The Mullica Hill library will welcome novelist Laura Grodstein at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 25.
The author will talk about her recent work and her inspiration for writing, and read excerpts from her books. There will also be a Q&A and book signing.
Grodstein’s latest work is, “We Must Not Think of Ourselves,” the story a Jewish school teacher from Warsaw, Poland, who is forced to share a tiny one-bedroom apartment with two other families in that city’s Nazi-forced ghetto in 1940.
Adam Paskow uses the power of literature to help others endure the ghetto’s severe hardships, and takes testimonies from children and others to keep their stories alive, according to Grodstein.
“These testimonies teach him how to survive – even how to find joy – in a place where young boys set up their own black markets, where young girls try to pass as Aryan and where, in a desperate upside-down world, no choices are good ones,” reads the book’s description.
“We Must Not Think of Ourselves” and four other works by Grodstein have been praised by the likes of the New York Times and the National Book Review. The book was also recommended by “Today Show” host Jenna Bush Hager and earned a positive review from “The Forward,” a Jewish news website.
“Despite its grim setting,” the site noted, “‘We Must Not Think of Ourselves’ won’t repel or depress readers. The greater risk is that Grodstein’s skillful, warm-hearted storytelling will short-circuit their sleep.”
Grodstein is also a professor at Rutgers-Camden, where she teaches in their Master of Fine Arts program.
The library event is free but requires registration online at the GCLS website.
