"At once a travel tale, a historical meditation, a Holocaust revenge fantasy, and a bedroom farce."—D. T. Max,
New York Times Book Review
Leib Goldkorn, aged musician, first appeared almost a quarter-century ago in
The Steinway Quintet
. Now Leib has replaced his magic flute with his phallus: it is love, longing, and the quest for sexual fulfillment that must stave off both his own death and the imminent destruction of the Jews. In
Ice
he rescues the celebrated skater Sonja Henie from Hitler's clutches. In
Fire
his paramour is Carmen Miranda. And in
Water
he engages in a South Sea Island intrigue with a famous swimming star of the 1940s. Meanwhile, in the present, Leib seeks consummation with three other inamoratas: Clara, his wife;
Hustler
model Miss Crystal Knight; and the critic Michiko Kakutani (causing a real-life literary scandal). In this "wickedly funny" (
Elle
) and no less heartbreaking novel, Leib Goldkorn emerges as one of American literature's most enduring, and endearing, creations. A
New York Times
Notable Book; a
Los Angeles Times
Best Book of the Year.