Self-promotion does not come easily to many writers, myself included. Fortunately, others can and do speak on our behalf. On this page are comments from objective reviewers who have appreciated and validated my work. I am grateful for their encouragement, and hope to add more comments as new work is published. Writing is a solitary activity that brings its own reward, but it is also gratifying to know when our words touch others. Please use CONTACT US to send me your thoughts. Writers always seek to improve their craft. Feedback from thoughtful readers is an invaluable part of this process. You can also add your own ratings and reviews to my Author Page on both Amazon (www.amazon.com/author/asewovenwords) and Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/727541.Ann_S_Epstein). Many thanks!
More praise for the award-winning novel The Sister Knot. Readers continue to praise The Sister Knot, an award-winning novel about the lifelong power of sisterhood in the aftermath of wartime trauma.
- “This book would just not let me put it down.”
- “An engrossing, moving and well-crafted novel about resilience.”
- “Ann Epstein depicts these complex women with empathy, warmth, and insight.”
- A deep, complex emotional understanding of the binding power of wartime trauma.”
- “Reading the final chapters had me in tears.”
- “A brilliantly gifted writer.”
- “Lines that ache in their beauty.”
- “The persistence and struggles the women have in maintaining their sisterly connection fuel the narrative from beginning to end.”
- “I’ve read books by this author before, and one of the things she does best is handle often deeply unsettling history, circumstances and consequences with gentleness and nuance, all in the service of displaying her characters’ growth and resilience.”
See the full reviews of The Sister Knot on Goodreads and Amazon. Add your own review. Thanks! (Posted 11/16/24)
Historical Novel Review praises The Sister Knot. My novel The Sister Knot, about the lifelong friendship between World War Two orphans, received a great write-up in Historical Novel Review. “A memorable, evocative novel that explores survival, the impact of the Holocaust’s horrors on future generations, and the fragile yet unbreakable oath of sisterhood.” The full review is online at Historical Novel Review and in the magazine’s August 2024 print issue. Read more about the book at NOVELS.
What readers are saying about The Sister Knot. The Sister Knot is garnering raves from readers. Here are excerpts from their posted reviews:
- “Speaks to the resilience of human nature.”
- “A historical fiction novel that’s all heart; intensely real.”
- “An intriguing addition to World War II historical fiction; the women’s steadfast commitment to each other throughout the decades is powerful.”
- “Epstein draws poignant portraits of two fascinating, diverse women; the writing is flawless.”
- “Leaves readers caught up in a large and varied spectrum of emotions; wonderfully engrossing.”
- “Skillfully depicts the insidious effects of childhood trauma while highlighting the grit and sisterhood born of that trauma.”
- “Kudos to Epstein for pulling off a splendid oxymoron: an uplifting novel about hardship.”
- “A deeply human and humane tale told with pace and skill.”
- “A glorious tribute to women’s capacities to heal themselves and grow wise even as they help to heal a fractured world.”
- “A master tale of sisterhood.”
- “An intricately webbed story of survival, separation, and reunion.”
- A gritty tale of life and love in which we are carried along.”
- “Passionate, illuminating, and reflective.”
- Allows us to see that the most powerful relationships are the ones we make for ourselves, rather than those we’re born into.”
- “An extraordinary saga!”
- “From page one to the end, one is captivated by the story.”
See the full reviews of The Sister Knot on Goodreads and Amazon.
One Person’s Loss garners praise. I’m grateful for the following laudatory reviews of One Person’s Loss. If you enjoyed the book, I’d appreciate a rating and review on Amazon and/or Goodreads. Thanks for the encouragement and support. Writers depend on generous readers like you! (Posted 02/21/23)
“Epstein paints a skillful picture of the tragedy of the Holocaust mirrored in miniature with each person. The use of a present-tense narrative voice in close third-person gives an immediate sense of the looming and unstoppable horror of the war as each suspected loss is confirmed.” (Read the full review in the February 2023 issue of Historical Novel Review).
