When Too Many Men, by Australian author and long-time New York resident Lily Brett, was released to much acclaim in 1999 the novel rose to #1 on the bestseller list and was awarded the Commonwealth Writers Prize.
This fictional, yet deeply personal story of a woman and her father, a holocaust survivor, as they travel together to Poland, has now been made into a feature film and will be screened at the Tribeca Film Festival next month.
Retitled Treasure for the adaptation, the movie stars Lena Dunham as Ruth Rothwax, a journalist who yearns to understand the loss her family experienced during World War II, and Stephen Fry as her father, Edek. As the pair visit the places where her parents lived – and nearly died – each has their own reckoning with not only the past, but each other and what that means for the future.
As the child of Holocaust survivors herself, Brett’s novel has true resonance, and the film perfectly portrays this haunting, often hilarious and deeply moving story with a gentle touch and much heart.
When asked about Brett, who, in addition to being a novelist, is also a poet and essayist, Dunham said, “[Brett] has an incredible ability to explain the Jewish experience and the human experience.”
“[Brett’s] such an easy writer to read… beautifully funny, complex, and delightful as well,” Fry added.
Treasure is playing at the Tribeca Film Festival on June 8, 9 and 11 and will be released at cinemas across the US release from June 14.
In conjunction with the film, Brett’s book Treasure (formerly titled Too Many Men) will be rereleased in the US on May 28th. You can order it here.
What the press are saying:
“As Brett’s readers we get soundscapes, mindscapes and feelingscapes…. we are drawn closer to what Brett chooses to give us, as people who cluster nearer to the storytellers candle when in the dark” – Australian Book Review
“One of a rare breed…. a polished stylist with brains, wit and a message.” – Sun Herald (Australia)
“Irresistible” – People
“Funny….. powerful……chilling.” – O magazine
AWNY | Australian Women in New York 