Isaac Bashevis Singer
Jewish Literature
Swagbelly by David Levien. Plume (Penguin Group USA), New York:2003. Eliot Grubman is a self-made Jewish man who earned his fortune as a porn publisher. He is recently divorced, and is currently in a relationship with a young "model." Money has been the omnipotent force in Grubmans's life- although his sexual impotence, his tense relationship with his son- who is about to become a Bar Mitzvah- seriously test his life philosophy. DJ Levien is the author of the novel, Wormwood, and he co-wrote the feature film, Rounders. His website is djlevien.com. Fabulous Small Jews, is recommended to be read for contrasting characters.
Blooms of Darkness by Aharon Appelfeld. Schocken Books New York: 2010. Eleven year old Hugo is entrusted to the care of his mother's childhood friend, Mariana, a prostitute, in the depths of World War II. Hugo is hidden in a closet in her brothel in order to evade the Nazis who are hunting for escaped Jews. He lives in a dream-like state which juxtaposes his reality with visions of departed loved ones. Thrust from caring affluent surroundings, he is surviving both the onslaught of the war and the irrevocable changes which will confront him. The novel itself flows like the consciousness of the main character: dreams and reality intersect and often cannot be separated. The author has written more than forty books, and has received numerous awards and honors including the National Jewish Book Award and the Prix Medicis Etranger.
Foiglman by Aharon Megged. Translated from Hebrew by Margarnit Weinberger-Rotman. TheToby Press New London, CT; London: 2003. A Parisian Yiddish poet, Holocaust survivor Shumel Foiglman, writes to Israeli historian Zvi Arbel regarding the latter's work on the Chmielnicki's massacres in 1648-1649, and sends Arbel a volume of his poetry. Foiglman visits the historian in Israel and an entangled friendship ensues. Eventually, Arbel devotes his time and resources to publishing Foiglman's poetry in Hebrew. Unfortunately, this has severe consequences for his marriage to Nora, a scientist. The book offers insight into the Israeli psyche, which the author deftly contrasts with the Jewish Diaspora frame of mind, as represented by Foiglman. This engrossing novel is an excellent choice for Jewish book groups. The author has been an important figure in Israeli literature since the 1950s. He was the president of the Israel Pen Center from 1980 to 1987. Mr. Megged is a long-standing of the Hebrew Academy, and has received the Brenner Award, the Agnon Award and the Israel Prize for Literature in 2003.
Seven Blessings by Ruchama King. St.Martins Press New York:2003. Two Orthodox Jewish Matchmakers living in Jerusalem have a central mission in life: arranging Jewish marriages. One of the matchmakers is Tsippi, a survivor of the Holocaust, who vowed after being liberated from Treblinka to champion the birth of new Jews by setting up new marriages. The other matchmaker, Judy, moved to Israel from America and seeks to arrange marriages for the men and women who sit at her Sabbath table. The central matchmaking focus of the novel is on Akiva and Beth. Akiva, 41, is a house painter who is afflicted with a rare nervous disorder, and has embraced Orthodox Judaism later in life. Beth 39, is American and was raised Orthodox. This enticing novel revolves around their courtship as it evolves in their lives as Orthodox Jews in Jerusalem. Excellent book choice for Jewish readers and those interested in Jewish culture. A reading guide is available. The author lived, studied, and taught in Jerusalem for 10 years. This is her first novel.
Barney Ross by Douglas Century. Nextbook. Schocken: New York, 2006. The first biography of one of the great boxers of the 20th century. Prior to World War ll, boxing was an enormously popular sport, and a number of Jews rose to its top ranks- most famously, Benny Leonard and Barney Ross. In the tradition of Daniel "The Light of Israel" Mendoza , sixteenth champion of the London Prize Ring in 1792, Jewish champion Barney Ross would capture the lightweight, junior welterweight, and welterweight titles in the course of ten years. Overcoming the poverty of a tough Chicago neighborhood, Barney Ross was a national Jewish hero, and eventually earned a Silver Star for his service in the Battle of Guadalcanal. This first biography is from the publisher's Jewish Encounter Series. Douglas Century has written Street Kingdom, and Takedown with Rick Cowan. He is a frequent contributor to The New York Times among other publications.
