First published 1976
A Hasidic fundraiser in New York faces the end of his rope as his efforts collapse around him. His desperation mirrors that of other lost souls: a Polish expatriate who speaks for a small African country, a young female academic trapped by her own scholarly ambitions, and a supposed miracle worker whose powers become real when his doubters challenge him. Each character wrestles with faith, failure, and the gap between what they promise and what they can deliver. The fundraiser's crisis deepens as his community's needs press against his dwindling resources. The scholar discovers that devotion to ideals can become its own prison. The miracle worker finds that performing miracles may be easier than living with their consequences. These four portraits examine people caught between their public roles and private struggles, where belief and doubt wage war in the human heart.
Genres: fiction, drama, literary-fiction, 20th-century, 21st-century, academic
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: character-study, found-family, religious-themes
Setting: Africa, New York
Period: 20th-century, 21st-century
178 pages · Hardcover · Random House Inc