Richard Stern

Richard Stern's 16 books of fiction and nonfiction have won prestigious prizes and have been strongly praised by many prominent writers, including his close friends Saul Bellow and Philip Roth. Still, the author of the novels Golk (1960), Stitch (1965), Other Men's Daughters (1973), Natural Shocks (1978), and A Father's Words (1986), among others, is, as a Newsweek reviewer has described him, "one of this country's best-kept secrets." An academic long affiliated with the University of Chicago, Stern creates characters who, although technically "intellectuals," are profoundly human, grappling with betrayal, family relations, and identity. In this first book-length critical assessment of Stern, James Schiffer explores the author's writing style, themes, and reception by critics, arguing in conclusion that Stern deserves "a place on the map" of important post-World War II American writers. Schiffer observes the claim that Stern is a "difficult" writer, a "writer's writer," but ultimately finds that his lucid prose, affectionate character portrayals, and well-timed comic strokes make Stern more accessible than many people imagine. Schiffer examines Stern's style and, in part on stylist