“Ann Epstein has written a book that is so human and heartbreaking and hopeful all at the same time. Her characters are so real that you ache when they ache and you celebrate when they celebrate.” (Amazon reader)
I found it to be thought provoking and heart breaking at the same time. The author really brings in many sides of loss and grief. Kudos for handling this entire scenario with grace and understanding. (Amazon reader)
Ann Epstein’s historical research is thorough, her ear for dialogue and eye for physical setting are unerring, and her sense of character is profound. “One Person’s Loss” is an ambitious novel in which personal and inter-generational trauma, mental health challenges, and the upheaval of immigration collide in powerful ways. The characters respond to their circumstances in a manner that befits their time and place. As with our loved ones in real life, we can feel frustrated by them at times, but Ann Epstein’s artistry is such that we always root for them. “One Person’s Loss” is a rich and satisfying read. (Amazon reader)
A breathtaking historical fiction story about love, loss, family and resilience, with intriguing characters. (Amazon reader)
This is a beautifully rendered story of a young Jewish couple torn both by the decision of when to start a family of their own and by the violent, ruthless Nazi takeover of their beloved Berlin and beyond. Set from 1930s Europe to Coney Island and Brooklyn, NY (to, later in the book, the post-World War II early 1950s), the couple’s bond is continually tested as they settle into their new home in the U.S. and try valiantly to find employment. (Goodreads reader)
Just when I thought I’d read every angle about the brutality and loss experienced by so many in WW II, Ann S. Epstein’s “One Person’s Loss” shines a new light on the repercussions of that conflict. … The author does a wonderful job of depicting survivor’s guilt and the damage it can inflict on the most important relationships we have in life. Realistic and heartbreaking, this story helps connect us to pressures that can forever dim our happiness. (Goodreads reader)
Individually, both Petra and Erich were characters that I had sympathy for and also generally liked. From the portions of the book that were written in their respective points of view, I was able to understand them and care about what happened in their individual lives. I was certainly engaged in their stories and it was hard to put the book down. (Goodreads reader)
One Person’s Loss brings the reader into the lives of compelling and fully realized characters who, while fortunate enough to have escaped Nazi Europe “in time,” must grapple with unimaginable losses while also navigating the immigrant experience. In Ann Epstein’s thoughtfully rendered narrative, we share a family’s journey through universal questions and dilemmas. What do we owe ourselves, each other, our lost loved ones, and our children? When “Forgetting is how you move forward” from trauma, how do we honor the imperative to “never forget”? How does one learn to feel secure in a new land after their old roots were destroyed? One Person’s Loss is a deeply moving and satisfying read. (Goodreads reader)
It is very well written and keeps you gripped throughout. I highly recommend this book. (Goodreads reader)
With humble thanks to those who take time to write reviews! Below are some recent Goodreads and Amazon kudos for my latest books. (Posted 07/19/22)
The Great Stork Derby
A great allegory for our time, The Great Stork Derby offers a heartfelt and poignant analysis of the ways in which ambition, greed, or even misplaced aspirations can impact a family for generations to come. Searing and delightful, filled with humor and grief, it packs a punch.
The honesty of this man’s awfulness was refreshing. I liked that he came to understand just how terrible he had been to his children and especially to his wife. There are many historical fictions that focus on how heroic someone is, but this one was more real, more true in allowing someone to come to an epiphany of his grievous ways. Well done.
Love, Loss, and Secrets Across America and Beyond: Three Gripping and Emotional Historical Novels
The title is accurate. These three stories are very well written, with good character development. They all have sadness due to loss and separation from family, but there are good things that happen and love in each story. The characters get to know themselves better and those they hurt or who hurt them.
The very best kind of historical fiction, all wrapped up in a bow alongside real stories and experiences.