My Father's Paradise A Sons' Search for his Jewish Past to Kurdish Iraq. by Ariel Sabar. Algonquin Books New York: 2008. The Kurdish Jews of Zakho were among the oldest Jewish cultures in the Diaspora prior to their immigration to Israel in the 1950's. The author offers a fascinating picture of his father's upbringing in Kurdistan and brings to life a once vibrant outpost of the Jewish diapora- storytellers, mystics, craftsmen, and traders who lived in harmony with their Muslim and Christian neighbors. The Jews in Kurdistan spoke Aramaic, the language of the Talmud, and the author's father, an esteemed professor at UCLA, is an important link to both the language and the land in which it thrived. Growing up in Los Angeles, the author distanced himself from his father's past and recaptures his heritage on trips to Zakho as an adult. The author is a journalist and has written for The Baltimore Sun, The Providence Journal, The New York Times, The Christian Science Monitor, and Mother Jone's magazine. His web site is www.arielsabar.com
Fabulous Small Jews by Joseph Epstein. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston: 2003. A engaging group of contemporary short stories about secular Chicagoan Jews. The characters are diverse: university professors, artists, commodity brokers, salesmen, and mistresses. There is a common thread among them: each character has a unique way of surviving and relating to difficult personal situations. The author not only illustrates a vast array of portraits: he concludes each story with special twist. Mr Epstein is the best selling author of Snobbery, the American Version. He is the author of many previous books, and his work has been published in The New Yorker, The Atlantic Monthly, Monthly Harper's Magazine, and Commentary. Mr. Epstein is currently working on a book about friendship in the contemporary world.
Old Men At Midnight by Chaim Potok. Alfred A. Knopf, New York: 2001. The lives of three men unfold as their life stories are revealed to the same woman at different stages of her life. In the first novella, in post-war New York, Davita is a tutoring a holocaust survivor who has recently immigrated to America. Avram, who is the only Jewish survivor from his Polish town, begins to draw on his lesson pad during his English lessons. The drawings lead to his telling the story of his wartime past that he has painfully repressed. In the second novella, Davita is a teaching assistant at Columbia University and is an escort to a lecturer, Leon Shertov, who recently defected from post-Stalinist Soviet Union, where he was a high ranking officer in the KGB. Shertov is from a Jewish background, and he eventually sends her stories about his life. He also uncovers a past which is tormented by a hidden memory. In the third novella, Davita appears as I.D. Chandal, a famous author now in her forties. She is the new neighbor of an emminent historian, Benjamin Walter. Walter becomes infatuated with her, and slowly recounts his life story. He also has ghosts to reconcile- his trope teacher, who taught him Torah cantillation, emerges as a central character in his story. His resolution is tense and full of agonizing perceptions. This is the most powerful of the novellas and suitably is the final stroke of mastery by a very gifted author. Mr. Potok is an ordained Rabbi and the author of "The Chosen". Read an obituary (The New York Times) of this acclaimed author and acclaimed scholar.
The Right hand of Sleep by John Wray. Penguin Random House New York:2001. A masterfully intense first novel. A World War I deserter returns from Russia to his native Austria. It is the mid 1930's prior to the Anschluss. The main character remains in his hometown and works as a fishwarden on land owned by a Jewish landlord. He has a love affair with a local woman whose cousin is an important figure in the SS. Riddled with ambivalences, the main character revisits his past during the War and in Russia. His ideology conflicts with the mood of the locals, who brand him as a deserter. Stark, intense, and highly reflective, this novel stands out as one of the best written in the last ten years.
