Three Balconies, by Bruce Jay Friedman

Dan Wells, publisher at Biblioasis, wrote to me about Three Balconies, an anthology written by illustrator Drew Friedman's dad, and I asked him to provide a brief description about it.

Three Balconies, the first collection of new short stories in nearly two decades by Bruce Jay Friedman (who, if you're keeping track of such things, is the father of the fabulous portrait artist Drew Friedman) has just been released. There was a time, in the 60's, 70's and 80's, when Friedman was often mentioned alongside Philip Roth and Bernard Malamud as among the most important Jewish writers in America. His star has fallen a bit since, though it's not deserved. There seems to be the simmerings of new interest, finally: Heidi Julavits has praised him in an interview as an important literary trend setter, the original Roth, his Stern making Portnoy's Complaint possible.

Three Balconies is vintage Friedman, a collection of carefully crafted moral fables, sharp, funny, uncomfortable and affecting. In terms of subject, they range quite widely, from stories about battles between Jews and Gentiles, on how to keep your dignity in Hollywood (Friedman was responsible for Steambath, Stir Crazy, The Lonely Guy, Splash, The Heartbreak Kid and many others), to somewhat fantastic tales, including one about an unnamed president resembling George W. who is abducted by terrorists and put in a room where he is forced to read the Western Canon. It's a book that deserves a wider audience, and, just as importantly, a younger one, as does Friedman himself.

Mario Puzo once said reading Bruce Jay Friedman was like touring the Twilight Zone with Charlie Chaplin. If you don't know the Twilight Zone or Charlie Chaplin (or, for that matter, Mario Puzo) there's probably not much we can do for you. If you have some inkling of what the hell this might mean, you might want to give Friedman's Three Balconies a look.

Three Balconies

[#1 posted by Anonymous, November 17, 2008 9:38 PM]

All of these years, I thought the relationship between Bruce Jay and Drew was brotherhood, not father and son.

I always did have the impression that Bruce helped Drew get his first few jobs, writing pages for Drew to illustrate in National Lampoon. At least that is where I first saw them.

[#2 posted by Anonymous, December 31, 2008 1:06 AM]

The comic strips mentioned below (or above)--now collected in the anthologies Warts And All and Any Similarity To Persons Living or Dead Is Purely Coincidental--were by Bruce's sons, the Friedman Brothers. Written by Josh Alan Friedman, illustrated by Drew.