Reviews & Reviewers
Tamar
Tamar, my latest novel, awarded the silver medal for family saga fiction- Global Book Awards.
“Tamar by Sheldon Greene – full subtitle, A Historical Coming of Age Novel of a Jewish Native American Woman in Post-Civil War California – depicts the tumultuous journey of a Jewish/American Indian community who find themselves dispossessed of their ancestral land. The story intimately follows the leader of the community, Tamar, as she navigates such unprecedented events: the building of a railroad, settlers, war, and the relocation of her people to an industrialized world. An inspiring, visceral novel, Tamar will leave you breathless with its wholly unique perspective on this period of history. The dichotomy Greene creates between artificial America and Tamar’s community further illuminates life’s most fundamental modes of survival- self-sufficiency, community, love, and resilience – for a profoundly stirring work of historical fiction.”
-SelfPublishingReview.com
“I loved Tamar, Sheldon Greene’s latest novel, as I have loved his other books over the years. While eager to turn pages quickly to learn what would happen next in the evolving lives of Tamar and her Jewish Native American community, I chose to slow down, for I was enjoying Sheldon Greene’s writing so much. His evocative wording and imagery, his insights into the nuances of personality and relationships, his wonderful metaphors, some like lovely haikus, I read over several times. I put check marks at the top corner of many pages so that I could easily go back to read these sections over again. I have done that while reading all of Mr. Greene’s novels. The Epilogue, while satisfying because it brought closure to the lives of Tamar and her Binyan family community, was also moving in a different way. A conversation takes place over one hundred and forty years after the novel ends between a great grandson of Tamar and another man, both characters from three of Mr. Greene’s previous novels included in his “American Quartet”. The great grandson describes his forebears with generalities about them, for his and our ancestors aren’t fleshed out for us… we didn’t live with them. This touched me, for it shows how the real people, their personalities, the relevant contexts of their lived lives, begin to fade, disappear and are lost to us…as mine will be lost to future generations. Mr. Greene’s epilogue demonstrates this like no one else has in my experience. We tell some stories about these people, and yet, and yet. I highly recommend this novel and Mr. Greene’s other books to you.”
-Peter Bloom
LOST AND FOUND
In Lost and Found, a holocaust survivor recounts stories about the people in a small town in Pennsylvania.
“Part love story, part history, part mythical journey, and part memoir, the overall sense I left The Seed Apple with was that of an accomplished literary novel.”
“The depth of humanity in this and his other books will touch you deeply and remain with you.”
“…such a beautiful book… that really is a must read…”
“This is a novel that deals with questions of family, legacy, time, and power. I recommend it for anyone interested in reading a book with depth, as well as anyone seeking well-written fiction that grapples with a multitude of issues.”
Burnt Umber
Burnt Umber, ties together the lives and art of two real 20th century artists. The novel spans the century, including Two Great Wars, travels from Munich to Paris and ends in Berkeley during the Viet Nam era. It explores the themes of creativity and narcissism, and the empowerment of women.
“In Proustian fashion…Greene’s second novel is a beautifully written account of the lives of artists caught up in turbulent times.”
–Booklist
“With characters worth exploring…Greene creates an engaging vision of the life of art.”
– Kirkus Reviews
Pursuit of Happiness
A Quaker must elicit the aid of Jewish merchants on a British Caribbean island to retrieve French arms for the desperate American Revolution.
Pursuit of Happiness: Synopsis: The American Revolution is near collapse. Joshua Rutledge, a Quaker and a member of the Rebellion’s first spy organization, the Committee of Correspondence, is sent to the Caribbean to retrieve a desperately needed French arms shipment. He must both locate the arms and persuade a Jewish ship owner to transport them back to America through the British blockade. Rutledge falls for Amelia Sayre, the unconventional wife of a slave owner known for his brutality. He returns to Philadelphia slipping through the British blockade with some of the arms and is dispatched with an American Naval flotilla to retrieve the rest of them.
“Rich, vibrant, and evocative in its overall tone, texture, and written style, this book manifests, …a story line that seems both sweeping and epic in scope and compelling and affecting in terms of its sense of richly textured action and deep, three dimensional characters. Substantial research contributes to an impressive sense of veracity, and authenticity in the overall presentation of the story, while at the same time the book continues to maintain a strong sense of voice and an engaging level of forward driving narrative momentum…From its first few pages,… The descriptive prose, character voices, And sense of scene to scene rhythm and flow convey the story forward at a natural pace. Utilizing what seems an almost instinctive level of visual imagery, the book brings its world alive in vibrant color. Whether it is the brutally cold and increasingly desperate opening…in which the American rebels face oncoming defeat, or the captivating, alluring beauty of the Caribbean, every location featured over the course of the unfolding narrative seems rich, well textured, colorful, and compelling. ..the sense of vernacular employed by the characters, exposing their respective backgrounds and the tone and flavor of the world they inhabit, to the mechanics of war time politics…the book seems to present a thoroughly researched and compelling portrait of its chosen time and place…”
-Scriptshark
“Pursuit of Happiness is a Revolutionary War Gone with the Wind …a wonderful story…” Teri Davis, Bestsellers World
“Greene’s impeccable sense of novelistic pacing, characterization, and plot vividly demonstrates his skill as a literary craftsman, and creates an especially entertaining and memorable read.” Maude Adjarian, Clarion Reviews
“An irresisitable story of romance and suspense”. Lisa Binion BellonLine Fiction Writing Editor
Prodigal Sons
A Jewish Partisan returns to post- war Munich to take revenge. A fact based thriller that travels from the Polish forests, the illegal immigration to Palestine and the Israeli War of Independence to a divided Germany seeking to restore its national pride.
