#89 The Imagination of a Novelist - Max Gross

Have you ever wondered what it takes to write a great work of fiction? To create a world of characters never before seen or heard, perhaps in a place that doesn’t even exist except in the mind of the author? Recently, I read such a book and found myself asking, “How in the world did the author do that?” Fortunately, that same author, Max Gross, agreed to be on the podcast. His book, The Lost Shtetl, was published last year and is an immersive, unputdownable book about an imaginary Jewish town called Kreskol. In the year 2020 Kreskol had survived the Holocaust and World War II without being discovered and, as if it had been hermetically sealed, was unchanged and unaffected by the passage of time for centuries. It is simultaneously hilarious, heartbreaking, and because it was so well thought out, Max made it entirely believable. It received rave reviews from media outlets as diverse as USA Today, Vogue, and Kirkus Reviews. It was also widely loved by my book club and has become one of my favorite novels. So, join Max and me as we explore the world of a fiction writer and how an entirely new world emerges from the writer’s mind. Book link: https://amzn.to/43Bhw2a This is an affiliate link. It will provide me with a small commission on purchases made through it and help the podcast (but it won’t affect the price you pay).