The Old Notebook

José Chudnovsky was born in a Jewish Colonization Association farming colony in Colón, Entre Ríos, Argentina, to Ukrainian immigrants. His two novels, Dios era verde and Pueblo pan, were based on his own life. Dios era verde is set in the province of Chaco, where Chudnovsky’s family ended up, and it recounts the conflict between a traditionally Jewish father and his son, who is self-conscious about his Jewish heritage and the size of his nose. Nobel laureate Miguel Ángel Asturias wrote the prologue for the novel, which won the Argentine Authors Society’s Sash of Honor. In addition to being a writer and teacher, José Chudnovsky was a practicing dentist.