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Book Review: ‘Porcupines’

JL;DR SUMMARY Fran Fabriczki's debut novel "Porcupines" uses the metaphor of a porcupine's quills to explore themes of intimacy, identity, and displacement within a Jewish framework. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.

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Tags

IdentityHolocaustDiasporaOrthodox JudaismJewish ThemesIntimacySistersPost War HungaryFran FabriczkiPorcupines

Places mentioned

Hungary
"The year is 1989, a pivotal time for Hungary and other Central and Eastern European countries."
Los Angeles, California, United States
"It's the same for porcupines, explains a Los Angeles rabbi to Sonia Imre, the book's central character, and no different for homo sapiens: Together, apart, together, apart—and so on into infinity."
New York City, New York, United States
"Robert Nagler Miller writes frequently about the arts, literature and Jewish themes from his home near New York City."

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