Review: Wayne Koestenbaum's 'My Lover, the Rabbi' is a fierce, strange tale of obsession
This review analyzes Wayne Koestenbaum’s latest novel, 'My Lover, the Rabbi,' describing it as a fierce and unconventional exploration of obsessive love. Contrary to expectations of realistic drama regarding religious orthodoxy, the narrative treats the desire between an antique furniture restorer and a synagogue worker as an accepted fact, focusing instead on the psychological and physical intensity of their connection. The book features 188 short chapters, with the title recurring like a mantra, creating a unique structural rhythm that mirrors the protagonist's anxiety. Drawing comparisons to literary giants like Balzac and Proust, the plot involves classic themes of infidelity, madness, and death, set against a modern American backdrop. The narrator becomes obsessed with uncovering the mystery behind his lover’s attractiveness, specifically linking it to the ambiguous death of the rabbi’s three-year-old son. Koestenbaum’s prose is noted for its frankness, combining breathless physicality with emotional abruptness. The review highlights the author’s trademark focus on names, though the central figures remain nameless, emphasizing their roles as archetypes of desire rather than specific individuals. Ultimately, the novel is praised for its brilliant matching of style to subject, offering a dizzying mix of digressions and explicit scenes.
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Review: Wayne Koestenbaum's 'My Lover, the Rabbi' is a fierce, strange tale of obsession
This review analyzes Wayne Koestenbaum’s latest novel, 'My Lover, the Rabbi,' describing it as a fierce and unconventional exploration of obsessive love. Contrary to expectations of realistic drama regarding religious orthodoxy, the narrative treats the desire between an antique furniture restorer and a synagogue worker as an accepted fact, focusing instead on the psychological and physical intensity of their connection. The book features 188 short chapters, with the title recurring like a mantra, creating a unique structural rhythm that mirrors the protagonist's anxiety. Drawing comparisons to literary giants like Balzac and Proust, the plot involves classic themes of infidelity, madness, and death, set against a modern American backdrop. The narrator becomes obsessed with uncovering the mystery behind his lover’s attractiveness, specifically linking it to the ambiguous death of the rabbi’s three-year-old son. Koestenbaum’s prose is noted for its frankness, combining breathless physicality with emotional abruptness. The review highlights the author’s trademark focus on names, though the central figures remain nameless, emphasizing their roles as archetypes of desire rather than specific individuals. Ultimately, the novel is praised for its brilliant matching of style to subject, offering a dizzying mix of digressions and explicit scenes.
The Guardian