Readers continue to praise The Great Stork Derby (Posted 11/30/21)
“A delight to read. I enjoyed every word of it. The narrator is an old man looking back on his life, trying to justify past behavior, and, finally, coming to terms with it. The plot is extraordinarily unique, as are the characters.” – Amazon reader
“The Great Stork Derby moves quickly, the writing is fluid, the main character — alienated from his large family — is compelling, and the supportive ‘cast’ of his late wife and children rich in their variety. . . With a wonderful sense of cultural irony and appreciation, Epstein allows her characters to navigate their life-paths by repeatedly quoting the ultimate self-help guru of their time and their century, Dale Carnegie. Readers will definitely make friends with this book, and be influenced by it, in the way they look at their own lives and families.” – Amazon reader
More praise for The Great Stork Derby (excerpts): (Updated 11/18/21)
“Based on a true event, this is a touching and poignant look at family life and how it is never too late to effect change.” Read the full review in the November 2021 issue of Historical Novel Review.
“A gut-wrenching story built upon one of the craziest true events that ever occurred in modern human history: a baby-making contest. Turns what appears to be a funny sitcom set-up into a familial tragedy. A literary feast in which the heartbreaking exists beside the hope of a man determined to change in the last days of his life.” – Amazon reader
“I loved this book. It pretty much reaffirmed my faith in fiction. The brilliance of this book is the skill in which Epstein weaves the juxtaposition between self-awareness and forgiveness,” – Amazon reader
“As a parent, this book made me think about how I interact with my own children and what sort of relationship we’ll have as they get older.” – Amazon reader
“We could all learn something in this book. It completely held my interest to the end.” – Amazon reader
“Ann S. Epstein’s excellent imagination yields another uplifting, entertaining, and profoundly human story. One colorful character after another. Don’t miss it!” – Amazon reader
“As I started reading the book, I did not find [the protagonist] likeable, as he was extremely self-centered and manipulative. His growth through the book allowed him to become a more sympathetic character, and by the end of the book, I was rooting for his happiness.” – Goodreads reader
“This book and the lessons it taught stayed on my mind long after I finished it.” – Goodreads reader
“A sharp look into how our past decisions effect relationships for years to come. The characters are complex and well written and the main character’s emotional development is quite natural.” – Goodreads reader
“A wonderful riff on a crazy real-life event, The Great Stork Derby is a marvelous examination of parental and sibling relationships and an engrossing read. There’s a lot to learn here.” – Goodreads reader
Advance praise for The Great Stork Derby on Goodreads (Posted 09/11/21)
Ann S. Epstein’s newest historical novel, The Great Stork Derby, is a gut-wrenching story built upon one of the craziest true events that ever occurred in modern human history: a baby-making contest. The story begins in 1976 with the humiliating image of a curmudgeon who’s fallen on the floor of his decrepit Toronto house and can’t get up. When help finally arrives, the social worker assigned to Emm Benbow gives him two stark choices, either live in a rundown old folks’ home, the only one he can afford, or stay with one of his children. It turns out he has a bunch of them. In 1926, when he was a young, newly married man of salesman disposition and competitive spirit, he talked his sweet, meek wife into entering the high-stakes Great Stork Derby: the Toronto couple that had the most babies within 10 years would win what amounts to a million dollars in today’s currency. The contest was real and the brainchild of Charles Vance Millar, a wealthy man infamous for practical jokes that exploited the greedy. Eleven families took part in this particular “joke.” Of those, four mothers with nine children each took home $110,000 to their respective families. The author does a fabulous job of turning what appears to be a funny sitcom set-up into a familial tragedy through her depiction of Emm as a man more interested in the competition than in actually fathering his children. When his wife died young, he left the rearing of his brood to his mother, a hard-hearted disciplinarian. While the story has wonderful moments of humor, the reader feels the dark reality Emm learns as he moves from living with one of his kids to another: he was a lousy, selfish father who can either die alone, embittered by what he feels his children owe him for housing and clothing them in their youth. Or he can admit his emotional abandonment and build relationships with them. That premise could easily lead to an overly-sweet sentimental movie feel. Instead, the author’s deft treatment of the characters and the complex dynamics between them treats the reader to a truly literary feast in which the heartbreaking exists beside the hope of a man determined to change in the last days of his life.
