The Conversion

A Book Sense Pick - May 2008

Public Radio Interview Listen

Vogue Magazine - May 2008 "...a vetiver-scented intrigue..."

Time and sexual boundaries are transcended in Olshan's eighth novel...The relationships between Olshan's characters are sultry and multifaceted, mapped across a richly delineated landscape of intimacy and yearning.
European sensibility and sensuality add new dimensions to Olshan’s writing.
Kirkus Reviews

Olshan's crisp, satisfying new novel follows American translator and author Russell Todaro, a Jewish gay man who becomes embroiled in the death and ensuing scandal of a former lover. Set against a plush and evocatively described European backdrop, Olshan has produced a compelling story of forbidden desire, deception, religion and love's intoxicating allure.
Publisher's Weekly

Read the PW Interview

In the February issue of "O" Magazine,
Kate Winslet declares Joseph Olshan to be one of her favorite writers.

Here's what she says about his novel, The Waterline.
"I read the book a long time ago, but one thing
has stayed with me: the way a trauma
in childhood -- though the memory is so
blurred and disjointed -- can affect us deeply
without our even realizing it."