Product Description

Hi-tech entrepreneur Michael Kuperman discovers the illegal sale of chemical weapons abroad by a powerful American corporation. What does he do with this knowledge? Ultimately, the Kuperman family must flee Boston and hide their identity. Dealing with danger changes their life as a family. This is a novel about family. The many ways of being Jews in contemporary American society play themselves out in the tensions within Michael s family, a family at the edge of divorce. Kuperman struggles with his complex heritage as a Jew. He'd like to hide in a sentimental version of his heritage, but becomes aware of its many real strands, including a passion for justice as well as religious faith. All of us are here by a miracle . . . A hundred years ago someone hid or someone fled . . . and his unborn children s children weren t buried in a killing pit, weren t forced into a shower of Zyklon B. Each of us is a precious distillate. Into present time, the story folds moments from the past that have made survival possible Michael Kuperman's ancestors fleeing the Rhine valley eastward into Poland in the fourteenth century; fleeing Poland into Bessarabia in the seventeenth century. And in a direct, literal way the legacy of his grandfather protects him and his family in his immediate danger. Kuperman's Fire explores evil not only monstrous narcissism, indifferent to life but also delight in destruction, a delight that can t be rationally explained. How are we to hold such evil in our minds? How can we cope with it emotionally, spiritually? While Kuperman s Fire celebrates the miracle of our survival, it insists on our responsi??bility to face evil and continue the miracle.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1633398 in Books
• Published on: 2007-07-31
• Released on: 2007-07-31
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 248 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Clayton (The Man I Never Wanted to Be) adroitly combines thriller elements with one man's particular, but resonant, Jewish legacy. Michael Kuperman's innovative company, Fusion, is on the cusp of a hoped-for merger when he's informed of something rotten with Chemicorp, a major factor in the deal: the company is making legal-to-produce chemicals specifically for clients with nefarious purposes, and the bad guys will do anything to protect their secrets. The actions of Michael's maternal grandfather, Jacob Goldstein, guide Michael in thinking about what to do next: before Michael was born, Goldstein saved multiple families from a vicious pogrom in Russia, at great risk to himself. As Michael weighs the risks to his family and debates whether to turn a blind eye, Clayton brings Michael's family's Holocaust history, the historical struggles of the Jews and the recent genocides in Rwanda and Bosnia into the mix. His morality tale effectively explores the courage, costs and rewards involved in putting others first. (July)
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About the Author
In his career as writer, critic, and teacher, JOHN J. CLAYTON has published two novels and two collections of fiction, all to critical acclaim. His stories have appeared in O.Henry Prize Stories, Best American Short Stories, and Pushcart Prize Stories. The Man Who Could See Radiance was read at Symphony Space in New York and has been aired often on NPR as part of the Selected Shorts series. His collection Radiance, was a finalist for the National Jewish Book Award in 1998. In recent years Commentary magazine has published many of his stories. His work has also recently appeared in Missouri Review, Agni and Virginia Quarterly Review. John J. Clayton has written a good deal about modern fiction, including Gestures of Healing, a psycho??logical study of modern British and American fiction and Saul Bellow: In Defense of Man. This is his second novel with Permanent Press; his first, The Man I never Wanted to Be, was published in 1998. John J. Clayton lives in Western Massachusetts, where he teaches literature and creative writing.

From AudioFile
Michael Kuperman is weighed down with worries about his marriage, his new-found commitment to Judaism, and his discovery that the prospective merger of his company with another may be in jeopardy. Anthony Heald superbly narrates this complex story. He provides accurate Hebrew pronunciations, a perfect Yiddish accent, and great voices for the many characters. Narrating quietly and gently when called for, he excels in delivering appropriate inflections and tone of voice. All the characters are complicated and flawed, and the story is compelling. Although this might not have universal appeal (much of the story is spent on Jewish religious observances), there is plenty of action and danger to satisfy interested listeners. S.S.R. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine