Cynthia Ozick on the Story of a Jew Who Becomes a Tormentor of Other Jews

JL;DR SUMMARY Cynthia Ozick's short fiction, "The Story of My Family," explores the real-life kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara, a Jewish boy who was secretly baptized and taken away from his family by the Pope in the 1850s. 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'.

JL;DR members get full summaries of all articles in the archive, including this one. Donate & start reading »