Rodinsky's Room

In 1980 a curious discovery was made above a disused synagogue at 19 Princelet Street in the East End of London. A room, summarily abandoned years before, was found with everything more or less in its original state, even down to porridge on the stove and the imprint of a head on a pillow. The room's occupant, David Rodinsky, was a reclusive cabbalistic Jewish scholar who had, one day in the late 60s, simply vanished from his home; what became of him no one knew. The mystery of Rodinsky caused a mild flurry of excitement; writer and East-End chronicler Iain Sinclair wrote an essay for The London Review of Books entitled "The Man Who Became A Room" and subsequently expanded this as a chapter in his book Downriver but it was not until artist Rachel Lichtenstein became involved with the story that the true quest for David Rodinsky began. Lichtenstein's search paralleled her desire to investigate her own Jewish roots; the bond she felt with this elusive man whom no one could describe, of whom not one photograph seemed to exist, was incredible. The resulting book is a unique and fascinating collaboration between Lichtenstein and Sinclair and uses interweaving narratives to recreate the history of Rodinsky, "The Man Who Never Was". Sinclair's speculating, mythology-rich essays on Jewish culture, folklore and history blend skilfully with Lichtenstein's breathless detective story, which becomes as much autobiography as biography as the story gathers pace.--Catherine Taylor

View other editions of Rodinsky's Room.
View books by Rachel Lichtenstein, Iain Sinclair.