Schneider, Nina 1913–2007
Schneider, Nina 1913–2007
(Nina Zimet Schneider)
OBITUARY NOTICE—
See index for SATA sketch: Born January 29, 1913, in Antwerp, Belgium; died of a stroke, September 8, 2007, in Martha's Vineyard, MA. Children's science writer and adult novelist. For many years Schneider was content to write science books for children, working with her husband, Herman Schneider. In the early years, she also wrote a few children's books on her own, including a book of classic myths for the youngest readers. After nearly eighty books, when she was nearly seventy years old, Schneider published a novel that stunned the literary world. The Woman Who Lived in a Prologue (1980) is the story of an aging Jewish grandmother who looks back on a life filled with one traumatic event after another. It is a tale of misplaced love, abortion, suicide, mental illness, adultery, and more. Only at the end does the narrator begin to see herself as a distinct individual—apart from the others who had such an overpowering influence on the direction of her life. The impact of the story is heightened by its intimate tone, framed as it is in the form of a memoir. Critics predicted that if The Woman Who Lived in a Prologue turned out to be Schneider's only adult novel, which it was, her unexpectedly talented voice would still resonate for a very long time.
OBITUARIES AND OTHER SOURCES:
PERIODICALS
New York Times, September 27, 2007, p. A28.