Prayers for the Living by Alan Cheuse

[Davia]

A powerful, lyrical novel about a dysfunctional New York immigrant Jewish family in the 1970's told from the perspective of the aging matriarch, Minnie. If you like Phillip Roth, you will love this book. I couldn't put it down once I got used to the writing style, which is mostly Ulysses-like, meaning long paragraphs and poetic phrasing. The book may not be for everyone for this reason, and the plot is disturbing but I loved it. The author does book reviews for NPR. This is a great book for Jewish book clubs seeking a challenging contemporary Jewish novel.