Eva's Story by Linda D.Cirino. Princeton, NJ : Ontario Review Press, New York. Distributed by W.W. Norton & Co:1999. A tender love story of a German farm wife and a Jewish student she hides during World War Two.The novel is narrated by the farm wife, whose life is transformed by her relationship with the student. A heartwarming tale rendered in a flowingly poignant style.
Longing by Maria Espinosa. Arte Publico Press, Houston:1995. This is one of the finest psychological novels I have read. It is a highly complex story of the relationship between a young Jewish woman and her abusive Chilean husband.The author masterfully develops the novels principle characters and slowly unravels their distinct pyscho/sexual makeups. One may find this book disturbing: fans of Paul Auster's novels will enjoy its throughly bizarre tone.
The Puttermesser Papers by Cynthia Ozick. New York : Alfred Knopf, 1997. A bizarre but eloquently written account of the life of a New York Jewish female bureaucrat. This book unfolds the story of an erudite and peculiar woman- her past, present, and future; in the most notable episode, she creates a golem, ( a Jewish mythical creature) and temporarily reforms New York City. This is an encompassing novel, replete with diverse twists and turns-a book of constant surprise and amazement. Not for the light-hearted.
The Family Markowitz by Allegra Goodman. Farrar, Straus and Giroux New York 1996. If you like stories about contemporary Jewish families- put this novel on your list. The author has a gift for fast-paced dialogue, which can both poignant and comical. A wonderful novel.
Jabotinsky A Life by Hillel Halkin. Jewish Lives Series:Yale University Press :2014. An excellent biography on one of the leading founders of the state of Israel. Jabontinsky was born in Odessa to a middle-class Jewish family. He was educated in secular schools, worked as a journalist, author, and trained as a lawyer. One of the turning points of his life was the Kishinev pogroms in Russia, where as a reporter, he witnessed its aftermath. This experience inspired him to organize self-defense units in Russia and to become involved in the Zionist movement. Jabotinsky was the founder of the Revisionist Party and its youth group, Betar. The Revisionists were conflict with Labor Zionists, lead by David Ben-Gurion. Jabotinsky and Ben Gurion were from different backgrounds and political opponents in their lifetime. Both "Ben Gurion, Father of Modern Israel" , and this book will give the reader broad insight into the personalities and background of these leaders in the Zionist vanguard. The author i is a writer, critic, and translator. He is the author of "Across the Sabbath River" and "Yehuda Halevi", both of which won the National Jewish Book Award Wikipedia has extensive background information on his life and work .
Humanistic Judaism by Sherwin T. Wine.Prometheus Books 1973. Rabbi Wine was an ordained Reform Rabbi who founded the Humanistic Judaism Movement. In his seminal book, he outlines the cultural and philosophical issues facing the modern Jew: traditional religious belief, which is based on the laws of a Supreme Being, does not fulfill the contemporary person spiritually. It is the individual, not a Supreme Being, who must find fulfillment through self- respect and communal interaction. Aspiration towards reward in the afterlife is an illusion: only individual action in the present can renew and build the human spirit. Jewish Humanism is a celebration of Jewish customs and community, not a religious belief dictated by a Supreme Being. The author emphasizes that the teachings of the Biblical and Rabbinic authorities are outmoded. With the enlightenment, modern Jewish thinkers are have more relevance to modern Jewry. This is an ground -breaking work which will appeal to Jews searching for philosophical insight in contemporary times. Rabbi Wine also wrote Celebration: A Ceremonial and Philosophical Guide for Humanists and Humanistic Jews, The Humanistic Haggadah, Staying Sane in a Crazy World, and A Provocative People: A Secular History of the Jews. Rabbi Wine died in 2007.
Ben Gurion, Father of Modern Israel by Anita Shapira. Yale University Press: 2014. The founder of the modern state of Israel grew up in Plonsk, Poland and eventually emigrated to Palestine, where he envisioned a modern homeland for the Jews. The author addresses both the political and emotional issues facing the future Prime Minster: conflicts with other Zionist leaders, his marriage, crucial issues with World powers such as the Ottoman Empire, the British Empire, and the United States. Ben Gurion molded the modern Israeli persona by guiding the newly established state, and engaging it as a nation of the world. This book will appeal to Jewish history readers, and especially to those who are not familiar with the life of the one of founding fathers of modern Israel.
