Calamities of Exile

Lawrence Weschler is a two-time winner of the George Polk Award for Magazine Reporting, and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Award for his book "Mr Wilson's Cabinet of Wonder".

A collection of narratives examining the stories of three expatriates - an Iraqi, Czech and an Afrikaner - who have suffered for speaking out in opposition to the totalitarian regimes holding sway in their homeland. The book explores the nature of modern totalitarianism and exile.From the author of Mr. Wilson's Cabinet of Wonder, Calamities of Exile combines three gripping narratives that afford a sort of double CAT scan into the natures of both modern totalitarianism and timeless exile. "Beautiful but harrowing chronicles of three exiles that probe the moral and personal risks of their encounters with totalitarianism...Piercing and timely."--Kirkus Reviews, starred review "Weschler ...combines a novelist's gift for drama with the objectivity and research skills of a journalist...The result is three gripping profiles of very human but also extraordinary men."--Publishers Weekly "[Weschler's] thorough accounting of the men's covert operations, assumed identities and strained relationships with fathers, wives, and colleagues creates a disturbing triptych of the perils of totalitarianism."--Lance Gould, New York Times Book Review "Weschler tells these three tragic tales with an admirable combination of psychological penetration, intellectual thrust, concision and compassion."--Francis King, Spectator "Endlessly absorbing...Breathtaking."--Jeri Laber, Los Angeles Times Book Review