Ghost Dance in Berlin: A Rhapsody in Gray (Travelers' Tales)
"Peter Wortsman is [...] good company on his explorations. InGhost Dance in Berlin: a Rhapsody in Gray, [he] writes: "Memory awaits at every turn." His affinity for German's "sublime mix of chiseled consonants and guttural intensity," resounds in some of the bravura passages [...], like the bird song he heard [...] "echoing harmonies and dissonances, reflecting jagged edges, runs in stockings, streaks in the sky, heartbreak and ecstasy [...]" [His] Berlin is "equally imagined and experienced," and it is no less real for that--Tess Lewis,The Arts Fuse Arts"A unique and most beautiful evocation of a tantalizing city."--Jan Morris"A fascinating portrait of one of the world's most complex and misunderstood cities. With the keen eye of an American-born son of Jewish refugees, Wortsman captures Berlin in vignettes that are enlightening, moving, and darkly funny."— Tony Perrottet, author ofPagan HolidayandThe Sinner's Grand TourPraise for Peter Wortsman:"I was particularly struck by the account of the visit to Auschwitz [in "Snapshots and Souvenirs"]. The behavior of the people was wonderfully human and moving — the sort of thing even the best writers find it almost impossible to invent. The unexpected in human behavior is difficult to take out of the air, as opposed to the usual, which anyone can invent. So that it is precisely these unforeseen details which establish the authenticity of the text, and which give it its literary values. . . . The Auschwitz piece is excellent."— Paul Bowles, author ofThe Sheltering Skyand other books"A Modern Way to Dieis a fantastic book and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I have never read anything quite like this, but my enjoyment was due to more than just novelty, it was a response to marvelous writing, wonderful craft, and the breath of imagination. . . . [Wortsman] succeeded so well in his craft and art that it reads ‘artless’ and ‘spontaneous,’ which to me is the highest of compliments."— Hubert Selby, Jr., author ofLast Exist to Brooklynand other books"Wortsman hangs with the masters."— A. Scott Cardwell,The Boston Phoenix"His work reminded me some of E. B. White’sNew Yorkerstuff — observations turned into little reads but with a modernist twist."— Ruth Lopez,The New Mexican"Wortsman achieves a level of spontaneity and accessibility . . . to which most writers can only aspire."— David Ulin,The Los Angeles Reader