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The Mind-Body Problem, Rebecca Goldstein (1993)

I married a genius

by
Alana Newhouse
September 17, 2013

A decade or so ago, the writer Melvin Jules Bukiet published a book titled Neurotica: Jewish Writers on Sex. Aside from a title so perfect it seems inevitable, the collection itself was terrific—with two exceptions. For starters, the Roth selections were wrong, as they did not include the footnoted phone sex from Sabbath’s Theater—by a wide margin one of the best sex scenes in American letters. But the more egregious misstep, or so thought this formerly Orthodox girl, was overlooking the best offering from The Mind-Body Problem, the 1993 coming-of-age story by philosopher-novelist Rebecca Goldstein. I hate spoilers, but I will tell you it involves a tampon. Good luck with your search.

Alana Newhouse is the editor-in-chief of Tablet Magazine.