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Tales of Grabowski by John Auerbach
Tales of Grabowski is a collection of short novellas and stories written by an Jewish Polish/Israeli author whom Saul Bellow praised as a great author.
Tales of Grabowski: Transformations, Escape and Other Stories by John Auerbach
Published: 2003, Toby Press
Tales of Grabowski comprises two novellas, Transformations and Escape, together with several short stories, all of which tell the story of David Gordon, a young Jew from Warsaw, who transforms himself into Wladyslaw Grabowski, a Polish stoker in the German merchant marines.
Auerbach balances the internal tensions between Gordon's desire to fight for revenge and Grabowski's desperate need for survival. Throughout the war, involvement with friends, with espionage and smuggling bring him ever closer to that thin line that separates life from death.
Drawing on deeply personal experiences - for it is the story of Auerbach's own survival - Transformations and Escape are undiscovered masterpieces of twentieth century writing.
About the Author
John Auerbach is one of the great, yet unknown writers of the twentieth century. His writings have circulated almost exclusively in copies amongst close friends and fellow writers, including the late poet Robert Graves, Saul Bellow, AB Yehoshua and many others.
Saul Bellow says: "He should be read by all good readers, because John is full of sympathy and never writes without strong feeling...Like so many writers of his generation, he's given to art completely."
Online Resources
A review in The Forward .
A review in Yiddish Book Center Online .
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