He saw the world as a dark and terrible place. He thought Hitler wasn’t entirely wrong. His books brim with gruesome imagery, and with scorn for women, overweight people and different races. And yet, decades after they were written, they remain bestsellers, fueling blockbuster Broadway productions and prompting Netflix to pay hundreds of millions for the rights. Who was Roald Dahl, and what is the secret of his stories’ enduring appeal?
The Inner Workings of a Library … and a Person
“To the Internal Libraries,” artist Hadassa Goldvicht’s new video exhibition at the NLI, is a behind-the-scenes journey through the stacks of the institution’s previous building, one that also serves as a meditation on pain, healing and the body’s own inner systems.
An Innocent Fairytale or a Treatment for Trauma? The True Magic of Narnia
What’s the connection between three young London girls who fled the Blitz and one of the world’s most beloved books? What was the backdrop for the tales of C.S. Lewis’s “Chronicles of Narnia”, and how does it all relate to the situation in Israel today?
Her Holocaust: The First Female Survivor to Write Her Memoirs
One of the earliest firsthand accounts of the horrors of the Holocaust was written in 1944 by a 21-year-old Jewish woman. Revolutionary in many ways, it would remain her only book. She never wrote again, living out her life quietly and modestly. Who was Renia Kukielka?
Lover, Liar, Librarian: The Two Lives of Casanova
Giacomo Girolamo Casanova’s name has become a symbol—even a dictionary entry. But was there more to the life and memoirs of the famed Italian lover than just romantic escapades and skirt-chasing? His writings reveal a gifted storyteller who lived without inhibition, but also insights that are dubious, disturbing, and endlessly fascinating. So who was Casanova?
Kafka’s Secrets: The Missing Page of “The Castle”
A page torn from the manuscript of Franz Kafka’s “The Castle” has been revealed for the first time. What is written on that missing page? Who tore it out? Why would anyone want to keep it hidden?
Book Review: “Come With Me to the Ritz” by Vasile Dubb
A collection of anecdotal short stories that contain an intellectual playfulness that keeps readers engaged.
The Search for a Jewish Book That Was Ordered to Be Destroyed 470 Years Ago
This incredible story begins with a quarrel among printers in 16th century Venice, which soon escalated to the point of burning Hebrew books on the orders of the Inquisition. The story continues with a globe-spanning search for a particular book saved from that fire. How does it end? With a twist of course…
The Hope or the Glory? Herman Wouk Writes About the State of Israel
The award-winning Jewish-American author lived a secular life in his early years and claimed that one of the greatest influences on his life and work was the US Navy. What made him spend years writing a pair of thick novels telling the story of people whose culture was far removed from the one he grew up on, and for whom he had quite a bit of criticism to offer?
I, Woman: Janet Asimov Tells Her Story
Both were writers, both were doctors – she in psychiatry, he in chemistry. But does the name Janet Opal ring a bell if it isn’t attached to the famous surname she received from her husband? Janet Opal Asimov was her husband Isaac’s right hand throughout their years of marriage. She shared credit with him for quite a few books, short stories, and essays she wrote, and edited many of his writings. But even though her work was often overshadowed, she was a fascinating woman who deserves to be remembered in her own right.
