A review by roulettegirl
For the Relief of Unbearable Urges: Stories by Nathan Englander

3.0

I wasn't quite prepared for this book. I thought it was a collection of humorous short stories (like Dave Sedaris, but more fictional) and that's not it at all. Even the "hilarious" title story is just sad. All these stories are about people grieving, people watching the world change without them, people feeling the constraints of strict religion on their lives. Also, that should be mentioned - every character is Jewish. Which is interesting, and a good theme to wrap a series of stories around. But if you're expecting humor reading about Jewish authors being murdered under Stalin's regime can be a rough surprise.