A Thousand Darknesses: Lies and Truth in Holocaust Fiction
"Ruth Franklin's new book,A Thousand Darknesses: Lies and Truth in Holocaust Fiction,is more than a towering work of criticism and insight -- it's an invaluable corrective."--The Atlantic"By scrupulously defending the integrity of literature, Ms. Franklin has offered her own eloquent testimony."--Wall Street Journal"Franklin explicates her central ideas with a piercing, graceful lucidity... a beautiful book that addresses the ugliest of subjects, proving, once more, that it can be done."--Washington Post"This text is superbly written and offers insightful analysis."--Library Journal"Ruth Franklin's keen analysis makes a major contribution to the literary criticism of Shoah writers, and her humane perspective renders the nuances of a fraught subject newly comprehensible."--Jewish Book Council"...an honest effort to inject a little good sense and judgment into an understandably emotional subject."--Jewish Literary Review"...a brilliant, challenging and surprising work."--Jewish Journal"WhatA Thousand Darknessesdoes do, and does very well, is challenge us on every level of virtually every aspect of Holocaust literature. That the Holocaust is 'unknowable' doesn't mean that a lot of it can't be known. Literature lays bare the path to know what is knowable, and Franklin neatly shows us the way."--The Jewish Daily Forward"A Thousand Darknesses succeeds in forming a coherent whole that makes a powerful argument for the propriety of treating the Holocaust as a wellspring of literary art."--Commentary"Franlin is particularly astute in evaluating why the grayness of truth is important in a Holocaust work... Not merely about the Holocaust, but about why we study history, why we read, and why we tell stories."--The Literary Review"[An] important work...Lucid, persuasive...Highly recommended."--CHOICE"Franklin's work of Holocaust literary criticism is excellent in its interpretations and a valuable read."--Cynthia Crane,H-Net Reviews