TBA Book Group Explores Works by Author Edward Lewis Wallant

Sixteen years ago, a group of Temple members, led by Rabbi Kulwin, began reading together. Since then, the members of the TBA Book Group have read over 140 books together, and continue to read and discuss (and argue!) together with enthusiasm and enjoyment. The TBA Book Group is free and open to the community. Register online or call 973.994.2290.

For Late Winter & Spring 2016, the book group will spotlight author Edward Lewis Wallant. Struck by an aneurysm in 1962 at age thirty-six, Wallant was expected to rank among the great American Jewish writers of his generation: Roth, Bellow and Malamud. A World War II vet who never finished college, Wallant began to write only after establishing an advertising career as a graphic artist. The Human Season won the National Jewish Book Award for 1961; it and The Pawnbroker, published a year later, received rave reviews from the New York Times and other publications.

On Thursday, March 3, 7:30 PM The Human Season by Edward Lewis Wallant will be discussed. Joe Berman, a 59-year-old Jewish immigrant staggered by the loss of his wife, withdraws into himself as much as a person can. The intensity of his love, the honesty of his internal dialogue and the caring of his daughter and business partner collaborate in a heart-wrenching attempt at redemption. As the surface plot moves forward, Joe’s reminiscences head further and further back into his childhood in Russia.

On Thursday, May 5, 7:30 PM, The Pawnbroker by Edward Lewis Wallant will be discussed.