Quarrel & Quandary showcases the manifold talents of one of our leading and award-winning critics and essayists.

In nineteen opulent essays, Cynthia Ozick probes Dostoevsky for insights into the Unabomber, questions the role of the public intellectual, and dares to wonder what poetry is. She roams effortlessly from Kafka to James, Styron to Stein, and, in the book's most famous essay, dissects the gaudy commercialism that has reduced Anne Frank to "usable goods." Courageous, audacious, and sublime, these essays have the courage of conviction, the probing of genius, and the durable audacity to matter. "Her best collection to date."
--The Boston Globe

"I urge all lovers of American prose to read it... Cynthia Ozick is, for my money, the most accomplished and graceful literary stylist of our time... Her pieces have genuine durability. They are great essays."
--John Sutherland, The New York Times Book Review

"Full of arresting turns of phraseÉ. Even when you disagree with her, she electrifies your mind."
--The New York Times

"I urge all lovers of American prose to read it... Cynthia Ozick is, for my money, the most accomplished and graceful literary stylist of our time... Her pieces have genuine durability. They are great essays."
--John Sutherland, The New York Times Book Review

"Full of arresting turns of phrase... Even when you disagree with her, she electrifies your mind."
--The New York Times