Sister Crazy

Richler, Emma

Knopf Canada

Sister crazy

Literature & Fiction

Contemporary

Random House, Inc.

Be My Wolff

Widely heralded for her bestselling first novel (Feed My Dear Dogs) and award-winning stories (Sister Crazy, also nominated for the Orange Prize), Emma Richler finally returns with a dazzling major novel with the power of A.S. Byatt's Possession, the wit and wonder of Peter Carey's Oscar and Lucinda and Kate Atkinson's Life After Life--about a sister and her adopted brother with a one-of-a-kind connection: a profoundly moving, original love story about the unbreakable ties that bind, and the choices we make or create for ourselves. Zachariah and Rachel are brother and sister. Well, not exactly. They are star-crossed lovers. Well, not exactly. Rachel is the cherished daughter of a Russian family living in London--the richly imagined, mysterious Wolffs; Zach is her parents' adopted son who arrived from the orphanage with one sweater, a head of curls and a dexterous set of fists. As children, they became as close as two people can be. But when they crossed a forbidden line, there was no going back. Now, as an adult, coping with their father's furious rebuttal of Zach, Rachel sets herself the task of inventing a family history for her beloved. And so she brings to life his imagined ancestry--from a tavern-educated boxer in Dickensian times, to a Hussar at the Battle of Borodino during the Napoleonic Wars--even as their troubles in present-day Camden Town build to yet another point of no return. Cartwheeling through history, filled with art and science, fairy tales and folk songs, tsars and foundlings, epic battles in the prize ring and on the Eastern Front, and characters that take over our hearts, Be My Wolff is riveting--wondrous, funny and tragic and of astonishing imagination and beauty.

Literary

Widely heralded for her bestselling first novel (Feed My Dear Dogs) and award-winning stories (Sister Crazy, also nominated for the Orange Prize), Emma Richler finally returns with a dazzling major novel with the power of A.S. Byatt's Possession, the wit and wonder of Peter Carey's Oscar and Lucinda and Kate Atkinson's Life After Life--about a sister and her adopted brother with a one-of-a-kind connection: a profoundly moving, original love story about the unbreakable ties that bind, and the choices we make or create for ourselves. Zachariah and Rachel are brother and sister. Well, not exactly. They are star-crossed lovers. Well, not exactly. Rachel is the cherished daughter of a Russian family living in London--the richly imagined, mysterious Wolffs; Zach is her parents' adopted son who arrived from the orphanage with one sweater, a head of curls and a dexterous set of fists. As children, they became as close as two people can be. But when they crossed a forbidden line, there was no going back. Now, as an adult, coping with their father's furious rebuttal of Zach, Rachel sets herself the task of inventing a family history for her beloved. And so she brings to life his imagined ancestry--from a tavern-educated boxer in Dickensian times, to a Hussar at the Battle of Borodino during the Napoleonic Wars--even as their troubles in present-day Camden Town build to yet another point of no return. Cartwheeling through history, filled with art and science, fairy tales and folk songs, tsars and foundlings, epic battles in the prize ring and on the Eastern Front, and characters that take over our hearts, Be My Wolff is riveting--wondrous, funny and tragic and of astonishing imagination and beauty. From the Hardcover edition.

Vintage Canada

Emma Richler’s extraordinary fictional debut is the multilayered story of a middle child. Jemima Weiss, a neurotic, lovable loner and the third of five Weiss children, grew up fascinated with British commandos, American westerns, the Knights of the Round Table, bagels with cheddar on top, and, above all else, her family. In these seven episodes, which expand and circle back on one another to form a dense, rich impression of Jem’s world, she revisits her formative years and elaborates on her mythological views of her eccentric parents and siblings: her gruff Jewish father, whom she saw as a gunslinging cowboy; her prophetic, all-knowing mother, who had witchlike powers of discernment over her brood; her charismatic brother Jude, a foreign correspondent who remains Jem’s main object of affection; her ethereal younger sister, who becomes a surprising source of solidity and comfort in Jem’s adult life. Through Jem’s ingenuous voice, charged with comedy and tension, we learn how each of these characters has come to represent for her a whole system of thought and feeling, and we experience at first hand the magic of a large, tight family, as well as its emotional perils. The triumph of the book is Jem’s sensibility itself, and the deeply satisfying intimacy we feel with her and her supporting cast as she progresses toward a tentative peace with herself, outside the cocoon of family.

Pantheon

The sprawling Weiss family--as recalled by Jemima, the middle child in Emma Richler’s amazing debut--live an almost idyllic existence. The feeling among the siblings is so palpable that we cannot help but share the acute nostalgia Jem experiences as she emerges from childhood. In a darkly humorous voice she tells of playing elaborate war games with toy Action Man figures, composing a survival book ("Always have some sports news at hand for when your dad is in hospital after a scary operation to do with a fatal disease"), closely observing her beautiful Mum to fathom her magic, weaving the story of the Grail quest into her brother Jude's life. Jem’s extravagant tales of her eccentric beloved family will linger long after the last line.

Dramas & Plays

Anchor

The sprawling Weiss family--as recalled by Jemima, the middle child in Emma Richler’s amazing debut--live an almost idyllic existence. The feeling among the siblings is so palpable that we cannot help but share the acute nostalgia Jem experiences as she emerges from childhood. In a darkly humorous voice she tells of playing elaborate war games with toy Action Man figures, composing a survival book ("Always have some sports news at hand for when your dad is in hospital after a scary operation to do with a fatal disease"),  closely observing her beautiful Mum to fathom her magic, weaving the story of the Grail quest into her brother Jude's life. Jem’s extravagant tales of her eccentric beloved family will linger long after the last line.

Short Stories & Anthologies

A nimble, extraordinarily moving novel about a sister and adopted brother with a one-of-a-kind connection Zachariah and Rachel Wolff are brother and sister. Well, not exactly. They are star-crossed lovers. Well, not exactly. Rachel is the cherished daughter born to a Russian family living in London, and Zachariah is her parents' adopted son, who arrived from the orphanage with one sweater, a head of rambunctious curls, and a dexterous set of fists, or fives, as he likes to call them. As children, they were as close as two people could be. But when they crossed this forbidden line, there was no going back. Now, as an adult, coping with Zach's estrangement from their formidable father, Rachel is determined to invent a family history for her beloved. And so the novel cartwheels through Zach's imagined ancestry--from a tavern-educated boxer in Dickensian times to a Hussar at the Battle of Borodino during the Napoleonic Wars. All the while, Zach and Rachel's troubles in the present are building to a new point of no return. Filled with art and science, fairy tales and folk songs, tsars and foundlings, epic battles in the prize ring and on the Eastern Front, Be My Wolff is a novel of astonishing range and imagination: a love story, an exuberant adventure through time and place, a tale of our most unbreakable bonds.

Be My Wolff: A novel

KNOPF

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Richler, Emma. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Richler, Emma

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Richler, Emma. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Sister Crazy

Sister crazy

Be My Wolff

Be My Wolff

Sister Crazy

Sister Crazy

Sister Crazy

Sister Crazy

Be My Wolff: A novel

Be My Wolff: A novel