The Genius of the World

by Alice Lichtenstein

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1581950187
• ISBN13: 9781581950182
• Release Date: June 2000
• Publisher: Zoland Books
• Length: 305 Pages
• Weight: 0.86 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.4" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

A Journey of the Spirit

With compassion and wisdom, Alice Lichtenstein takes us through the minds and into the hearts of her people, from Ira the boy genius to his Nobel Prize winning grandfather, from Phoebe whose love for her brother is unbearably passionate to their mother Eileen, a woman terrified by her children's fury and desire. THE GENIUS OF THE WORLD is a shattering story told with astonishing insight and redemptive clarity. This bold novel is a journey of the body and the spirit. Lichtenstein takes us from Princeton, New Jersey to the coast of California, from a family's Jewish history into a rebellious boy's mysterious conversion to Buddhism. Their story is so tender, so fully felt and fiercely imagined, I couldn't help thinking that the writer must have lived some part of her life with the soul of each one of her characters inside her.

a beautiful book

This novel is rich, moving, beautiful. the aithor has a remarkably light touch painting complex, difficult and compelling characters....so, the experience of reading the book has stayed with me as have the characters themselves.

This is the real thing.

For me, great novels do two things really well: capture a time and a place, and capture subjective experience. A family saga captures a time and a place--or several times and places--and usually offers several subjective experiences as well. Genius of the World does all that, and does it brilliantly. But ultimately, I found the book to be about something else, something even bigger: the nature of faith and suffering in a world created by love and loss and the power of ideas. A book of heart, of power, of soul, of love; and a great read (a fast read, actually). As much as you can ask of any book. The mystery and emotion that are summoned by the ending get to me even now. A great novel.

a colorful tapestry of a modern American family

I enjoyed reading the book very much because it addresses many topics of interest to me: family life in America during the 60s and 70s, the struggles of youth, spirituality, religion, science, and death. I also liked the non-linear poetic structure of the book and style of writing. The relationships between the characters worked for me on many levels, and I found myself re-reading earlier sections to discover new meanings. I expect the additional insights from a second reading will make it worth the effort.