Six Memos from the Last Millennium: A Novelist Reads the Talmud (Exploring Jewish Arts and Culture) - Hardcover

Possessing “a gifted, committed imagination” (New York Times), Joseph Skibell is the author of three novels, A Blessing on the Moon, The English Disease, and A Curable Romantic, and a collection of true stories, My Father’s Guitar & Other Imaginary Things. He has received numerous awards, including a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship and Story Magazine’s Short Short-Story Prize.

"Skibell's work is lucid and erudite, and he does honor to his subject matter...A fresh look at an ancient source." (Kirkus 2016-02-15)

". . . highly readable, and deeply thought-provoking...he presents the Talmud’s treatment of its own authors as both role models and warnings, a remarkably self-reflective approach that is needed today perhaps more than ever." (Jewish Book Council 2016-05-13)

"Creative, learned, and playful, Six Memos From the Last Millennium illuminates Talmudic tales and personalities with clarity and wisdom." (Rabbi David Wolpe, Temple Sinai, and author of David: The Divided Heart)

"In Six Memos, a master storyteller, who has authored extraordinary works of fiction, applies his storytelling skills to tales from the Talmud, unpacking them with rare sensitivity and artistry. We learn with Skibell to pay close attention to what is said and what is unsaid. Written with color and wit, this book is an exercise in the pleasures of reading." (Jacob L. Wright, Professor of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament at Emory University, and author of David, King of Israel, in Biblical Memory)

"In Six Memos from the Last Millennium, a master storyteller takes on stories of the masters, bringing to modern life the millennia-old stories of the Talmud. Skibell discerns in those stories motifs and strands of thought that join the apparently disjointed, propelling the mini-narratives into our modern mindset with clarity and depth. I finished Six Memos reading and thinking—maybe even living—more deliberately and intelligently." (W. Mark Lanier, founder, Lanier Theological Library, and author of Christianity on Trial: A Lawyer Examines the Christian Faith)