Leon Blum Prime Minister, Socialist Zionist by Pierre Birnbaum.Yale University Press:2015. Leon Blum was one of the most important French Socialist leaders in the 20th century. Blum implemented reforms which remain in the French workplace: reduced work week, health care, guaranteed paid vacation, and many other employment reforms. Blum was a Democratic socialist who believed in free speech, and Democratic participation in government. He broke off relations with the Bolsheviks and the Communist platform, advocating for a fairer non-party centric form of Socialism. He started out in a career as a bureaucrat, and eventually moved up the political ladder to the position of Prime Minister. Although he was highly controversial, and not popular with the right wing Anti-Semitic politic, Blum was able to implement worker reforms which made him popular with the working class. He was imprisoned by the Nazis, but survived the war. In the Post-war era, Blum was an ardent Zionist and established a strong friendship with Chaim Weitzmann, the first Prime Minister of Israel. This is a highly informative book about a French Jewish leader whose influence and life is not well-known to the general public. Another excellent book from the Yale Jewish Lives series.
A Life Issac B. Singer by Florence Noiville. Translated by Catherine Temerson. Originally published in French Éditions Stock Paris: 2003; English edition Farar, Strauss, Giroux New York:2006. The popular Yiddish writer, Issac Bashevis Singer, received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1978. Raised in a religious family in Poland, he immigrated to America before the Second World War. His stories are about a vast array of characters who lived in various time periods: from pre Holocaust Poland to contemporary New York. This biography delves into the character of the author by drawing on letters, interviews with family, friends, and publishing contemporaries. There are excellent bibliographic references, especially valuable for readers unfamiliar with Singer's books. This book is a welcome introduction to the life and literature of Issac B Singer. Ms. Noiville is a journalist at Le Monde, and is deputy literary director at the newspaper's book review. Catherine Temerson is the author of several books published in France. Her many translation include My Father's Rifle, A Childhood in Kurdistan by Hiner Saleem.
Unorthodox:The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots by Deborah Feldman.Simon & Schuster :2012. The author was raised in the Satmar Hasidic community in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn. Men and women have very traditional roles in this ultra-Orthodox Jewish community. Women marry as teenagers and are expected to bear many children. Men learn at Yeshiva and may be supported by their working wives. Outside cultural influences are limited. The author describes her conflicts with community lifestyles. She was not allowed to read secular books, and secretly acquired a public library card. Her arranged teen marriage was plagued by sexual religious proscription. An innate free thinker, the author eventually left the community after the birth of her son. The book is an intimate window into life within a visibly closed religious community. It sheds light on the clash between extreme religious orthodoxy and individual freedoms in progressive American society. The author is currently a student at Sarah Lawrence University.
Daughter of the King Growing Up In Gangland by Sandra Lansky and Wiliam Stadiem. Weinstein Books :2014. Sandra Lansky, the only daughter of Meyer Lansky, reveals the intimate details of her upbringing as the daughter of one of the most powerful Mobsters of the 20th century. Narrated in a folksy, almost ingnue tone, the author recounts her life as the poor-little rich girl who was sheltered from the criminal reality of her father's business dealings. Her "Uncles" were leading Italian and Jewish Mobsters of the day. The book unveils fascinating details about her lavish party life in New York city which included dates and relationships with Hollywood stars. William Standiem, who wrote books such as " My Life with Frank Sinatra, and "Marilyn Monroe Delivers," worked with the Ms. Lansky to bring her tale to fruition. Highly recommended to readers interested in the history of the Mob after the World War ll.