Another solid book that I found on booksirens.com. I was drawn in by the description of the book and thought it was a really wonderful story. What I really liked was how the author developed Emm, his children, and his relationship with each of them. Every chapter that preceded Emm’s moving in with them was a nice introduction about the circumstances leading up to Izora’s pregnancy, the neonatal period, the birth, and their personality as infants. I kept wondering if Emm had any sense of self-awareness of how awful he was as a parent instead of falling back on outdated cliches like “that was a woman’s job.” It was nice to see his growth throughout the story and how each child helped him recognize his deficiencies. I especially enjoyed Emm’s interactions with Foy – for me, those were the best scenes. As a parent, this book made me think about how I interact with my own children and what sort of relationship we’ll have as they get older. Prior to reading this book, I had no idea that the Great Stork Derby was a real historical event. I hope this book gets promoted well.
I had never heard of this bit of history. While the family in this book is fictional, it was interesting to think about what may have driven a couple to try to win and how that may have affected relationships with everyone in their lives.
Praise continues to roll in for the historical novel On the Shore: (Posted 07/25/20)
5 stars – American Jews engaged in the Great War. Epstein’s characters are rich and well developed. (Amazon reader)
5 stars – On the Shore is well-researched, well-written, and entertaining. It is a double coming of age story, with history, adventure, and romance. It is about family and friendships, community and much more. (Goodreads and Amazon reader)
A Brain. A Heart. The Nerve. receives praise and Editors’ Choice award from Historical Novel Review:
“Epstein crafts her characters with great sensitivity, and the events of Meinhardt’s life feel very realistic. I was surprised to read in the author’s acknowledgments that the characters and story were almost entirely her inventions. Meinhardt Raabe was a little person who played the coroner in The Wizard of Oz, but the real-life Meinhardt and the fictional one are altogether different. Epstein’s ability to create such a believable story demonstrates her skill as a novelist. Highly recommended.” (Historical Novel Review, November 2019, Editors’ Choice selection) https://historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/a-brain-a-heart-the-nerve/ (Posted 11/03/19)
About A Brain. A Heart. The Nerve.
5 stars – I simply couldn’t put it down! The author has an uncanny ability to create characters so strong that their journey becomes your own. In my case, there was an added bonus as the main character, Meinhardt Raabe, is a Munchkin from The Wizard of Oz, a movie I loved as a child and watched year after year. A Brain. A Heart. The Nerve. is peppered with bits of wisdom and insight into the human condition, and filled with a lot of soul! (Amazon reader) (Posted 08/09/19)
A Brain. A Heart. The Nerve. (Alternative Book Press)
More praise for Tazia and Gemma from readers on Amazon and Goodreads (Posted 11/24/18)
5 stars – Tazia and Gemma is a wonderfully engaging story about a young, unwed, pregnant, Italian immigrant who goes to great lengths to raise her daughter by herself, while simultaneously keeping her daughter in the dark about who her father is and other secrets about her own past. The relationship between mother (Tazia) and daughter (Gemma) is so real and relatable that the characters come alive with every page. In the end, a mother’s desire to shield her daughter becomes her daughter’s desire to find her father, which takes her on a journey across the country and then across the globe. I highly recommend Tazia and Gemma for its insightfulness, twists and turns, and especially for the novel way the author describes what it’s like to search for one’s roots.
5 stars – Tazia and Gemma begins as a great “mother-daughter” book that takes you through the life of a young, unwed, pregnant, Italian immigrant as she moves from place to place, struggling to give her daughter the best life she could. It ends with her daughter, a journalist, tracing the path her mother took to get from New York to California, and eventually leading her to meet her biological father and her mother’s family in Italy. Very interesting characters and experiences, a very good read!
More reviews of Tazia and Gemma on Amazon and Goodreads (Posted 09/03/18)
5 stars – Becoming one with a new family: As Tazia moves from place to place, the writer brings you into her extended family. You will not willingly say goodbye.
5 stars – Thoroughly enjoyed this gem of a novel. So intelligently and sensitively written.
Reader ratings and reviews of Tazia and Gemma (Vine Leaves Press, 2018) on Amazon and Goodreads (Posted 07/13/18):
5 stars — I just completed reading Tazia and Gemma and totally recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a “character driven” story. The complex relationship of a mother and child, during a specific time in past history, is unfolded through a very interesting and different format. I extremely enjoyed the journey.
