Access a growing selection of included Audible Originals, audiobooks, and podcasts.
You will get an email reminder before your trial ends.
Audible Plus auto-renews for $7.95/mo after 30 days. Upgrade or cancel anytime.
The Shawl  By  cover art

The Shawl

By: Cynthia Ozick
Narrated by: Yelena Shmulenson
Try for $0.00

$7.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $11.41

Buy for $11.41

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

At once fiercely immediate and complex in their implications, “The Shawl” and “Rosa” succeed in imagining the unimaginable: the horror of the Holocaust and the emptiness of its aftermath. They were written in 1977 but were first published in the early 1980s in The New Yorker. Both “The Shawl” and “Rosa” won first prize in the O. Henry Prize Stories and were chosen for Best American Short Stories.

In “The Shawl,” a woman named Rosa Lublin watches a concentration camp guard murder her daughter. In “Rosa,” that same woman appears 30 years later, “a madwoman and a scavenger” in a Miami hotel. And in both stories there is a shawl—a shawl that can sustain a starving child or inadvertently destroy her, or even magically conjure her back to life.

©1980, 1983 Original material by Cynthia Ozick (P)2008 HighBridge Company

Critic reviews

“Performed by Yelena Schmulenson, whose emotional accuracy eats into your heart.” ( BookPage)
"Cynthia Ozick is the most accomplished and graceful literary stylist of our time." ( The New York Times)
"Brilliant miniatures, rich with passion and compassion." ( Philadelphia Inquirer)

Featured Article: 15 Essential Jewish Authors to Hear in Audio


The Jewish diaspora is vast, diverse, and full of stories. In recent years, Jewish authors have published books about everything from love, identity, and history to crime, romance, and what it means to come of age in the modern world. While this list is by no means complete, these 15 Jewish authors have written some of the most fascinating Jewish literature, and they represent a deep catalog of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry in a range of genres.

What listeners say about The Shawl

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    40
  • 4 Stars
    17
  • 3 Stars
    10
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    2
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    41
  • 4 Stars
    9
  • 3 Stars
    5
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    1
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    36
  • 4 Stars
    14
  • 3 Stars
    6
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    1

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant.

Cynthia Ozick might just be the greatest living American writer. This story is so perfect, so brilliantly written, it should not be missed by anyone.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Amazing book

One of the best and most heart wrenching books I’ve ever read. Highly recommend to anyone

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Very difficult to follow

Disnt really get the story..went from shawl to a whole different story! Similar the reader

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Exquisite prose!

While tragic, somehow the magic of Ozick’s prose brings a life and depth to the worst of circumstances. Beautiful writing!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!