Myron Jay Kaufman

Angst Myron Jay Kaufman

What was it like to grow up with the possibility of nuclear annihilation? Angst traces the lives of two young Yankee fans in the Bronx: Joseph, who is always in awe of Sammy, a math and science whiz. They come of age shortly after the Soviet Union tests its first atomic bomb. Their fear of a Soviet attack leads them to set up a fallout shelter in the basement of their apartment building. Sammy can't shake his obsession with the possibility of nuclear war, but after a while, Joseph's interest turns to girls. The boys go on to MIT and Columbia University, respectively, and when Sammy immigrates to Israel, Joseph loses track of his friend. After a torrid love affair, Joseph marries Devy, and then becomes a rabbi and a Ph. D. in religion. The couple has a child; then Devy discovers she has cancer. Their angst leads them to return to the Bronx to live with Devy's mother. Joseph finds a position with a Jewish school and synagogue, where one of his duties is to conduct services at the Jewish Residential Psychiatric Center. He discovers his old friend, Sammy, has been a long-term patient at the Center. Joseph learns of Sammy's horrible experiences in Israel, and tries to rehabilitate him by bringing him to live with them at Devy's mother's house.