Enchantment

A lively, evocative, often amusing work. Through Hannah's voice, Merkin deftly captures the concentration on self-definition--as well as the doubt and frustration--of dawning womanhood . . . A pioneering novel. --Janet Hadda, Los Angeles Times

"Much of the power of Enchantment comes from its directness--almost, at times, its brazenness--and from its determination to hold nothing back . . . A story that draws the reader on unresisting. " --The New York Times

These complexities . . . are what chiefly held my attention. But there is another quality--[Merkin's] boldness, lack of shame or modesty. The book fascinates by its openness, which repels at the same time. That's why I had to read to the very last page. --Mary McCarthy, author of the New York Times bestseller The Group

Daphne Merkin's exquisitely written novel about a young woman who can't let go and who never learned to cut her losses is a supremely delicate and intelligent fiction . . . I quite admire the book. --Stanley Elkin, author of the National Book Critics Circle Award winners Mrs. Ted Bliss and George Mills

A remarkable memoir, fictional or not. What is remarkable to me is how much being a Jewish girl of a certain sort growing up in New York is like being a Presbyterian boy of a certain sort growing up in Alabama. --Walker Percy, author of The Moviegoer, winner of the National Book Award for Fiction

Daphne Merkin's Enchantment is extraordinary--piercingly painful and marvelously funny at once. She evokes childhood and the adult life that comes out of it with rare wisdom and charm. --Hilma Wolitzer, author of Ending and In the Flesh

I ordinarily don't finish a novel this complex in two sittings, but I was bowled over. --Frederick Exley, author of A Fan's Notes, finalist for the National Book Award

[A] piercing evocation of family life . . . gifted with rare insight and a deft and witty style. --Publishers Weekly

One of the most unusual voices in contemporary fiction . . . Burnishes some indelible portraits in the reader's memory . . . Always elegant and intellectual. --Kirkus Reviews