Sarah Mintz

Handwringers Sarah Mintz

I know a girl with a large head who tells only sad stories. She tells me that her stories are not sad because there are other people with worse stories and though this is true, it strikes me as the saddest thing she could say. A motley collection of characters populate these short, short stories, shaped by the daily barrage of media aimed at the general populace. Dramatic, and darkly funny, they revolve around Jewish identity. The schlemiel -- a figure in Jewish folklore who is unlucky and inept at the same time -- is not always apparent in the pages, but is evoked as a guiding concept. People cling to would-be wisdoms, memes, and TV tag-lines, while failing to locate their misplaced communities. A particularly apt book for our current world, where chaos and anxiety reign.