5 stars — I thoroughly enjoyed this thoughtful historical novel. Told in alternating sections – Tazia’s experiences moving forward and Gemma’s investigative reporting searching back, the reader is treated to an engaging story, rich with time and place references, and insight into this mother-daughter pair’s deep, complicated relationship.
Advanced praise for the novel Tazia and Gemma (Vine Leaves Press, May 2018) (Posted 02/18/18):
In Tazia and Gemma, Ann S. Epstein has created a novel of two complementary odysseys, one urgently looking forward, seeking a home, and one yearningly looking backwards, seeking origins. The two title characters are mother and daughter, and in Epstein’s wonderful rendering, we follow the mother Tazia’s journey across America over the course of several decades, from the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire early in the century to the wartime boom in California in the 1940s and 50s. Throughout her journeys, what shines through is Tazia’s fierce sense of justice and her equally fierce love for her daughter. Gemma’s journey, backwards in time, is more of a detective story, as she tracks down the people and places where she and her mother lived and worked when she was an infant and young girl. As Gemma pieces together an understanding of her mother’s past lives, she comes to unexpected insights that take her beyond her original goals to a new sense of the meaning of home. Epstein’s work shows a deep affection for her many memorable characters, and Tazia’s dramatic encounters across the landscape of America over fifty years encapsulates our history from new and seldom-heard-from perspectives. A deeply-researched, deeply-felt, and deeply enjoyable novel. — Lawrence Coates, Author of The Goodbye House and The Blossom Festival
Tazia and Gemma is the story of a mother’s fierce determination to raise her daughter on her own terms, and a daughter’s determination to discover and understand those terms. This is compulsively readable fiction: vivid, curious, and moving. It’s also an intimate chronicle of early twentieth-century American history that needs to be remembered right now. The daily lives of working-class people, immigrants, minorities, and women — Epstein tells their stories with the attentiveness and dignity they deserve. You deserve to pick up this novel, for its lessons and its pleasures. — Polly Rosenwaike, Author of Look How Happy I’m Making You
A daughter’s search for her father becomes a search for a collective identity that spans much of the United States and Italy; a mother’s insistence that she has a right to her privacy and that her personal “identity” — the one she believes in — is the one she has created for herself. Epstein weaves a nonlinear tale that seeks to reconcile race, religion, personal identity, truth, mother-daughter relationships and more, and which proves (as most human experience) in some ways satisfying and in others, impossible. After all, when does the right to our own stories extend to appropriating the stories of others? Can we ever truly “know” another human being? The conflict in Tazia and Gemma makes a fascinating read. — L. E. Kimball, Author of Seasonal Roads
Ann S. Epstein’s new work, Tazia and Gemma, is a novel beginning in the early nineteen hundreds that looks at the journey of a young Italian immigrant, Tazia, who struggles to retain her self-respect while working under demeaning conditions, and her daughter Gemma, who searches for her father and her heritage. This moving story of racial and religious conflicts and Epstein’s dreamlike writing will keep you reading until the last page. — Deepak Singh, Author of How May I Help You? An Immigrant’s Journey from MBA to Minimum Wage
Historical Novel Society reviews ON THE SHORE: The Historical Novel Society published a laudatory review my World War One era book On the Shore (see NOVELS) in the February 2018 issue of its magazine (Historical Novel Review, issue 83, page 44). Here’s an excerpt: “In alternating chapters, Epstein gives us a rare glimpse into a multi-generational immigrant community rarely written about—and does it with grace, sensitivity and lyricism. Her characters are recognizable and vividly drawn. … What Epstein has done in this beautiful novel is to capture a time and place, and a community undergoing revolutionary change. This is a must read for anyone interested in the American Jewish experience and an absolute necessity for people who want to understand immigrant communities.” Read the entire review at https://historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/on-the-shore/ (Posted 02/09/18)
More 5-star reviews for On the Shore on Amazon and Goodreads:
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book – I couldn’t wait to find out what would happen next with each of the characters and what they were thinking as time went on and circumstances changed. I really enjoyed the rich characterization and how this story was told from different points of view. A delight!
