What Time Is It Now? Reflection on Literature and Life by Abraham Rothberg

Rothberg-fiction For the last 5 years I’ve been a print-on-demand publisher, producing ten books for a dear friend – Abraham Rothberg. His previous work was published by mainstream publishers and has been favorably reviewed in NY Times, Harper’s, Time Magazine, and Publishers Weekly. Unfortunately his previous work had gone out of print. So we decided to cut out the middle man and self publish.

Our latest book is “What Time Is It Now? Reflection on Literature and Life.” Preview / purchase the book  

The collection is a retrospective selection of essays, sharply observed and often humorous, that span almost half a century of reflections of modern life and literature, politics and personality. There is an essay analyzing the operations of British Secret Intelligence in the novels of John LeCarré, explorations of the conflicts between “superman” Social Darwinism and Socialism as portrayed in the works of Jack London. The collection contains a series of personal forays into the nature of modern marriage, of trying to “cultivate one’s own garden” in modern life, as well as how novelists have depicted the “flawed dream” of American politics. In addition, there are analyses of Gary Snyder’s poetry and their sources, Solzhenitsyn’s short stories and plays and their underlying morality, and the domestic turbulence of Arnold Wesker’s English dramas. Several essays also describe and dissect anti-Semitism in European life and literature, its roots and reverberations, and in one instance, in the works of T.S. Eliot.

In addition to five new essays, it features twenty-five previously published works including:
 “The Decline and Fall of George Smiley” ~  Southwest Review, Autumn, 1981.
 “Waiting for Wesker” ~ Antioch Review, Winter, 1964-65.
 “Solzhenitsyn’s Short Stories”  ~ Kansas Quarterly, Spring, 1967
 “Jack London: American Myth”  ~  Bantam Books, 1963.
 “The War in the Members: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” ~ Bantam Books, 1967.
 “Styron’s Appointment in Sambuco”  ~  New Leader, July 4-11, 1960 

Read Abe’s latest reflection on his work “Fiction is a Lie that Tells the Truth“ 

And many thanks to my talented publishing assistant,  June Tyler who designed Abe’s latest two books.

2 Replies to “What Time Is It Now? Reflection on Literature and Life by Abraham Rothberg”

  1. Peter (Pappas) I’m assuming: I just discovered A. Rothberg and read “The Heirs of Cain” which I found to be two things not often found together, very Jewish, and very universal in its vision of man’s situation. I looked him up and was sorry to find that I was a few years too late to respond personally to his careful presentation of central issues of his novel. I’m sure he was a fine man who had looked at things steady and hard.
    When I looked at his picture it reminded me of my own curmudgeon (teacher and colleague) who came out of the University of Chicago as one of the last of the old schoolers, Dr. Jack McClurg. He was a very fine teacher–teaching as if what he had to say could mean life or death for those in attendance, but with the bark of an ancient tree and all business–i.e., a person with whom it was difficult to have a mere chat. Sometime I will write a memoir of him since he was almost universally misunderstood (people seeing only the bark and not the tap-root that was right in front of them) and of course feared by those who placed the preservation of their private egos before their obvious need to have real clarity on themselves,man, and the world.
    Thanks for your part in preserving this man’s good work. I will look for some of his essays. Sincerely, Jay Warren Clark, Director, St. Paul’s Cultural Center, Old Yuma, Arizona

  2. Jay,
    Thanks for taking the time to share your reactions. Glad to hear you had an “Abe” of your own.
    Here’s hoping you find the time to chronicle your time together.
    Cheers ~ Peter

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.