The Kingdom of Brooklyn — Merrill Joan Gerber

Winner of the Ribalow Prize from Hadassah Magazine, Merrill Joan Gerber superbly evokes an anguished child's faltering steps toward consciousness... Gerber has written often—and grippingly—of tormented families… but never as daringly as here.In this brutally candid, semiautobiographical novel, Gerber again (as in King of the World) corrosively delineates the heinous abuses inflicted in the name of love, and a victim's ambivalence toward her abuser… Her wry purity of style packs psychological dynamite. —Publishers WeeklyThe Kingdom of Brooklyn offers a rare look into a unique time, place, and culture. —Belles LettresMerrill Joan Gerber's superb evocation of an anguished child's faltering steps toward consciousness... Gerber has written often—and grippingly—of tormented families… but never as daringly as here: Issa is just 3 years old, 'hardly a person yet,' when she begins her 10 year chronicle of violent conflicts and crises. The passions propelling this compact, eloquent novel are virulent, reaching back into the past and shadowing the future. —Los Angeles TimesMerrill Joan Gerber… demonstrates a remarkable talent for delineating personality, not only of Issa but of all others who interact with her. Her characters have definitive qualities that make them credible, a tribute to her capacity to present the people of her creation, undoubtedly using elements from her own life experiences. —The Jewish Week