An engaging story of immigrant experiences, including their various adaptations to life in a new country. Who continue in the traditional ways? Who take small steps to address the issues of the day? Who rebel to take on new identities? And how tolerant are we of those who stray from the familiar, and who believe and behave differently from us?
From the first page, I was drawn into an extremely interesting family saga. The writing style of Ann Epstein is very smooth and the characters very compelling and believable. I thoroughly enjoyed learning many unknown interesting facts about the time frame that “On the Shore” takes place within. I thoroughly enjoyed the reading experience and highly recommend it,
ON THE SHORE was a wonderful book, which through the eyes of its intriguing characters, tells a story that many of us who came from immigrant families can relate to. The characters as they interact with each other and the world around them, seem so real, that one gets lost in their experiences. I can see why the author has won writing awards!
Epstein’s saga of an immigrant family during WWI is fascinating and timely today. It’s always intriguing to explore culture and how it reveals relationship. In this case [ON THE SHORE], it drives the plot. A great read.
About On the Shore – Here’s what readers are saying on Amazon and Goodreads:
ON THE SHORE is a wonderful book, which through the eyes of its intriguing characters, tells a story that many of us who came from immigrant families, whether first, second, or third generation, can easily relate to. The author did a masterful job of showing how the characters interact with each other, the world around them, and from page to page, chapter to chapter, how each grew and evolved. Great read!
In ON THE SHORE, Ann Epstein has woven together themes of war, history, religion, family and immigration into a moving narrative. As the characters struggle with their identities and dreams, the reader is taken along with them into a world that is both a century old and contemporary in its concerns.
If you have any curiosity about Jews and Judaism in America, or the immigrant experience in general, you will want to read this timely book. It is a terrific read, with subtle humor and unexpected twists. Great characters.
Excellent! ON THE SHORE drew me in from the first page. I think this new author has great promise.
I might be the first person to write a review, but I doubt I’ll be the last because ON THE SHORE is a book worth talking about. I was transported to different times and places, her characters became my friends, and perhaps most important – I completely forgot that my own mother wrote this book when I was reading it. It’s that immersive of an experience.
In ON THE SHORE, Ann Epstein writes about an immigrant Jewish family caught in the upheaval when a son lies about his name and age to fight in WWI. Epstein knows how to tell history through fiction. I am tempted to compare her with writers like William Dalrymple.
I really loved, and learned from ON THE SHORE. The loose ends are all tied up so unexpectedly. A great read.
ON THE SHORE brings alive Jewish immigrant family life in the years of the First World War and its aftermath. Richly developed characters interact and refuse to interact with each other in patterns that define their lives. Ultimately, their lives reveal the grand theme of rebellion and reconciliation with their father.
Epstein’s ON THE SHORE is extraordinarily engaging, giving us a glimpse into parts of the American Jewish experience that are at once familiar – the neighborhoods, the traditions – but also much less so – American Jews engaged in the Great War. Her characters are rich and well developed, and the pacing is terrific!
My heart opened to every character in ON THE SHORE. The timeless struggle to find your identity mixed with the colorful portrayal of life on the lower East Side and fascinating details of WWI combined to make this a fast and engaging read.
If you come from a family who immigrated to this country you feel as if you are reading about members of your own family. If you didn’t, you will get a wonderful understanding of the interaction of history with a Jewish family and their lives.
