"The Right Thing..." Has the Right Stuff
Congratulations to novelist Dov Zeller on his The Right Thing to Do at the Time being a finalist in the LGBT fiction category of the Foreword Magazine annual Indies book awards.
Last month, Zeller's other novel, Book of Hats, made the American Library Association's Over the Rainbow Top 10 List of Literary and General Interest Fiction for 2019.
Both of Zeller's titles were published by Tiny Golem Press of Massachusetts, and are distributed by Everything Goes Media.
Read just a few of the reviews for The Right Thing to Do at the Time and see if you don't want to pick up a copy for yourself at your earliest convenience...
Sweet, Silly Homage to Austen's Original. The Normalcy with Which His Transness Is Addressed Is Refreshing.
"It's the Jewish, genderqueer update of Pride and Prejudice we've all been waiting for!...The plot pays sweet, silly homage to Austen's original...as Zeller immerses the reader in Jewish New York, complete with bubbies, kugel, and footnotes to translate the generous sprinkling of Yiddish. Ari's deep connection to Jewish music adds touching depth, and the normalcy with which his transness is addressed is refreshing....With corny humor and a knack for inner and outer chaos, Zeller's debut uses a familiar frame to explore the many facets of love--romance, sure, but also intimacy between friends and the painful love of family."
—Susan Maguire, Booklist, February 15, 2018
The Story Scintillates. Charming as Hell. Zeller's Clever Style Is All His Own.
"...[A] sex-positive, LGBTQ-friendly, Jewish, New York City take on Pride and Prejudice, with Aris tanding in for Elizabeth Bennett and Itche standing in for Jane. Its character developments toe that line fairly closely, if relationships are often jostled in the mix. That’s where derivations end, though. Zeller’s clever style is all his own. ...[M]ore often than not, the story scintillates. Its language and plot turns are charming as hell, and its awed and irreverent takes on the classics—Austen, yes, but also Jewish tradition more broadly—make it absolutely geshmak—or, if Ari isn’t available to footnote that for you, transcendently delicious. There’s a reason that Austen’s tale of misfits elbowing their way into love became beloved; all of the same ingredients are operating here, enlivened by a healthy dose of Yiddish humor."
—Michelle Anne Schingler, Foreword Reviews, March/April 2018, 5 hearts
It Is a Truth Universally Acknowledged...
"It is a truth universally acknowledged that when a book takes your breath away at every other page with its utter gorgeousness, leaving you gaping in awe at the words, you are in danger of turning into a bubbling mess of excitement. And here I stand as a proof of that.From the first page, I was completely engrossed in the story thanks to the brilliant writing style and unique narrative perspective. Each sentence is filled with a delightful, witty humor and a bittersweet irony that aims straight for the depths of the human experience."
—Maria Cristina, Good Reads, 5 stars
High-Spirited Romantic Comedy
"A clever, high-spirited romantic comedy that, while structured loosely on Pride and Prejudice, will keep you guessing right up until the end. Zeller's first book is a wise meditation on friendship and love, in which the author coins and illustrates the maxim that 'The distance between friendship and romantic love is never so great that they can’t fall down and knock heads.' This book is bursting with many of my favorite things: witty banter, slapstick humor, soulful music, a blizzard, a beach house, and a dog!"
—Cathy Petrick, Amazon, 5 stars