Turbulent Souls: A Catholic Son's Return to His Jewish Family. by Stephen J. Dubner. William Morrow and Company, New York:1998. The author, an editor at The New York Times Magazine, examines his parent's past and how it influenced his course towards embracing Judaism. His parents, born into Judaism, converted to Catholicism as adults. They raised their children as devout Catholics on a farm in upstate New York far removed from the urban Jewish setting in which they grew up. As a young man and later as a professional writer, Mr. Dubner explores his roots and seeks to embrace Judaism. On this path though, he encounters conflict with his mother; the personality of his late father becomes demystified; a lost family is rediscovered. This is an excellent book for an ecumenical individual: the author successfully identifies the elements in religious discovery- and wisely does not make value judgements about personal religious decisions.
Chosen By God, a Brother's Journey by Joshua Hammer. Hyperion, New York:1999. An insider's account of a sibling's journey into Orthodox Judaism. Joshua Hammer, a veteran journalist, insightfully depicts the unsettling road which his brother Tony travels towards his commitment to Orthodox Judaism. The brothers were raised in a secular Jewish household in Manhattan. Tony was an aspiring actor who graduated from a prominent New York high school for the arts. He visits Israel during college and returns a changed man: riddled with ambivalences about religious Judaism. Tony eventually becomes a practicing Orthodox Jew, which creates tension between him and his family. Joshua Hammer chronicles this development and gains insight into both his brother's religious journey and his own personal religious outlook. Written in a vivid flowing account, the author gives us a clear perspective on the voyage of individual religious change.
Maimonides by Sherwin B. Nuland. Nextbook Schocken New York 2005. Moses Maimonides, a great Rabbinical thinker and a well respected physician, rose above his hostile circumstances to leave an important legacy dating back 800 years. This book is an excellent choice for introducing the general reader to the life and historical surroundings of one of the most influential minds in Judaic philosophy. The author is a physician and has written nine previous books, including The Biography of Medicine, and How We Die, which won a National Book Award.
Jews by Arthur Hertzberg and Aron Hirt-Manheimer. Harper, San Francisco: 1998. A highly controversial book, the authors explore historical and cultural changes for Jews from Abraham to contemporary times. The ever-present condition of being "the other" presents both challenges and ambivalences to every generation of Jews. This book can be disturbing and unsettling to a reader; only in the final chapter do the authors present a postive and constructive outlook for future Jewish generations. Jews is an important addition to contemporary Jewish literature.
Stranger in my Own Country by Yascha Mounk. Macmillan : 2013 The author grew up in Germany, the child of Holocaust survivors from Poland. He was raised by his mother, a professional opera conductor. We are confronted with the ambivalent realities of growing up a Jew in Germany. The author recounts his experiences as quasi- mythological being- a historical remnant: his classmates and teachers knew little of Jews, a vanished culture of the past. Many of his personal experiences are laden with apologetic philo-semitic deference. Regardless, he was usually categorized as non-German, citizenship granted only by blood. Historical outlooks began to change in Germany after the war, accompanied by the unwillingness of Germans to no longer feel responsible for the Holocaust. The anti-Semitism of Germany became focused on Israel. Eventually, the author emigrated to New York where he is resolving his conflicted identity- a Jew in New York can live an assimilated life style and not feel ethnically categorized. Highly recommended to readers of Jewish non-fiction. The author is currently a PH.D candidate in political thought a the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. He has written for magazines and magazines such as New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Die Zeit
The Man in the Sharkskin Suit My Family's Exdous from Old Cairo to the New World by Lucette Lagnado.Ecco New York:2007. The author was born in Cairo in the 1950's into a well-to-do Jewish family. Her father was successful businessman, a Boulevardier attired in a sharkskin suit who enjoyed the nightlife of cosmopolitan Cairo. Eventually, the family's fortune's changed during the Nassar era. Forced to flee Egypt, her family endured hardship in France, and eventually settled into a modest life in New York. The author depicts the rich cultural history of her family in Cairo, and the inevitable conflicts which presented themselves in America. There are few books about 20th century Egyptian Jewish life, and this is stirring memoir of a once vibrant culture. The author is a special writer and investigative reporter for the Wall Street Journal. She has received the Mike Berger Award and honors from the National Press Club, and the New York Press Club. The author is the coauthor of Children of the Flames: Dr. Josef Mengele and the Untold Story of the Twins of Auschwitz.
