After Ely Cutter sees God’s face in the sky, he seeks a new equilibrium. He spars with and romances his wife, Lynne; he dodges and appeases a former lover, Eleanor; and he resists and then yields to Grace, a provocative divorcée. In a series of fiascos, Cutter tries to minimize the damage he causes. He wants the impossible: he wants to please all three women—and himself.

Miriam Kotzin has written a book in the tradition of the great Jewish story-tellers, Singer, Bellow, and Ozick. But her voice is unique and channels her experience as a prize-winning poet into sturdy but lyrical prose. A wonderful read.

     Paula Marantz Cohen

 

 

Right This Way is a seductive novel about seductions, guilt, charm, the interweaving of love and faithfulness. Ely Cutter, the married man, is in love and lust with three complex women, and he wonders how he can achieve salvation and grace. His intelligence, lack of certainty, and self-awareness are appealing. Miriam Kotzin’s funny, bittersweet novel has the delicious wit of a comedy of manners, the generosity of therapy, the stringent psychological awareness of Flannery O’Connor.

     Cezarija Abartis

 

Miriam N. Kotzin writes fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction. Her novel, Right This Way, joins The Real Deal (Brick House Press 2012), her collection of short fiction, Country Music (Spuyten Duyvil Press 2017), and a collection of flash fiction, Just Desserts (Star Cloud Press 2010). She is the author of five collections of poetry, most recently, Debris Field (David Robert Books 2017). Her fiction, creative nonfiction and poetry have been published in numerous anthologies and periodicals such as Shenandoah, Boulevard, SmokeLong Quarterly, Eclectica, Blink-Ink, Mezzo Cammin, Offcourse, and Valparaiso Poetry Review.  She teaches creative writing and literature at Drexel University.