and "[A] haunting and exhilarating story collection of the first order. The prose is luminous and passionate, the characters quietly heroic, the themes complex and resonant, and the plots faithful to the ambiguities of life. and " - John Dufresne Not since The Magic Barrel have I read a short story collection that delivers such lacerating wit and tempered realism. Jacob Lampart's stories about New York literary life and the Jewish American experience awaken memories of early Philip Roth and forever Bernard Malamud. and " - C. Michael Curtis, fiction editor, The Atlantic The Muse of Ocean Parkway and Other Stories explores difficulties Jews face while trying to balance their religious practices with the fast-paced, modern society of New York City. Their lives captured in moments of crisis, Jacob Lampart's protagonists range from an artist attempting to escape obscurity to a mother struggling to decide how to raise her adopted Chinese daughter. Jacob Lampart has lived in Israel since the 1980s, dividing his time annually between Jerusalem and his hometown of Brooklyn, New York.