The Gray Lover

In her newest work, Carl Friedman collects three long stories, each one stylistically distinct, each elaborating on elements of Jewish history and tradition. The title story, "The Gray Lover," is a timeless tale set in a village in Eastern Europe. It recounts the strange fate of a man well past a hundred years old, survivor of pogroms and a world war, whose similarly ancient wife has just died. He finds solace in dreaming encounters with his wife and in the company of an unusual soulmate: a frisky, young donkey - which leads to a startling end. In "Holy Fire," a story as contemporary as…