Eight long short stories, comic, provocative and dense but uneven.

It takes some pretty big matzo balls to invoke both Anne Frank and Raymond Carver in the title of your short story collection. Carver's "What We Talk About When We Talk About Love" is one of the most discussed and influential modern American short stories and it casts a long shadow, one which Englander can't quite escape in his title story. Thankfully, the other stories in this 2012 collection, most of which focus on Jewish characters, history and themes, are more engaging and original. A worthwhile alternative to the overpraised stories of George Saunders that may appeal to fans of early Philip Roth.

Writing from a very Jewish perspective he tells real stories of Jewish people caught up in life. He sees to the heart of things quickly and usually has a twist in the end. Some stories were "too" jewish for me - I couldn't relate to the characters or sometimes the cultural idiosyncracies.

Though Nathan Englander's story collection focuses on Jewish characters, its themes are universal, often going from hilarious to heartbreaking in a single story. The title story is especially brilliant.

Stories about people who live under the cloud of Shoah.