The Family Morfawitz, Daniel H. Turtel
The Family Morfawitz, Daniel H. Turtel
List: $19.95 | Sale: $13.97
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The Family Morfawitz

Author: Daniel H. Turtel

Narrator: Assaf Cohen

Unabridged: 9 hr 9 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 02/14/2023

Synopsis

From acclaimed author Daniel H. Turtel, winner of the Faulkner Society Award for Best Novel, comes The Family Morfawitz, a gripping Jewish family saga inspired by Ovid’s Metamorphoses. When Hadassah Morfawitz flees Nazi Germany with her siblings and arrives in New York, she is determined to turn the city into her own Mount Olympus—at any cost. In choosing orphaned concentration camp survivor Zev Kretinberg as her husband and accomplice—ensuring his loyalty with the promise of riches and the burial of a dark past—she begins a ruthless journey toward the upper echelons of Park Avenue synagogue society. Their combined ambition knows no limits, and nothing will stand in the way of their realization of the American ideals of wealth and beauty, even if it means abandoning their son, Hezekial. Decades later, through machinations worthy of his parents, Hezekial becomes entrusted as the family’s chronicler. As he sits with his aging father, transcribing a litany of Zev’s sins—from serving as a kapo at Gusen, to betraying the friends who helped him, to his blood-bound commitment to Hadassah despite numerous affairs and illegitimate children—the younger Morfawitz is faced with a choice: whitewash a lifetime of cruelty, indifference, and lust, or repay his mother at last.

About Daniel H. Turtel

Daniel H. Turtel grew up on the Jersey Shore. He graduated from Duke University with a degree in mathematics and is currently pursuing an MFA at the New School where he is studying on a Provost Scholarship. His writing has appeared in the Baltimore Review and has won numerous awards. He now lives in New York City.

About Assaf Cohen

Assaf Cohen is an AudioFile Earphones Award–winning narrator. He has appeared in various plays, short films, and television shows. He grew up in Palo Alto and attended UC Berkeley where he earned a bachelor’s degree in integrative biology. He continued his classical training by earning a master of fine arts in acting from the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University under the instruction of legendary acting instructor William Esper.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Kasa on March 14, 2023

One of my rules was actually voiced by Zoe Heller. A reader should not look for friends between the covers of a book. That being said, I am usually drawn to stories featuring complicated characters, characters with a bit of grit that while I don't want them as friends, I'll find some pleasure in rea......more

Goodreads review by Earl on January 19, 2023

Incredible fiction from an up and coming author. Excited to see what he has in store next.......more

Goodreads review by Maggie on December 04, 2023

I am a sucker for modern novels rooted in Greek (and other) mythology, so the idea of a condensed Metamorphosis reset in the recent past was intriguing. While reading The Family Morfawitz, (doesn't that name sound Ovid adjacent?) I imagined Stephen Fry chuckling in the background.......more

Goodreads review by Arthur on February 14, 2023

A beautiful and dramatic read with incredible character development. One of the best books I've read.......more

Goodreads review by Isaac on February 14, 2023

Very well written. Kept me intrigued on every page. Would highly recommend.......more

Quotes

“Fans of Brady Udall, Madeline Miller, and Taylor Jenkins Reid will appreciate Turtel’s clever reframing of timeless themes.” Booklist (starred review)

“Assaf Cohen gives an inspired performance as he deftly narrates this saga of a family’s greed and corruption…Cohen delivers subtle but convincing Iranian, Israeli, and Yiddish accents as he gives the monstrously wealthy and badly behaved Morfawitz clan their due.” AudioFile

“The Family Morfawitz is a multigenerational saga about the rise of a ruthless and power-hungry family steered not just by the heavy hand of ancestral pain but by ugly secrets. After narrowly escaping the Nazis, this merciless bunch of pre-Trump Trumpers (albeit Jewish), swaggers into NYC, all tall tales and unrelenting ambition. Will NYC turn them into magical new beings or enhance their mercilessness? You’re in for a breathless, stomach-dropping ride.” Amanda Stern, author of Little Panic: Dispatches from an Anxious Life and The Long Haul

“Survivors of the Holocaust exist in a different moral universe; the rules of morality don’t quite exist. In his epic second novel, The Family Morfawitz, Daniel Turtel does the extraordinary, combining depravity and humor with ease, giving us the equivalent of the Jewish Trumps—only crazier. Too many bastard children to count, incest, prostitution, multiple murders, fraud, betrayal, and occasional bouts of tenderness. I turned each page in horror and anticipation.” Marcy Dermansky, author of Hurricane Girl and Very Nice 

“Turtel showcases tremendous worldly intelligence and quick wit in The Family Morfawitz—a sudsy portrayal of men who’ll stop at nothing to get what they want, outmatched only by women who are just as lusty, ambitious, and cruel as they are. This novel will keep you up at night, maybe turning over your own family secrets while you frantically turn pages. A wild ride of a read.”   Joanna Hershon, author of St. Ivo and A Dual Inheritance

“Throughout the novel, Turtel paints gripping and sentimental portraits of New York City and how it changes over the second half of the twentieth century. The Family Morfawitz is as much a story of a family as it is the city that helps shape that family. In these moments the Jewishness and the immigrant nature of the family enhance the characterization of the place. Through the use of Yiddish, history, folklore, and occasional theology the Jewish diasporic experience is carefully and lovingly rendered.” Brooklyn Rail

Awards

  • Kobo Pick
  • Barnes & Noble Favorite Indie Book
  • Hey Alma Pick
  • Fresh Fiction Pick
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