A Mad Desire to Dance: A Novel
Files
Document Type
Book
Description
Doriel, a European expatriate living in New York, suffers from a profound sense of desperation and loss. His mother, a member of the Resistance, survived World War II only to die in an accident, together with his father, soon after. Doriel was a child during the war, and his knowledge of the Holocaust is largely limited to what he finds in movies, newsreels, and books—but it is enough. Doriel’s parents and their secrets haunt him, leaving him filled with longing but unable to experience the most basic joys in life. He plunges into an intense study of Judaism, but instead of finding solace, he comes to believe that he is possessed by a dybbuk.
Surrounded by ghosts, spurred on by demons, Doriel finally turns to Dr. Thérèse Goldschmidt, a psychoanalyst who finds herself particularly intrigued by her patient. The two enter into an uneasy relationship based on exchange: of dreams, histories, and secrets. Despite Doriel’s initial resistance, Dr. Goldschmidt helps to bring him to a crossroads—and to a shocking denouement.
Publication Date
2009
Publisher
Alfred A. Knopf
City
New York
State
NY
Award
2007 Lifetime Achievement Award
Disciplines
Arts and Humanities | Creative Writing | Fiction | History
Repository Citation
Wiesel , E. (2009). A Mad Desire to Dance: A Novel. New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf.