The Ornament of the World: How Muslims, Jews, and Christians Created a Culture of Tolerance In Medieval Spain by MarÃa Rosa Menocal Little, Brown and Company, Boston, New York, and London:2002. Foreword by Harold Bloom. The Medieval era is usually perceived as the "Dark Ages:yet a flourishing culture existed during that time in Spain. The focus of this book is on a burgeoning new kingdom in Iberia: Al-Andalus. Muslims, Christians, and Jews lived and worked together in a culture which brought forth the first translations of Plato and Aristotle, the tradition of love songs, secular poetry, scientific, mathematical, and architectural innovation. This is an era when people of different religious faiths lived together and contributed to a culture which would have a long term impact on the rest of Europe. This remarkable book will enlighten the reader to a lost culture whose contributions remain as an invaluable legacy in our modern life. The author, a native of Cuba, is the Selden Rose Professor of Spanish and the director of the Whitney Humanities Center at Yale University. Ms. Menocal is the author of critically acclaimed Shards of Love and books on Arabic Medieval literature. Mr. Bloom Harold Bloom is a renowned American literary critic, Sterling Professor of the Humanities at Yale University and Berg Professor of English at New York University.
Capitalism and the Jews by Jerry Z. Muller. Princeton University Press Princeton, NJ: 2010. The Jews played a pivotal role in the development of European commerce. Neither royalty nor serfs, they were in a unique position to be dominant in European finance and trade. This book examines the history of capitalism in Europe, and the role of Jews in its evolution. The author is a leading historian of capitalism and a professor of history at Catholic University. His previous books include The Mind and the Market: Capitalism in Modern European Thought, and Adam Smith in His Time and Ours. He has written for the Wall Street Journal, the The New Republic, and the Times Literary Supplement.
Jewish Power: Inside the American Jewish Establishment by J.J. Goldberg. Addison Wesley Publishing Inc. 1996. This book, a valuable resource to those interested in the inner workings of American Jewish politics, debunks much of conventional wisdom surrounding this subject. The author extensively covers the historical development of Jewish interest groups in the United States and provides us with demystifying insights into "the Jewish media". J.J. Goldberg is a contributing editor of the Israeli news magazine Jerusalem Report and has written for The New York Times and The New Republic.
The Vanishing American Jew: In Search of Jewish Identity for the Next Century by Alan Dershowitz. Little Brown and Company 1997. The main premise of this book is that American Jews have a choice: they can continue their heritage of 3500 years or easily assimilate into mainstream American culture. The author contends that the " victim " mentality, brought on by anti-semitism, has been the primary force behind the perpetuation of Jewish culture. Younger American Jews have generally not been affected by institutionalized(state sanctioned) anti-semitism, and feel more apathetic towards their Jewish background. The author suggests that in order to rekindle Jewish identity and combat increasing assimilation rates, American Jews must perceive their culture in a more positive light and not in terms of the " victim " mentality. There are concrete suggestions for attaining this positive outlook with a special emphasis on adult Jewish education.
Strangers to the tribe : portraits of interfaith marriage by Gabrielle Glaser. Boston : Houghton Mifflin, 1997. The author, herself a convert to Judaism and a descendant of Jewish settlers in Oregon reveals an intimate portrait of Jewish-Christian marriages in the United States. Currently, the Jewish-American intermarriage rate stands at 55 percent, and a substantial percentage of those couples do not choose to raise their children as Jews. These portraits are diverse: marriages of Catholic, Protestant, Asian-Christian, and other cultural backgrounds with Jews display intense conflicts and a grappling for individual and familial identity within the context of two religions. My only question is the typicality of these accounts: this is left to the reader to decide