When God tells Levidow to buy a big blue car and get out of town, he dares to think that his suffering might be over. Instead he begins a journey that will put him out on the open highway with a reincarnation of himself as a much younger man, a hideous woman, and an oversupply of Dr. Brown's soda. His is just one of the journeys undertaken by the characters of From Hunger. With wit and irony, Gerald Shapiro leads us from a London park to the streets of Chicago, from the Vietnam War Memorial to a New York art gallery, as his characters search for sustenance in a world full of hunger. In a stroke of brilliance, solitary Altshuler, the failing, forty-ish shoe designer of the title story, invents an open-toed, stiletto-heeled hiking boot that makes him rich. But money doesn't satisfy his unnamed longing. When his 380-pound Uncle Phil comes to visit, Altshuler learns that there are cravings even greater than his own. "I been hungry my whole life", Uncle Phil says, as he eats his way through barbecued ribs and bags of corn chips, toward an inevitable finale with a meatball sandwich. During his annual research trip to London in "Golders Green", Ted Lustig, an inept scholar, searches for purpose in the life of an obscure German writer whose greatest achievement was his own suicide. Lustig is obsessed with the writer whose brilliant failure mimics his own. But when he meets the aging Anna Peltzman, he begins to realize that meaning isn't always revealed in dramatic moments, but rather in far more puzzling ways. Lenny Schrank is inexplicably drawn to the city of his father's youth in "The Community Seder", where he happens upon a mysterious synagogue filled with faces from his past. "Let anyonewho is hungry, come in and eat", chants the congregation. What Lenny finds at the Passover celebration is an exquisite recognition of all that is missing from his life - and a brief moment of community. With wonderfully idiosyncratic characters and deft use of detail, Gerald Shapiro takes us beyond the grimness of the lives of his characters to reveal the hunger - and the hope - in us all.

In a huge Hawaiian mansion by the sea live Jack Wolfe, ruthless millionaire, and his knockout wife, ex-hooker Nora. Weary of their marriage, Nora seduces dim-bulb aging surfer Chad to kill her husband. But then it seems as if Jack wants Chad to kill him--or rather, he wants it to look like he was killed so he can avoid legal prosecution and begin a new life. So he offers Chad a better deal. Then it gets complicated: who are allies and who are conspirators is not known. It's all observed by Hawaiian Jewish detective Dani Kahana--also in love with Nora. This complicated tale ends explosively with a hilarious and unexpected close. Martin's Press.

Product Description Constance "Connie" Gueyer and Peter Tarker each conduct research in laboratories at Bailey Medical College in New York City. Connie is a 48 year-old virologist (the study of viruses) and working with the Congo River virus. Peter is a 37 year-old geneticist (the study of genes). Virology and genetics are closely connected, so getting each other's opinions at work was the excuse they used to get together. They soon had a relationship going. Connie feels a bit self conscious due to the age difference between them. So she decides to take things slowly. Connie's studies show her the region of the brain that seems to control aging. Since Peter has identified the factor that causes aging, they begin an intense collaboration. The results set the scientific community on its ear! Then Connie sees Peter with his young assistant and believes (wrongly) the worst. In a moment of depression, and while under the influence of some medication, Connie takes a dose of the viral preparation they have been using in tests with lab mice. Shortly afterward though, the mice in those tests began to have serious problems. Review Four Stars: What a wonderful debut novel for Dr. Judith Sulzberger! The characters are well developed and the plot believable. -- Detra Fitch, Huntress Reviews, February 5, 2004 About the Author Judith Sulzberger practiced medicine before turning her attention to writing. For several years, she wrote a health column for the East Hampton Star, currently serves on the Health Science Advisory Board of Columbia University School of Medicine, and is an advisor to the Genome Center at that same university. She spends most of her time in East Hampton with her husband.

Born with a split lip and cleft palate, Toshy Wolfman's life is an uphill battle. Believing he is dim-witted and ugly, Toshy finds his resentment slowly building as he is ridiculed, used, and misled. Ultimately, he is imprisoned after being caught stealing a valuable and famous diamond, the Orange Sunset. But Toshy's story is not his alone - it is shared with his two sisters: Lil, a radical and a devotee of anarchist Emma Goldman; and Bessie, who goes to work for one of Goldmans enemies, the owners of the Orange Sunset. Toshy's love for his sisters drives him to make some of the bravest decisions of his life. But despite having seemingly overcome his obstacles, an aging Toshy stuns his nephew by asking for his assistance in committing suicide.Toshy wont fully explain his decision. Nor will he fully explain why, at this late stage in life, he is obsessed with making a journey to France.

From one of the preeminent intellectual figures of the twentieth century, a highly personal testimonial of what Canetti himself chooses to term "notations," bits and pieces: notes, aphorisms, fragments. Taken together, they present an awesomely tender, guiltily gloomy meditation on death and aging. " A mosaical portrait of an old body's mind determined to do its exercises and not lose a step--and fascinating for that." - Kirkus Reviews

Delightfully quirky and willing to go where few other novels dare, The Swift Seasons takes readers deep into the lives of octogenarians in a retirement community as they learn to live with themselves and each other. At the heart of the story is Willa Warsaw, a childless and recent widow in her eighties who spends her days poring over the writing of Oliver Wendell Holmes and daydreaming. Naturally shy and a bit reclusive, Willa finds herself unaccountably drawn to the newest member of the community-former opera singer Eric Ravelle. Eric and Willa connect over their shared voice disorders, finding comfort in each other. But as their relationship deepens over the passing days, so do their health issues, bringing up very real concerns about their future together. Full of memorable characters, sharp insights into aging, and the wisdom of Oliver Wendell Holmes, The Swift Seasons is a treasured gift, a celebration of living long enough to grow old, and a meditation on things that endure or change as we age.