Bar Mitzvah
David Mamet, Donald Sultan
Hardcover
(Little, Brown & Co., Feb. 1, 1999)
This beautifully produced gift book unites the words of David Mamet, America's most active & esteemed playwright, with stunning artwork by renowned artist Donald Sultan to explore Jewish & universal themes. On the eve of his Bar Mitzvah, a boy learns about life from an old man in whose hands an antique watch reveals something of man's relation to God. This brief tale moves on a journey from the intricacies of watchmaking to the horrors of Europe in the Holocaust, as the old man shares his understanding of life's struggles & what it means to ''be a good Jew.'' Sultan's striking images move as gilded clocks & elaborate timepieces yield to blank watch faces, barbed wire, empty windows, & stark architectural renderings. 20 color illustrations.