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The Shawl Paperback – August 29, 1990

by Cynthia Ozick (Author)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 251 ratings
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A devastating vision of the Holocaust and the unfillable emptiness it left in the lives of those who passed through it.
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  1. Print length
    69 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Vintage
  4. Publication date
    August 29, 1990
  5. Dimensions
    5.19 x 0.28 x 8.01 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0679729267
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0679729266
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

"The Shawl" is a brief story first published in the New Yorker in 1981; "Rosa," its longer companion piece, appeared in that magazine three years later. They tell a story of a woman who survived the Holocaust but who has no life in the present because her existence was stolen away from her in a past that does not end. "A book that etches itself indelibly in the reader's mind," concluded PW .
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

This short story and novella, both O. Henry Prize winners, together create a picture of Rosa Lubin's life. The title story tells of Rosa's fifteen-month-old daughter's death in a concentration camp and the shawl that provided her daughter with satisfaction Rosa's breasts could no longer give. "Rosa," the novella, takes place more than thirty years later in southern Florida where it is "Summer without end, a mistake!" Rosa was exiled to Florida after destroying her shop in Brooklyn; she had to leave the state or be put in a mental institution. With financial help from her niece, who Rosa thinks is evil, she is able to stay in Florida. She knows she can depend on her niece because Rosa saved her life in the concentration camp; Rosa knows too, that her niece was the cause of her daughter's death. Rosa lives in two worlds: she functions in one called earth, but to Rosa, the real world is where her long-dead daughter lives. In letters to her daughter, she comments about her niece: "Because she fears the past she distrusts the future - it, too, will turn into the past. As a result she has nothing." Rosa is a woman who, through the loss of her country, her family, and her daughter, lost herself. Cynthia Ozick's spare writing leaves a lasting image of Rosa and her life. People do get lost and are sometimes never found. -- For great reviews of books for girls, check out Let's Hear It for the Girls: 375 Great Books for Readers 2-14. -- From 500 Great Books by Women; review by Holly Smith

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Vintage; Reprint edition (August 29, 1990)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 69 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0679729267
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0679729266
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 3 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.19 x 0.28 x 8.01 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 251 ratings

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Cynthia Ozick

Cynthia Ozick

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Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
251 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Jon Linden
5.0 out of 5 stars Living On Death
Reviewed in the United States on March 11, 2005
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In Ozick's book she presents a truly phenomenal treatise on the life of a retired holocaust survivor. Ozick paints an incredible graphic picture of what Miami looks like to one who has survived a stint in a Nazi concentration camp. The story starts with a classic example of Nazi savagery, showing how the protagonist had a daughter in the camp, and how that daughter was treated with gratuitous violence and horror.

Ozick clearly portrays a women with a mind that has been tortured so badly, that she feels that everything is deeply negative. The vision is of one whose eyes have been colored with blood colored glasses, and the dust and ash of burnt bodies. The story leads the reader through this emotional and psychic horror show, that runs through the protagonist's head.

For a bit of additional irony, Ozick reveals the story as her character searches the city for a lost pair of underwear. This personal item is so important to her, that she exerts more energy in the search for that, than she does in the continuation of life. Her perspective is that the Nazi's "stole her life." And for so many, this was indeed the case. Whether they survived or not, they had their lives stolen from them.

Through this prism Ozick reveals the way the mind is deeply and permanently affected by the exposure to a period of horror; that no human being should ever have to endure. As a result, the experience always leaves an impression on the mind which cannot be shirked, no matter how hard a survivor tries, the memory of the ugliness and the near death conditions never completely leaves their memory or present day life.

The book is highly recommended for those interested in the affect that being in a concentration camp exerts on the human mind. It also is a purely exquisite tale of human suffering.
16 people found this helpful
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Angelia P
5.0 out of 5 stars A Harrowing Tale of a Concentration Camp and the Effects Decades Later
Reviewed in the United States on February 24, 2013
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The Shawl (1989) by Cynthia Ozick was originally published as two separate pieces in The New Yorker; the short story "The Shawl" (1980) and the novella "Rosa" (1983). "The Shawl" is a harrowing tale about Rosa who conceals her fifteen month old daughter, Magna, under a shawl in order to hide her from the soldiers on their way to and in a concentration camp to save Magna's life. The magical shawl provides nourishment and pacification for the infant when Rosa can no longer provide either. Rosa's niece Stella, a fourteen year old girl, has made the journey with them. One cold day, Stella is unable to bear the cold and takes the shawl from Magna. Ultimately, this leads to Magna's discovery and horrific murder as a soldier tosses Magna into an electric fence right in front of Rosa's eyes. In order not to be killed, Rosa "took Magna's shawl and filled her own mouth with it, stuffed it in and stuffed it in, until she was swallowing up the wolf's screech and tasting the cinnamon and almond depth of Magna's saliva; and Rosa drank Magna's shawl until it dried" (Ozick 10).

