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Sam Sussman’s novel is about his Jewish mom and the teasing possibility that Bob Dylan is his dad 

JL;DR SUMMARY Sam Sussman's debut novel, "Boy from the North Country," explores themes of identity, art, and Jewish heritage under the enigmatic shadow of Bob Dylan potentially being his biological father. 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

Jewish CultureJewish IdentityBob DylanLegacyIdentity ExplorationMother Son RelationshipNew York Art SceneSam SussmanArtistic InfluenceFiction Vs Memoir

Places mentioned

Goshen, New York, United States
"In real life and the novel, mother and son lived in a farmhouse near upstate Goshen, New York."
New York, United States
"writing of a mother who came of age in the gritty New York art world of the 1970s"
Kiryas Joel, New York, United States
"(It didnt help that his classmates aped their parents prejudices about the Hasidic Jews who lived in nearby Kiryas Yoel.)"
Bethel Woods, New York, United States
"Mother and son attend a Dylan concert in Bethel Woods, on the site of the original Woodstock festival"

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Cairo Item ID 61153
Cairo Source ID 42
Retrieved 2025-09-10 18:00:38 UTC
Curated 2025-09-10 19:00:58 UTC