Alan Lelchuk

Commentary on his work

American Mischief "No novelist has written with such knowledge and eloquence of the consequences of carnal passion in Massachusetts since The Scarlet Letter." Philip Roth, Esquire

Miriam at Thirty-Four "A drastic and original portrait of a woman running for her life, from what she was to what she might be....The best embodiment we have of the illusions, the risks, the rewards of a woman's all-out pursuit of her self." The New York Times

Shrinking, The Beginning of My Own Ending "Brilliantly conceived and dazzlingly executed." St. Louis Globe-Democrat "Electrifying, inventive... the man can write." Denver Rocky Mountain News "Fun and passion… clever and feverish!" The New York Times (A NYT notable book of the year.)

Miriam In Her Forties "Mister Lelchuk is a writer of intelligence, sexual sensibility, and drive. Miriam is a full-bodied portrait of a woman who lives hard in our heads... yet she lives with spirit... I expect we'll hear from her again." Samuel Shem, The New York Times Book Review "Miriam is not a model or an ideal, but is precisely for her individuality that we value her most. Lelchuk writes with an immense delight in images, in words, and in intransigent mortal particularity. For women who seek answers he offers ambiguity, an ambiguity that is curiously satisfying." Catherine Bateson

On Home Ground "On Home Ground raises contemporary questions for its young readers and does so with such skill. It achieves such a success far beyond an exercise in baseball and nostalgia." The New York Times Book Review