Praise for THE FAMILY MORFAWITZ
“Daniel H. Turtel’s delightful and frightful new novel, The Family Morfawitz, features one of the most uniquely unhappy families in literature.”
“…Having arrived in New York from Nazi Germany with very little, family matriarch Hadassah began building the family’s reputation through word of mouth, white lies, and clever social alignments. But her best-laid plans are no match for the greed, ambition, and carelessness of her siblings, children, and in-laws.”
“Original and striking…With themes of family honor, ambition, and power, The Family Morfawitz is an epic tale of greed and malice—an engrossing portrayal of a wealthy Jewish family.”
“Survivors of the Holocaust exist in a different moral universe; the rules of morality don’t quite exist. In his epic second novel, THE FAMILY MORFAWITZ, Daniel Turtel does the extraordinary, combining depravity and humor with ease, giving us the equivalent of the Jewish Trumps – only crazier. Too many bastard children to count, incest, prostitution, multiple murders, fraud, betrayal, and occasional bouts of tenderness. I turned each page in horror and anticipation.”
— Marcy Dermansky, author of Hurricane Girl and Very Nice
“The Family Morfawitz is a multi-generational saga about the rise of a ruthless and power-hungry family steered–not just by the heavy hand of ancestral pain–but by ugly secrets. After narrowly escaping the Nazis, this merciless bunch of pre-Trump Trumpers (albeit Jewish), swaggers into NYC, all tall tales and unrelenting ambition. Will NYC turn them into magical new beings or enhance their mercilessness? You’re in for a breathless, stomach-dropping, ride.”
–Amanda Stern author of The Long Haul
“Turtel showcases tremendous worldly intelligence and quick wit in The Family Morfawitz—a sudsy portrayal of men who’ll stop at nothing to get what they want, outmatched only by women who are just as lusty, ambitious, and cruel as they are. This novel will keep you up at night, maybe turning over your own family secrets while you frantically turn pages. A wild ride of a read.”
—Joanna Hershon, author of St. Ivo and A Dual Inheritance
A gripping Jewish family saga inspired by Ovid’s Metamorphoses.
When Hadassah Morfawitz flees Nazi Germany with her siblings and arrives in New York, she is determined to turn the city into her own Mount Olympus — at any cost. In choosing orphaned concentration camp survivor Zev Kretinberg as her husband and accomplice—ensuring his loyalty with the promise of riches and the burial of a dark past—she begins a ruthless journey towards the upper echelons of Park Avenue Synagogue Society. Their combined ambition knows no limits, and nothing will stand in the way of their realization of the American ideals of wealth and beauty, even if it means abandoning their son, Hezekial.
Decades later, through machinations worthy of his parents, Hezekial becomes entrusted as the family’s chronicler. As he sits with his aging father, transcribing a litany of Zev’s sins—from serving as a Kapo at Gusen, to betraying the friends who helped him, to his blood-bound commitment to Hadassah despite numerous affairs and illegitimate children—the younger Morfawitz is faced with a choice: whitewash a lifetime of cruelty, indifference, and lust, or repay his mother at last.
THE FAMILY MORFAWITZ
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About the Author
Daniel Turtel grew up on the Jersey Shore. He graduated from Duke University in 2013 with a degree in mathematics and received an MFA from The New School. His debut novel, Greetings from Asbury Park, was awarded the Faulkner Society’s Best Novel Award. He now lives in New York City.