Shortstories

Maurits Cornelis Escher (1898-1972) is one of the world's most famous graphic artists. His art is enjoyed by millions of people all over the world.

Excerpt from The Centaur in the Garden “At the age of thirteen – my birthday was coming up – I was to undergo the ceremony of the bar mitzvah. Impossible, said my mother when my father brought up the subject. It’s not impossible at all, said my father. Didn’t I find a way to have him circumcised? So now we will have the bar mitzvah. But – said my mother, who was having difficulty breathing and beginning to feel an attack of nerves coming on – how can you take Guedali to a synagogue? Who said it has to be in a synagogue? asked my father. We’ll hold the ceremony right here at home. Just for the family. This sounded more reasonable, and my mother agreed. Deborah and Mina were excited about the idea. Bernardo didn’t say anything. For weeks I studied with my father the passage from the Bible that I was to recite in Hebrew. Two days before the party, my mother, Deborah, and Mina began to prepare the typical sweets. Father ordered a new suit made, and the girls were running to the seamstress...