REVEALER OF SECRETS

by Joseph Perl ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 1, 1997

Announced as ""the first Hebrew novel,"" this brainy and weighty 1819 tome is in fact a variant version of the traditional Menippean satire: a criticism of the overzealous excesses of conservative Hasidism, in the form of a putative endorsement of its principles (É la Jonathan Swift's ""A Modest Proposal""). An epistolary novel whose letter-writers are a pair of squabbling rabbis and their acolytes and associates, the book has more than commendable vituperative energy. Still, it is overlong and will surely prove heavy going for all but serious students of this literature (who will find the exhaustive Introduction, Glossary, and Notes a mine of arcane and curious information).

Pub Date: Jan. 1, 1997

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: 480

Publisher: Westview

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1997

Categories: FICTION