{"product_id":"the-elusive-embrace-desire-and-the-riddle-of-identity-paperback","title":"The Elusive Embrace: Desire and the Riddle of Identity - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eDaniel Mendelsohn\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHailed for its searing emotional insights, and for the astonishing originality with which it weaves together personal history, cultural essay, and readings of classical texts by Sophocles, Ovid, Euripides, and Sappho, \u003cb\u003eThe Elusive Embrace\u003c\/b\u003e is a profound exploration of the mysteries of identity. It is also a meditation in which the author uses his own divided life to investigate the \"rich conflictedness of things,\" the double lives all of us lead. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eDaniel Mendelsohn recalls the deceptively quiet suburb where he grew up, torn between his mathematician father's pursuit of scientific truth and the exquisite lies spun by his Orthodox Jewish grandfather; the streets of manhattan's newest \"gay ghetto,\" where \"desire for love\" competes with \"love of desire;\" and the quiet moonlit house where a close friend's small son teaches him the meaning of fatherhood. And, finally, in a neglected Jewish cemetery, the author uncovers a family secret that reveals the universal need for storytelling, for inventing myths of the self. The book that Hilton Als calls \"equal to Whitman's 'Song of Myself, '\" \u003cb\u003eThe Elusive Embrace\u003c\/b\u003e marks a dazzling literary debut.\u003ch3\u003eFront Jacket\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eHailed for its searing emotional insights, and for the astonishing originality with which it weaves together personal history, cultural essay, and readings of classical texts by Sophocles, Ovid, Euripides, and Sappho, The Elusive Embrace is a profound exploration of the mysteries of identity. It is also a meditation in which the author uses his own divided life to investigate the \"rich conflictedness of things,\" the double lives all of us lead. \u003cbr\u003eDaniel Mendelsohn recalls the deceptively quiet suburb where he grew up, torn between his mathematician father's pursuit of scientific truth and the exquisite lies spun by his Orthodox Jewish grandfather; the streets of manhattan's newest \"gay ghetto,\" where \"desire for love\" competes with \"love of desire; \" and the quiet moonlit house where a close friend's small son teaches him the meaning of fatherhood. And, finally, in a neglected Jewish cemetery, the author uncovers a family secret that reveals the universal need for storytelling, for inventing myths of the self. The book that Hilton Als calls \"equal to Whitman's 'Song of Myself, '\" The Elusive Embrace marks a dazzling literary debut.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDANIEL MENDELSOHN is a frequent contributor to \u003ci\u003eThe New Yorker\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe New York Review of Books\u003c\/i\u003e, where he is the Editor at Large. His books include the international best seller \u003ci\u003eThe Lost: A Search for Six of Six Million\u003c\/i\u003e, winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award and many other honors; a memoir, \u003ci\u003eThe Elusive Embrace\u003c\/i\u003e, a New York Times Notable Book and a Los Angeles Times Best Book of the Year; a translation, with commentary, of the complete poems of C. P. Cavafy; and two collections of essays, \u003ci\u003eHow Beautiful It Is and How Easily It Can Be Broken\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eWaiting for the Barbarians\u003c\/i\u003e. A professor of Humanities at Bard College, he is Director of the Robert B. Silvers Foundation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 224\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.67 x 7.92 x 5.21 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e June 20, 2000\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47467911446781,"sku":"9780375706974","price":25.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/3414\/0157\/files\/Z21BbTdVcEozT3lwVlliTU5GZ1A3QT09.webp?v=1777281430","url":"https:\/\/booktolia.com\/products\/the-elusive-embrace-desire-and-the-riddle-of-identity-paperback","provider":"booktolia","version":"1.0","type":"link"}