About Tazia and Gemma – Ann S. Epstein’s trademark study of inter-familial relationships across three, four or even more generations is evident. From the depression sweatshops and meat processing plants to the naval base and more, all the detail is exquisitely believable. For reasons explained throughout the story, Gemma grows up not knowing who her father is. However, she is determined to track him down in time for her son’s wedding and uses her skills as an investigative journalist to piece together her mother Tazia’s life from childhood on a small family owned olive farm in Italy to her nona status in sixties America. Tazia and Gemma far exceeds all my normal demands [for] a book and I heartily recommend it. (Peter Snell, Owner, Barton’s Bookstore)
About “Milkorno” – A fine and wonderful story (W. Scott Olsen, Editor, Ascent)
About On the Shore — Ann S. Epstein has brought vividly to life a time and place in On the Shore. This is character-rich and lyrical fiction. There are stories within stories here—moving, meaningful, and memorable. Epstein renders this world with precision, compassion, and special attention to the beautiful. To read this work is to live in its reality, to linger among its moments. An experience both rich and riveting is offered in each of this novel’s skillfully crafted scenes. (Laura Kasischke of Author of Mind of Winter, The Raising, and The Life Before Her Eyes)
About On the Shore — On the Shore, Ann S. Epstein’s novel of a second generation Jewish immigrant’s decision to enlist in the navy at sixteen and fight for his country in World War I, transports the reader to New York City at the beginning of the previous century, as well as theaters of conflict in Europe, through stunningly lucid prose and characters whose complexities emerge through struggle. Though three characters’ points-of view are braided in this novel of epic sweep and breadth, Epstein never loses sight of the personal, and as engaged as we are in Shmuel’s odyssey and quest for identity overseas, it’s in the void his disappearance leaves in his family back home that the novel hits its mark and leaves its powerful resonance and lasting impression. (Daniel Mueller, Author of How Animals Mate and Nights I Dreamed of Hubert Humphrey)
About On the Shore — On the Shore is a moving story of multi-generation immigrant families with characters that feel almost contemporary. With a careful eye for the bygone-era details and freshness of language, Ann S. Epstein makes you breathe the air of that distant time and place. (Deepak Singh, Author of How May I Help You? An Immigrant’s Journey From MBA to Minimum Wage)
About On the Shore — Ann S. Epstein takes history seriously, her research meticulous, her eye for the bizarre detail unerring. Even so, she manages to inject even the gravest moments with a unique, wry sense of humor. Her work reminds us, sometimes painfully, sometimes delightfully, of the everyman experience that is so easily, tragically lost in our rush to tame the chaos of the past and move on. (Amy Gustine, Author of You Should Pity Us Instead)
About On the Shore — Ann S. Epstein, an intricate storyteller, has recreated a culture and era of a century ago through the eyes of three characters, Sam, his sister and his uncle. Their dilemmas resonate today: What makes a person an adult? Can one embrace change and maintain tradition? And how does love — filial, paternal, or romantic — affect all of this? The immigrant Jewish culture of New York is portrayed like a matrushka doll, a culture within a culture within a culture. Ann opens each layer for the reader to see. And at the core is the answer, the circle back to the questions. (Jeanne Sirotkin, Author of Wrestling the Bear, winner of the 2011 SFA Press prize in fiction)
About On the Shore — I was gripped by this narrative from the very start. The interplay and representation of family strife and individual passions and quirks were totally believable. The interwoven plots are clearly portrayed by the three viewpoint styles and progress the narrative thread effortlessly. The writing voice and careful attention to social history and setting make me think of John Irving, Tracey Chevalier, Sally Vickers, and Joanne Harris. I think this is a great read. (Acquisitions Editor, Vine Leaves Press)
About “Bea and Bruce” — I found “Bea and Brice” to be a well done and absorbing story. The reader really gets to empathize with Bea and her situation. She is a fully realized character; her doubts are legitimate, and I also liked how her intellectual superiority to Bruce reminds “modern” people of how different attitudes were just a couple of generations ago. (Editor, The Long Story)
About “The Epigenetics of Barbie” — A terrific and humorously strange story. (Editor, The Normal School)
About “Door” — What a great concept for a story. I enjoyed it all the way through. Very engaging, very funny in parts, although there’s a latent sadness building throughout. (Editor, Tahoma Literary Review)
About “Undark” — A powerful, in fact unshakable, story. (Editor, Sewanee Review)
About “The Cannibal Hall of Fame” — We really enjoyed how it grabbed our attention right from the beginning, and your storytelling skills … the ending and the overall tone of the story. (Editor, The Offbeat)
About “Jamming” – It’s a funny, lively piece with terrific characterization. (Editor, PRISM International)