…a fascinating study of the rootlessness of the Holocaust survivor. A page-turner with emotional depth.” Kirkus Discoveries Reviews
…Mr. Greene is right up there with John LeCarre for must-read, edge of your chair excitement. This book has everything a dyed in the wool spy fan will like including anger, revenge, murder, art, intrigue, a million-dollar robbery and romance. .. It grabs you from the first to the last pages. ” Oct 10 2009 Mary Lignor, Book Pleasures
“…, you will rarely find a novel that is written as well as this one. It is one you know you will enjoy after reading only the first few chapters.…” Oct 10 2009 Marty Dodge in BC
“…it is a cracking read from cover to cover. .. I have nothing but praise for Prodigal Sons, it has been expertly crafted in every sense. The character development and story line are a work of art. It is not easy to paint an assassin as a hero, yet Sheldon Greene pulls it off with panache.” Simon Barrett in Blogger News Network Nov. 06, 2009
“You will connect with the two main characters immediately.. .The adventure, mystery, and romance, along with the dangers that they encounter, will keep you feverishly turning the pages of this Satisfying Novel!” Jill Page, Frugal Plus, October 26, 2009
he’s a fascinating study of the rootlessness of the Holocaust survivor. A page-turner with emotional depth.” Kirkus Discoveries Reviews
“…This book is a thriller that will captivate all World War II fans as it is based in fact and is an engrossing play on the Nazis in post war Germany . …Mr. Greene is right up there with John LeCarre for must-read, edge of your chair excitement. This book has everything a dyed in the wool spy fan will like including anger, revenge, murder, art, intrigue, a million-dollar robbery and romance. .. It grabs you from the first to the last pages. I am on my way to the library to pick up Mr. Greene’s previous books.” Oct 10 2009 Mary Lignor, Book Pleasures
“…, you will rarely find a novel that is written as well as this one. It is one you know you will enjoy after reading only the first few chapters.…” Oct 10 2009 Marty Dodge in BC
“…it is a cracking read from cover to cover. .. I have nothing but praise for Prodigal Sons, it has been expertly crafted in every sense. The character development and story line are a work of art. It is not easy to paint an assassin as a hero, yet Sheldon Greene pulls it off with panache.” Simon Barrett in Blogger News Network Nov. 06, 2009
“You will connect with the two main characters immediately.. .The adventure, mystery, and romance, along with the dangers that they encounter, will keep you feverishly turning the pages of this Satisfying Novel!” Jill Page, Frugal Plus, October 26, 2009
Sheldon Greene has given us a fictional glimpse into the lives of a few of the Germans who survived the war and how they began a new life in the wake of Hitler’s devastation. In Prodigal Sons, Horst Vogle must come to terms with the events he lives through during the war. Greene does a wonderful job of putting the reader inside Horst skin. …it forces you to focus on the players, see their world through their eyes and feel what they feel. …It is a rare gift for an author to invoke such empathy from a reader….. Prodigal Sons is a novel that takes you through every emotion. It’s more than a thriller, a romance, a historical novel, a spy thriller, heist…it’s a novel about the human condition, life and our ability to endure….
Horst may be a character born in the mind of Sheldon Greene, but he is a also a symbol of humanity and how we can prevail.” Carter Martina, C.C. Chronicles November 10, 2009
After the Parch
It is set in the future, 2075, in California Republic, after the break-up of the United States and after a long drought. California is dominated by one corporation. A shepherd, think of Candide, must travel the length of California to save his rural commune. On the way he encounters, a tricky magician, a runaway girl, a wild boy, and an itinerant musician with a secret agenda. He learns something about reliance on strangers and trust.
The Seed Apple
Holocaust survivor Mendel Traig meets the Binyans, Jewish Indians living in the California desert who claim to be descended from King Solomon’s sailors. Is the fantastic tale of the family’s ancient journey from the disintegrating Mayan culture of the Yucatan to this northern “promised land” true or a myth?
