Review of a Short Story Collection, For the Relief of Unbearable Urges by Nathan Englander

Jewish-American author Nathan Englander is perhaps best known for his short stories full of both Yiddish wit and tragic images. His collection For the Relief of Unbearable Urges is a treasure box of these stories, ranging from old Soviet Union stories to New York City tales. Englander has a subtle voice and describes with such quick detail that the reader might forget that they are actually reading a short story and not a novel.

"The Tumblers," for example, is a visual masterpiece in itself, yet reads like a comfortable fable. A group of Jews escape the cattle carts during World War II Poland by hiding on a train car filled with circus performers. In order to survive, they must learn to perform and pretend that they belong to a circus. Englander twists history to mix wit with a life and death situation, and the final result is an incredible fable.

My favorite from his collection was a story called "The Wig." Englander does an excellent job of writing for a female character who is struggling with her age and her unfulfilled life. "The Wig" appealed to me because it was a personal, character-driven story. While the lead character, Ruchama, is not suffering from horrible imperfections, she sees her age in all parts of her body and her life, from her hair to her children. Ruchama's situation is relatable and her character has the potential to be likeable, but she is jealous, moody, and egotistical at times. She has a need for her pleasures, and she is more willing to paint herself as an adulterous than admit to her little vices. Ruchama's needs are not simply sexual--she needs to feel alive, in turn, youthful. Englander's use of language, as well as his ability to create belivable three-dimensional characters serves him well in "The Wig."

Perhaps it says something about this collection that one of his most popular stories was my least favorite. "The Gilgul of Park Avenue" was collected in an edition of The Best American Short Stories, and it was a good short story, overall. However, I still found it to be my least favorite from his rich collection. The plot of "The Gilgul of Park Avenue" in comparison to its lengthy number of pages did not satisfy my tastes. The story is that a man named Charles who one day realizes that he needs to be Jewish and how this sudden conversion (need for change) disturbs his life. For me, the characters were weak and shallow, which may have been the purpose of the story, but I prefer an element of realism or intrigue to my favorite characters. I would much rather read a story of a husband and wife trying to cope with a sudden, humorous change in their lifestyle. Instead, the wife, Sue, is offended and judgmental of her husband's decision. A realistic reaction in ways, but Sue is given no motive for her behavior and her personality is almost skipped over as other characters took the limelight. Her overall lack of acceptance of her husband as a Jew feels contrived to push the story along.

Whether you're a fan of short stories or not, For the Relief of Unbearable Urges is definitely worth reading at least once. You don't need to know Yiddish to find the humor and heartache in Englander's stories. Shop for For the Relief of Unbearable Urges and learn more about the author and his newest release, The Ministry of Special Cases, at http://www.nathanenglander.com/.