Full Description
Karen Bermann grew up in the mad orbit of her father, Fritz, the rebellious child of a Viennese Orthodox Jewish family who fled Europe alone as an adolescent in the late 1930s. An irreverent, comic, rageful man with three names, who spoke three languages, lived on three continents, and always kept his papers in order, Fritz lived a life shaped by survival. In this memoir, told in alternating voices in brief, lyrical episodes, Bermann explores not only the mystery of her father but also the inheritance he passed on: intergenerational trauma, fragile familial bonds, and a fraught sense of belonging.
The Art of Being a Stranger is a darkly funny narrative told in poetry, prose, and mixed-media drawings. While her father taught her how to save herself, Bermann realized early on that what she truly needed was to be saved from him. Set against the backdrop of 1960s and 1970s New York City, The Art of Being a Stranger is a poignant comic-drama that offers an intimate, layered exploration of parents and children in the shadow of history.
Contents
1. Vienna 1922-1938
What a Magnificent Panorama 1
Already I Knew That God Did Not Exist
2. Palestine 1938-1948
Black Leather Coat
A Dog-or-Eat-the-Dog World
3. New York 1948-2013
Remember Me, Charlie?
Building Maintenance 1
The Projects
It's Not a Question of IF but of WHEN
Secure in the Knowledge That I Am a Stranger
Made for the Ear of God
Bone by Jewelled Bone
A Wall of Forgetting
Building Maintenance 2
The Hemlock Society Charter Vacation
Then All of a Sudden It Began
I Have Been Where You Have Not Been
The Drop
How We Got Through
What a Magnificent Panorama 2
The Cookies
