Storyteller
Writer Brenda Janowitz headlines second
annual author luncheon
BY STEPHEN VRATTOS
Photos by Stephen Vrattos The Migdal Chapter of Hadassah
at North Shore Towers
took to the road Tuesday,
September 12, for its second annual
author luncheon, held at the
Lake Success Jewish Center in
Great Neck. This year’s featured
wordsmith was Long Island native
Brenda Janowitz, promoting her
latest novel, “The Dinner Party,”
a multi-generational story about
a Jewish mother’s preparation for
a Passover Seder, which will be
attended by the future mother- and
father-in law of her daughter, who
she will also be meeting for the
first time.
After opening remarks and
thank-yous by Eva Kessner and
a buffet lunch catered by Bagel
Boss, Janowitz took to the podium
with the facility of a seasoned
raconteur. “When writing a book,
it belongs to you, your world, your
family, breathing life into them,”
she explained. “But once it’s published,
it belongs to your readers.”
That is to say, an author’s vision
while writing often never matches
the view or anticipated reactions
of their fans.
To better demonstrate what she
meant, Janowitz referred to the
Italian mother character of the
younger daughter’s beau, who is
also a first-time guest at the dinner.
In Janowitz’s mind, she envisioned
a sultry Cher type, only to be
shocked by her husband’s real-life
suggestion to play the role in any
potential adaptation.
After her previous novels had
been deemed “cute and funny” by
critics and fans alike (even though
in praise of the books), Janowitz
approached the writing of “The
Dinner Party” with the intention
of penning “something completely
different—something smart, big,
thoughtful, no one will call ‘cute’.”
Imagine her surprise when the reaction
from fellow wordsmith, author
Jamie Brenner, to whom she sent
an advance copy for review, was
the novel was “funny” and “cute,”
a response Janowitz also received
from others, including her agent.
“I had to admit, it is funny,” she
confessed, “But it’s also big and
important!”
Although she admits most writers’
first few novels are filled with
characters based on people from
their lives, later books contain characters
crafted from different aspects
of many people, both known and
not, as well as from moments in life.
“I’ll find one interestingly thing in a
single conversation and use that as
a jumping off point for a character,”
she revealed. “A little bit comes
from everyone.”
Janowitz was often asked while on
tour for “The Dinner Party,” if Sylvia,
the Jewish mother preparing the
Seder, was based on her own mom,
a theory she quickly debunked. Even
as described by her progenitor, the
matriarch is unlikeable, a fastidious
and exacting woman in everything
she does. It was only after a few
weeks on the book tour with her
own tough and particular behiavior,
Janowitz came to a stunning realization.
“Sylvia is me!”
No place is this more evidenced
than in Janowitz’s recollection of
Writer and raconteur Brenda Janowitz
the preparation of her own first
Seder. Her nerves were so taut, even
the most innocuous hiccup was
fraught with imminent disaster. At
one point, she noticed there wasn’t
enough water, a fact she made painfully
clear to her husband and possibly
everyone in the neighborhood
with her screaming. Her dutiful
and understandably shaken mate
quickly retrieved a replacement jug
of Poland Spring from storage, the
huge and heavy type used in offices,
which he dropped on the kitchen
floor, five gallons of water immediately
filling the room. Now beyond
hysterical, Janowitz grabbed a simple,
standard dish towel and moved
to start sopping up the floor. Her
heels hydroplaned, sending her into
the adjacent dining room, where
she fell, slamming her head on the
table. She awoke an hour later in
emergency, overhearing the doctor
talking to her husband about taking
her I for a CAT scan. “I don’t have
time for a CAT scan,” she cried. “I
have a brisket in the oven!”
During a QA period, one of the
attendees asked Janowitz if she ever
considered adapting “The Dinner
Party” to television. Interestingly,
the story was originally written as
a stage play. Janowitz was a huge
Broadway devotee from a young
age and envisioned herself as writer
for the stage. But understanding her
parents would not approve of such
a career choice, Janowitz studied
law instead subsequently receiving
her degree in law and passing the
bar. In the early years of her career
as a lawyer, she took night classes
in writing, during which “The Last
Supper,” the original title for “The
Dinner Party,” was born.
Co-Chairs Bern Rosenthal and Arlene Augenbraun “bookend” writer
Brenda Janowitz, who was cited as the featured guest of Hadassah's
second annual author luncheon
Author Janowitz speaks with fans Lilly Cohen and Eva Kessner 48 NORTH SHORE TOWERS COURIER ¢ October 2017