Covet the Oven, the new book of stories by the Israeli-American writer Jerome Mandel, tells tales of the head, of the heart, and of writing. People make surprising announcements, do unexpected things: they die or don’t or can’t, or fall in love and then misplace it. His stories–some gritty, some witty, some smooth–address making choices, puzzlement, growing old, loss and love with wit, intelligence, and sympathy. The title of Mandel’s novel comes from BrickHouse Book’s Director Clarinda Harriss’ early poem which appears in the front matter. Covet the Oven is available in Kindle format and paperback at Amazon.com.
Jerome Mandel won first prize in the P.E.N.-UNESCO International Short Fiction Competition in 1997 for “Third Time, Ice Cream” which appeared in Nothing Gold Can Stay: 18 Stories of Israeli Experience (1999) available in Kindle format at Amazon.com. Sometimes paperbacks, signed by the author, can be found among the used booksellers at inflated prices.
A few stories from both books, together with some of his most accessible academic writing (on Housman, Lawrence, Fitzgerald, Joyce), are available to read for free on his website.
When not traveling, Jerome Mandel lives a quiet, retired life in the center of a busy market in downtown Tel Aviv.
BrickHouse Books 