A review by dmendels
The Ministry of Special Cases by Nathan Englander

5.0

Highly recommend.

I first encountered Nathan Englander on The Moth. (Listen to this: https://themoth.org/stories/unhooked). Then read What we Talk About When we Talk about Anne Frank (excellent); and recently read his new novel and heard him speak and read from it. I had liked but not loved the novel, but hearing him read from it and speak about it was magical. Sought out, this, one of his earlier novels.

Set in Argentina during the late 70s, during the period of “the disappeared,” it is a tragic but beautifully written tale of a poor Jewish family facing the absurdity and cruelty of the state. It’s a desperate tale but written with such intelligence and wit that it isn’t just a bleak and depressing read.