Tell Me a Riddle: Tillie Olsen
(Women Writers : Texts and
Contexts)
Powerful
Tell Me a Riddle renders an unforgettable portrait of a working-class
couple when the gender-determined differences in their experiences of
poverty and familial life give rise to bitter conflict after almost four decades
of marriage. As she dies of cancer, Eva, the protagonist, recollects a
revolutionary past that both critiques and offers hope for the present.
Deborah Rosenfelts introduction and the essays in this volume survey the
critical reception of this highly acclaimed story, analyze its biographical and
historical contexts, examine the texts language, structure, and spiritual and
moral significance, and illuminate Olsens relationship to the American
Midwest, the American left, and the Jewish enlightenment tradition. This
casebook includes an introduction by the editor, a chronology of Olsens
life, an authoritative text of Tell Me a Riddle, relevant essays by Olsen,
seven critical essays, and a bibliography. The contributors are Joanne

Trautmann Banks, Constance Coiner, Rachel Blau DuPlessis, Mara
Faulkner, Elaine Neil Orr, Linda Ray Pratt, and Deborah Silverton
Rosenfelt.
Personal Review: Tell Me a Riddle: Tillie Olsen (Women
Writers : Texts and Contexts)
"Hey Sailor, What Ship" is the most powerful, concentrated portrayal of
alcoholism that I have ever read. Olsen gets inside the mind of a late-
stage alcoholic. Her prose seems to stretch and distort as her main
character goes on an unplanned bender while on shore leave.
She shows beautiful restraint, too: there is nothing sensational or mawkish
here. I am in awe of this story.
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