A Curable Romantic

by Joseph Skibell, Jeff Woodman (Narrated by)

Overview

An epic and audacious historical novel set in turn-of-the century Vienna and Paris that crosses the lines between characters both real (Sigmund Freud, Emma Eckstein, L. L. Zamenhof, and others) and imaginary (including protagonist Dr. Sammelsohn). It's an entertaining picaresque novel that seamlessly weaves together fifty years of Jewish tradition, history, and folklore along with a wholly original take on Freud, the Esperantists, and life in the Warsaw ghetto.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781615735303
Publisher:	HighBridge Company
Publication date:	09/07/2010
Edition description:	Unabridged; 22.5 hours on 18 CDs
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 5.90(h) x 1.70(d)

About the Author

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What People are Saying About This

Dara Horn

“Brilliant ... Astonishingly original ... What life on earth might actually mean.”
—Dara Horn

Max Apple

“I loved the novel for its realism, for its romantic tension, and for its sentence by sentence brilliance.”
—Max Apple, author of Free Agents and The Oranging of America and Other Stories

Rodger Kamenetz

“Joseph Skibell’s comic intelligence embraces fifty years of European Jewish history in a brilliant tour de force that is hilarious, insightful, and inventive.”
—Rodger Kamenetz, author of Burnt Books and The Jew in the Lotus

Bruce Coburn

“While the characters struggle in their humanness, God weeps overhead and angels make deals with demons ... This is a funny, poignant, thoughtful, and ultimately satisfying work by an author who stands with the best of them.”
—Bruce Coburn, singer/songwriter, guitarist, Slice o Life

Editorial Reviews

Skibell’s delicious juxtaposition of Sammelsohn against the cocaine snorting Freud, and Sammelsohn’s infatuation with the ‘cruel, vindictive, haughty, caustic, dismissive, even murderous’ character of Emma Eckstein, one of Freud’s patients, make for a magnetic collection of personalities.”
—Publishers Weekly [starred review]

Jewish Book World

Skibell’s sweeping, imaginative epic chronicles the tumultuous life of an endearing protagonist, Dr. Jakob Sammelsohn, which includes a unique relationship with Sigmund Freud, the universal language movement, and WWII ... [Skibell] crafts a vivid, artfully clever tale grounded in turn-of-the century Europe.”
—Booklist [starred review]

“Jeff Woodman is a chameleon. He vanishes into each character and milks every satiric ounce out of Skibell’s merry novel in one of the best audios of the year.”
—Publishers Weekly [starred review]

“This is a fascinating, ambitious, and very successful novel about Jewish folklore, the quest for spiritual truth, and the darkest days of the 20th century. As he did in A Blessing on the Moon, Skibell blends gritty realism with elements of fantasy and magical realism....It is to Skibell’s credit that this complex plot comes off as believable, engaging, and often inspiring.”
—Library Journal [starred review]

“Skibell’s quirky humor and sweeping imagination transform weighty topics into flights of fancy.”
—Jewish Book World

From the Publisher

Skibell’s sweeping, imaginative epic chronicles the tumultuous life of an endearing protagonist, Dr. Jakob Sammelsohn, which includes a unique relationship with Sigmund Freud, the universal language movement, and WWII ... [Skibell] crafts a vivid, artfully clever tale grounded in turn-of-the century Europe.”
—Booklist [starred review]

Booklist