“Part love story, part history, part mythical journey, and part memoir, … an accomplished literary novel.” …“The depth of humanity in this and his other books will touch you deeply and remain with you.”…“This is a novel that deals with questions of family, legacy, time, and power. I recommend it for anyone interested in reading a book with depth, as well as anyone seeking well-written fiction that grapples with a multitude of issues.”
—JD DeHart
“The Seed Apple is written with a delightful mix of modernity, ancient history, and lore. Sheldon Greene’s careful writing leads to a work strong both as speculative fiction and for its stories of daily life. This is an entirely fantastic tale that is as much about the nuances of relationships as it is about the mysterious family at its center, whose genealogy reaches back to King Solomon.”
—Foreword Review
Waiting for the Messiah
Full of warmth, humor and the celebration of the extraordinary in the ordinary, it appeals to the faithful of all religions and iconoclasts alike.
“This story had me tearing up in analysis then soaring in joy. There’s not a better time than now to encourage acceptance of differences and to search for and celebrate Goodness wherever it exists. Can we not use this tale as a guide at this time of year, to search out the best in everyone? This author’s style will sing to your soul. I strongly recommend you read this, absorbing its hauntingly beautiful melody in its message.
—Authors on the Air Book Review Crew
“In his warm-hearted novel “Waiting for the Messiah,” Sheldon Greene touches on life’s deepest questions via a community of characters committed to a Jewish retirement home cum boarding school. Humor, clear plotting, fine character portrayals, and vivid—even poetic—descriptions of the sensory world carry the throb of life. After reading the book, I sat with the same thought one of the characters articulates: “Once again I saw the good and I was glad”
—Susan Philips, Executive Director, New College, UC Berkeley
“With Waiting for the Messiah, Sheldon Greene has written a beautiful, meaningful, funny, inspiring and important book. I hardly ever laugh out loud when I read, but I cracked up with almost every paragraph in the first few pages…. I anticipated liking this book a lot, since I really liked Greene’s first book, Lost and Found, the precursor to Messiah, when it was published years ago and I’ve enjoyed each of his books since then. I strongly recommend that you read it following Messiah. Honestly, Sheldon Greene’s my favorite writer. There is much suspense, exciting interactions, humor and pathos between the diverse personalities of the main characters, but there is the appealing simply described descriptions of the people and their everyday lives. All of the action is easily visualized, it would make a great movie…
For me, this book, with its moral and emotional intensity, is about virtues of goodness and how they are expressed by the Messiah-like administrator in numerous situations. And he, as a viable and accessible role-model for the reader, demonstrates these virtues meaningfully in an attempt to to create a beloved community on earth. That sounds like saccharine mumbo-jumbo, but there are numerous examples of these human traits and behaviors in several of the characters featured in this book and especially in the unique school administrator. I feel very fortunate to have witnessed him, to see him modeling thoughtful, empathic, kind, forgiving and self-sacrificing behavior (perhaps too much) in the service of the growth of other individuals and the community as a whole. Thank you Sheldon Greene for offering an opportunity for me and others, hopefully many, many of others, to learn about true goodness in spirit and in action.”
—Peter Bloom
The Lev Effect
The Lev Effect is a sequel to a critically acclaimed novel, with universal values, Lost and Found, (Random House). The Bolton PA. Jewish Community converts a disused old people’s home into a boarding school and hires a Russian refugee to run it and the retirees to staff it. The old residents love the change, but things get dicey when the director admits a Palestinian boy, schedules Palestine National Day and a dinner fund raiser for a Catholic homeless shelter.
“The author’s artful brew of farcical comedy and theological provocation may remind readers of the work of Booker Prize–winning novelist Howard Jacobson. Overall, it’s a delightfully satirical exploration of the intersection between the quotidian and the absurd. Lev is a particularly memorable character; it turns out that when he said “superintendent,” he actually meant “janitor,” and he neither encourages nor repudiates the strange notion that his arrival is the fulfillment of biblical prophecy. Throughout, Greene wisely explores the salutary power of faith, which Mendel calls a “kind of spiritual walker for the psychologically disabled.”
“A profoundly funny meditation on how one can find strength in religion”.
Kirkus Review
“This story had me tearing up in analysis then soaring in joy. There’s not a better time than now to encourage acceptance of differences and to search for and celebrate Goodness wherever it exists. Can we not use this tale as a guide at this time of year, to search out the best in everyone? This author’s style will sing to your soul. I strongly recommend you read this, absorbing its hauntingly beautiful melody in its message.”
Book Review Crew
In his warm-hearted novel Sheldon Greene touches on life’s deepest questions via a community of characters committed to a Jewish retirement home cum boarding school. Humor, clear plotting, fine character portrayals, and vivid—even poetic—descriptions of the sensory world carry the throb of life. After reading the book, I sat with the same thought one of the characters articulates: “Once again I saw the good and I was glad”
Susan Phillips , Exec Director , New College, Graduate Theological Union, U.C. Berkeley