Wednesday, December 22, 2010

2010 Ribalow Book Award Winner



  I am happy to announce, Sara Hougteling, author of Pictures at an Exhibit has been awarded the 2010 Harold U. Ribalow Prize for fiction.

The award is sponsored by Hadassah, a Jewish women's organization.
To be considered the book has to be fiction, a novel or short story and written in the english language.

You can visit Sara's website to read about her wonderful novel, Pictures at an Exhibit.  Anyone interested in art may want to pick up this book. You can read a review at The New York Times website here.

Darkened by World War II, Sara Houghteling s sweeping and sensuous debut novel tells the story of a son s quest to recover his family s lost masterpieces, looted by the Nazis during the occupation.



Born to an art dealer and his pianist wife, Max Berenzon is forbidden from entering the family business for reasons he cannot understand. He reluctantly attends medical school, reserving his true passion for his father s beautiful and brilliant gallery assistant, Rose Clément. When Paris falls to the Nazis, the Berenzons survive in hiding. They return in 1944 to find that their priceless collection has vanished. Madly driven to recover his father s paintings, Max navigates a torn city of corrupt art dealers, black marketers, Résistants, and collaborators. His quest will reveal the tragic disappearance of his closest friend, the heroism of his lost love, and the truth behind a devastating family secret.





You can read more at my Jewish book website at Bagels, Books and Schmooze for more of the in depth discription of her work here.