You've Told Me Before
Sometimes hilarious, sometimes sad, always compelling, the stories in this collection explore the many manifestations of being Jewish in a modern and largely secular world. Jennifer Anne Moses creates characters, mostly American, who are struggling with love, relationships, faith, tradition, family, and the ties that bind. A professor of Jewish literature buys a lake house in the countryside with her husband and grown sons, only to discover that her new neighbor is a sexist, dog-hating, and deeply antisemitic bully. The editor of a magazine devoted to lost languages resents the popularity of a younger, less sophisticated novelist, who happens to have been her student. A young woman tries to find her way after her fiancé calls off their wedding. With the contradictions, yearnings, imperfections, and longing for grace that beset all of us, these characters reach their own epiphanies — with results that are by turns breathtaking and heartbreaking.
"Moses has the great writer's gift: she deftly peels back the skin of ordinary lives — the follies, the griefs, the passing ecstasies — to reveal the tremors of yearning beneath."
— Benjamin Balint, author of Bruno Schulz
"I haven't laughed so hard or as guiltily at my people's misfortunes, missteps, and misadventures since the first time I read Cynthia Ozick's 'Envy; or, Yiddish in America.' The things Moses writes about in this impossible-to-put-down collection are either 100% true or true enough."
— Paul Goldberg, author of The Dissident
"You've Told Me Before proves, if proof were needed after her first wonderful foray into this specialized literary field, that Jennifer Anne Moses is a master of the short story genre."
— The Jerusalem Post
"A showcase of the author's humor, wit, and emotional depth. Moses's highly original stories, rich with sharp detail, are carried by the steady, intelligent voice of a writer readers can trust."
— Hadassah
"Moses creates characters who are flummoxed and struggling, whether with their souls, tragedy, family, loneliness, or neighbors. Throughout, her voice is breathtaking. It carries us through time and is as palpable and real as her characters. The reader follows it, enchanted."
— S.L. Wisenberg, author of The Adventures of Cancer Bitch