"Rosa" takes places approximately thirty-five years later when Rosa has moved to Florida after destroying her shop. The ghost of Magna now lives inside Rosa and the shawl, haunting her forever. In an interview with prior Chairman Dana Gioia at the National Endowment for the Arts, Ozick states, "The Shawl began with a line, one sentence in The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by William Shirer. This one sentence told of a real event, about a baby being thrown against an electrified fence. And that stayed with me and stayed with me..." (neabigread.org).
9 people found this helpful
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K.S.
4.0 out of 5 stars A good book.
Reviewed in the United States on September 16, 2013
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This story didn't really "click" with me. The first part (The Shawl) was fantastic. The second part (Rosa) was decent, but didn't carry the punch of the first. Overall it was a good book, and you might enjoy it more than I did. Definitely give it a shot!
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Neal N Klein
5.0 out of 5 stars Difficult to match
Reviewed in the United States on May 9, 2010
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"The Shawl" is one of those Holocaust themed novels that students of the subject must read. Other stories explore the events, while "The Shawl" shows the raw nerve of the survivor. Readers might be surprised by the brevity of the story - it's not even seventy pages - but Ozick intelligently composes every paragraph for powerful effect. The story takes place in Miami Beach during the late 1970's, a time I remember quite well growing up. Ozick captures the feel of the Miami Beach few remember today: a dying oven many people chose as their place to retire and die.

The story resonates with me because my father is a Holocaust survivor who brought his family to Miami Beach. The alienation of Rosa Lublin, the protagonist is perfectly recreated. This is the kind of damage I expect to see in Holocaust survivors, but it's particularly horrible with Rosa. I will not spoil it for you, but I was amazed at how the first four pages of the story left me suddenly crying.

Not enough stories explore the alienation of the Holocaust survivor. Read "The Shawl" and you will understand something the chronologies and statistics can never describe.
5 people found this helpful
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Kate
5.0 out of 5 stars The "shawl" is the perfect foil for the pain of those who survived the ...
Reviewed in the United States on August 9, 2014
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Ozick captures in her story the deep psychological pain that is 'survivor guilt'. These stories are crafted so well that you become totally immersed in them, and the unspeakable pain of their characters. The "shawl" is the perfect foil for the pain of those who survived the unthinkable. Beautifully written, haunting and disturbing.
3 people found this helpful
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Jennifer
3.0 out of 5 stars I liked both stories, but neither of them drew me in like I had expected or wanted
Reviewed in the United States on September 27, 2018
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This book consists of two short stories, "The Shawl" and "Rosa." "The Shawl" takes place in a concentration camp, and tells one woman's heartbreaking story of life during this time. "Rosa" takes place thirty year's later in Florida, and shows us the affect the holocaust had on her life. I liked both stories, but neither of them drew me in like I had expected or wanted.
2 people found this helpful
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SallyB
5.0 out of 5 stars Moving
Reviewed in the United States on December 21, 2011
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Although this book (novella) is very short, it is a moving story of a mother's love for her child. Many books have been written about this time period, but this one has a different point of view. I plan to recommend it to my book club.
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Enrique
5.0 out of 5 stars Really awesome
Reviewed in the United States on April 27, 2016
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English professor required this book , I do not like reading at all what so ever but this book was very interesting.
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Top reviews from other countries

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Satwinder Kaur
5.0 out of 5 stars Shawl by Cynthia ozick
Reviewed in India on June 20, 2021
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It is really a good book related to holocaust survivors. It is worth reading. Book was in good condition with viable price.
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Emmanuel JOEL
5.0 out of 5 stars Très belle nouvelle.
Reviewed in France on January 5, 2020
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Très beau texte sur la Shoah .
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simon
5.0 out of 5 stars Intensely painful to read, but very important.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 15, 2015
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No doubt this is a masterpiece and it packs a tremendous punch. It's totally heartbreaking and completely authentic in its depiction of character and its honest as to how a mother who had experienced what what the main protagonist had would feel. Terribly tragic, and sad, but incredibly insightful. The influence of isaac bashevis singer is only too apparent, but Ozick's vision is decidedly bleaker. A great, but depressing read.
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billybud
5.0 out of 5 stars grandissima Cynthia
Reviewed in Italy on January 7, 2014
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Un piccolo capolavoro: due racconti che inquadrano gli stessi personaggi ad anni di distanza: Stella e sua zia Rose, che nella loro marcia verso un campo di concentramento, nasconde nello scialle la sua piccola di 15 mesi. La sua lotta tragica per nasconderla e cercare di salvarla fino allo sconvolgente epilogo della sua terribile morte. Poi anni dopo in Florida dove Rose vive in uno squallido albergo la sua follia popolata di fantasmi tragici, primo fra tutti quello dello scialle che avvolgeva la sua piccola, in una lenta discesa verso l'annientamento. Poi, forse, l'incontro con un altro sopravvissuto dai campi, dapprima rifiutato, riuscirà a salvarla dall'autodistruzione. Insieme i due racconti costituiscono un grande romanzo sulla memoria, il dolore, la shoa e la follia. Da leggere assolutamente. Richiede un buon livello di conoscenza dell' inglese.
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Viscount Murphy
5.0 out of 5 stars If one wants to know the difference between death in ...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 15, 2016
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If one wants to know the difference between death in slow motion and the guilt of survival this is the book to read. The coming to terms with why not me is and the despair it nurtures in your sole is heartbreaking
Viscount Murphy
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