Reviews and Honors for A Curable Romantic

 

47th Annual (2011) Georgia Author of the Year citation from judge Brian Corrigan: "A Curable Romantic is equal parts intelligent and witty: a macaronic, picaresque novel that is fabulous in every sense of the word. The approach irresistibly puts one in mind of a modern-day Cervantes. The writing is muscular and controlled, the voice urbane yet real. A nearly perfect book in its sophistication and readability, Skibell never lets his vast and impressive research get in the way of telling his tale. Atmosphere, character, and story propel the reader through this hefty book as hours melt away in the most agreeable manner. This is not only the best book of this year's group, it is simply among the best books I've read in the past several years. Skibell's book deserves to be discovered, widely read, and treasured for years to come."

 

 

The New Republic: "A high-energy, wild performance, as ample as its protagonist’s appetites; the postmodern Jewish novel as mash-up of genres: Yiddish folktale, sentimental education, Freudian case history, erotic confession, utopian parable, all wrapped up in an 'alternative history' of Jewish emancipation, haunted by the figure of Dreyfus and intoxicated with the heady pleasures of the Esperanto tongue. And toward the end, the novel becomes a metaphysical jeu d’esprit that is perversely naturalistic, superbly comic, and in the bargain, heartrending.... In Skibell’s masterful hands, the novel speaks like a dybbuk from within modern Jewish history, telling a story of crooked futures and unknowable hearts."

 

 

The New Yorker: “Skibell depicts fin-de-siècle Vienna with energy…”

 

 

New York Journal of Books: "This is a brave novel, unafraid to undertake big themes and ideas... hugely accomplished... A Curable Romantic has a tangible depth and a well-defined sense of time and place, its comic tone creating an uneasy tension as the story moves into the darker aspects of [the] 20th Century."

 

 

Forward: "... evokes the spirit of 'Candide' with a Jewish postmodern twist ... much of the novel is surprisingly laugh outloud funny ... [a] magnificent novel."

 

 

O Magazine: "An irresistible romp about a lovelorn 19th-Century doctor who falls in with Sigmund Freud -- and some dangerously attractive women."

 

Huffington Post: Skibell is “interested in the tension between a sense of absolute meaning and the day-to-day reality of life on this earth.”

 

 

Parade Magazine: "Wonderfully surreal ... a story of passion, faith and fate ... both funny and thoughtful."

 

 

Atlanta Journal Constitution: “Endearing, often hilarious… ambitious and thoroughly delightful… What a field day Skibell has with this big fat Jewish exorcism!… A Curable Romantic has no end of fun with its themes… a tale of great compassion and reverence – a remarkable, deeply felt examination of man’s relationship to an ever-changing world.”

 

 

Providence Journal: "A writer of skill and grace."

 

 

Iowa City Press-Citizen: "Impressive... at the end of the first book, one wonders how Skibell will meet, in the rest of the novel, the high expectations he has set. He does not disappoint.... The story here is too magnificent to describe...."

 

 

Slant: "Most ingenious... accomplished, even stunning set pieces... a master class in Jewish lore and tradition... Skibell consistently subverts expectations... [in a] nearly virtuoso performance."

 

Dallas Morning News: "Skibell plays fast and loose with the intermingling of historical fact and fiction... The past here is bathed in a soft-focus filter, cloaked in gaslights and cigar smoke, brought to life with stylistic flair and linguistic pizzazz."

 

 

Austin Chronicle: "There are moments of joy, love, and, yes, long-delayed sex even as A Curable Romantic shifts gears from mystery to history to something approximating Dante's Paradiso with few snags in the author's skilled yarn-spinning. Skibell bends the English language to his will...”

 

 

CreatingVanGogh.Com: "Simply a wonder… simply startling: bitingly funny, sexually urgent, and gently nostalgic… I have long thought that Skibell deserves as much acclaim as other more heralded novelists of his generation (including one that recently landed on the cover of Time). I can only expect that A Curable Romantic will finally win him what he so richly deserves."

 

 

ArtsCriticATL: "...comprehensive in its treatment of the Bermuda Triangle of the human heart..."

 

 

Jewniverse: "Charming, clever... an epic novel."

 

 

Oregonian: “Opening as a light, comic romp poking fun at Sigmund Freud and the early days of psychotherapy, A Curable Romantic soon deepens into an earnest, if playful, exploration of spirit and cosmos... Funny, tender and beguiling.”

 

Jewish Week: "Smart and funny."

 

Barnes & Noble Reviews: "[A] confluence of big ideas and lofty personalities… admirably gutsy."

 

 

Birmingham Magazine: “Both Nobel Prize-winning author J.M. Coetzee and singer/songwriter Bruce Cockburn wrote blurbs for this book. Unusual, yes, but then this is a rather surprising book … an enticing mix of science, religion and language…”

 

 

San Francisco Examiner: “The historical meets the fantastical with Skibell’s amazing writing keeping it all grounded in an enjoyable story.”

 

 

Indie Bookseller, favorite pick: “Skibell is one of America’s great unsung writers. A Curable Romantic is funny, dark, and profound... [with] amazing prose that carries you like a dream through a complicated plot without ever leaving you impatient.”

 

 

San Antonio Express: “Skibell is a wildly talented writer, and portions of A Curable Romantic can take one’s breath away.”

 

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: “A stimulating jolt to [the] imagination… Skibell sends his goofy, horny hero… bouncing through the European world of Sigmund Freud and his famous patient Emma Eckstein, then into a love match with a beautiful Esperanto enthusiast….”

 

 

Roanoke Times: “The simple, straightforward writing offsets Skibell’s complex ideas. The language is precise… there’s not a wasted paragraph…. All the characters are strongly drawn, even the minor ones…. an intellectual fiction that deserves to be read in one sitting.”

 

 

LargeHeartedBoy.Com:  “… yet another imaginative and compelling novel from author Joseph Skibell … filled with beautiful writing and unforgettable, larger than life characters.”

Publishers Weekly, starred review: "Fat, cheeky, and sweeping... A grand portrait of Eastern Europe ... [with] a magnetic collection of personalities."

 

Library Journal, starred review: "A fascinating, ambitious, and very successful novel.... Highly recommended."

 

 

Booklist, starred review: "Skibell's sweeping, imaginative epic chronicles the tumultuous life of an endearing protagonist... a vivid, artfully clever tale."

 

 

Kirkus Reviews: "A master stylist."

 

 

Winner of the Sami Rohr Prize in Jewish Literature Choice Award

 

 

Atlanta Magazine: Best Novel of 2010 (over 2 lbs.)

 

 

San Francisco Chronicle: Recommended reading.

 

 

Denver Post: Editor's Choice.

 

 

Parade Magazine: "Pick of the Week."

 

 

New York Times: Featured in "Newly Released" column.

 

 

Jewish Ideas Daily: Included in "Best Jewish Novels of the Year."

 

 

Baby Got Books: Featured in a "Literary Smackdown" with David Mitchell's A Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet.

 

 

Independent Booksellers Association: "Indy Next Great Read Pick," October 2010.