“Within minutes of starting Hedwig and Berti I was declaring it my new favorite novel. Characters and storytelling like this belong in the Fiction Hall of Fame, in the wing reserved for wry and sly masterpieces. I am recommending this fabulous book to every person I pass on the street.” —Elinor Lipman, author of The Inn at Lake Devine and The Pursuit of Alice Thrift

“An exhilarating and important work, Hedwig and Berti is a book of rare narrative energy. Frieda Arkin draws each of her characters with humor, sorrow, and the sharpest of prose. It has been many years since Arkin's beautiful first novel, The Dorp, but it has been well worth the wait.” —Peter Orner, author of Esther Stories

“Only lazy and inept writers stock their books with ordinary people. Good writers know there's no such thing as an ordinary person: we are each of us terrifically peculiar. Hedwig and Berti, their furious daughter, and all the other characters who move in and out of their lives are very peculiar indeed, and it is only when we look back on this glinting, unsparing novel that we can appreciate the role historic events may assume in misshaping our special little selves. Ms. Arkin is an excellent writer who betrays her age only in the breadth and depth of her understanding of human nature.” —Jincy Willett, author of Winner of the National Book Award

“I was thoroughly taken with this wonderful novel. Frieda Arkin manages to charm us into full involvement with her characters, and then takes us on a breathtaking journey through their lives. . . . you will not be able to put this fine novel down. You have in your hands a work of art that will endure.” —Joseph Hurka, author of Fields of Light: A Son Remembers His Heroic Father, Winner of the Pushcart Editors' Book Award