeal to listeners who enjoy magic realism. [This audio edition was a Wyatt's World "Best Bets" selection, LJ Xpress 11/8/10; the Berkley Trade pb was described as leaving "a lasting impression," LJ 9/1/97.—Ed.]—Janet Martin, Southern Pines P.L., NC
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Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9781616200183
  • Publisher: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill
  • Publication date: 9/7/2010
  • Pages: 272
  • Sales rank: 925,233
  • Product dimensions: 5.50 (w) x 8.10 (h) x 0.90 (d)

Meet the Author

Joseph Skibell is the author of two previous novels, A Blessing on the Moon and The English Disease. He has received a Halls Fiction Fellowship, a Michener Fellowship, and a National Endowment for the Arts Literature Fellowship, among other awards. He teaches at Emory University and is the director of the Richard Ellmann Lectures in Modern Literature.
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Customer Reviews

Average Rating 4.5
( 4 )
Rating Distribution

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(3)

4 Star

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Sort by: Showing all of 4 Customer Reviews

  • Anonymous

    Posted December 31, 2012

    Very powerful. Unlike anything you've ever read. A major work.

    Very powerful. Unlike anything you've ever read. A major work.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted September 22, 2005

    Astouding. Mysterious. Beautiful

    An amazing book. A bizzare journey, one that seems to have spring from a brilliantly strange and yet simple conciet. Not just a ghost story, not really just a holocaust story but lyrical and memorable.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted December 9, 2001

    a lost world recreated...

    In Blessings on the Moon, Joseph Skibell gives a glimpse of a world that was destroyed by antisemitism. Although much that is portrayed here is dark and disturbing, his ultimate resolution leaves the reader with hope, and importantly, a sense of the richness of the world that he recreates for us, his readers.

    0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted June 28, 2000

    Too macabre for my tastes

    I found this story interesting but also a bit nauseating as well.It was easy reading and very well written. Some yiddish is used which some readers may not understand.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.
Sort by: Showing all of 4 Customer Reviews
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