RaveThe Cleveland Plain DealerIn What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank, Englander's rich humor floats along, light as a feather, until the narrative suddenly darkens. The title story describes a game, a deadly one. It is akin to what Israelis call the ‘existential question,’ or the ‘people apart’ dictum, a conversation Jews have within their own four walls. And it's not funny at all … Englander ranges across several octaves. He is deeply literate about Jewish religious life and culture in all its dissonance. His characters are shot through with the wounds of history. While every figure is preoccupied with the day-to-day, the writer places them in a Jewish historical context. That usually means dark … Englander's stories are at times startling, even transgressing. But they ring true and are a funny, chilling, joy to read.
