One of my local book clubs revisited some "classic" graphic works for last month's reading selections, and had a great online discussion this past MonOne of my local book clubs revisited some "classic" graphic works for last month's reading selections, and had a great online discussion this past Monday.
I recall reading Maus volume 1 in my sophomore (year 10) of high school, but unfortunately that is about all I remember, other than mice = Jews / cats = Nazis.
Re-reading now, xx years later and with volume 2 continuing the story, I got the full picture, and a lot more understanding than I would have gotten as a 15 year-old young'un.
I won't recount the story, but I will comment on Spiegelman's exceptional storytelling techniques of fourth-wall breaking and time shifts. This is a dual narrative of Vladek and Anja in the ghetto and in Auschwitz, but it is also the story of what it is to be a child of survivors of an absolute trauma.
While so many scenes and conversations stay with me, there's a conversation in V2 where Art is talking with his therapist Pavel that rocked me and continues to echo in my mind, regarding the randomness of survival and the stories that were told and not told, dropping a quote from Samuel Beckett : "Every word is like an unnecessary stain on silence and nothingness."
(Oof... hard to transition from that)
MAUS is one of the most well-known graphic works in the English language, and has been translated into dozens of other languages, and is also taught in many English and history classes, as I first encountered it.
For some of my book club mates, this was their first time reading a graphic work. MAUS continues to be that gateway for many, regardless of age....more
"This was the contract she made with herself: a good, predictable routine, without veering right or left; a life without divergence, steady and unchan"This was the contract she made with herself: a good, predictable routine, without veering right or left; a life without divergence, steady and unchanging, with no twists and turns."
From THE TEACHER by Michal Ben-Naftali, translated from the Hebrew by Daniella Zamir, 2019 English translation / @openletterbooks
This story opens with the eponymous teacher jumping off the roof of her Tel Aviv Apartment building to her death. One of her students, many years after her suicide attempts to piece /construct a life of the enigmatic Elsa Weiss. We are left wondering if this is fact or fiction.
A quiet life, purposefully kept "under the radar" and hidden. The only lasting relationship she has is with her students, but even they know so little about her. A Hungarian Jew, a Holocaust survivor, now living and teaching French and English to Israeli high schoolers... but nothing else.
Ben-Naftali weaves this story - through her narrator, Weiss' student - we are unsure if the events described actually happened, or are imagined ... The Kastner Train negotiated release from Bergen-Belsen for Hungarian Jews, the destination of Switzerland, and finally a life reconstructed.
A quiet and tragic life: ripples felt decades after her own death in the lives of her students. Short chapters and clear writing, but a challenge in both content and style. It's a very "internal" piece of literature - it makes one question the impact of words and deeds years after the fact....more
In theory: A post-Bolshevik revolution Jewish state, where Yiddish would the official language, instead of outlawed, where Soviet"The worst best idea."
In theory: A post-Bolshevik revolution Jewish state, where Yiddish would the official language, instead of outlawed, where Soviet Jews could live autonomously. Located in far eastern USSR, just above the border with China, a week's train ride from Moscow via the Trans-Siberian Railway. Established in 1934.
In reality: An outpost with few resources. Isolated, yet with a strong core of dedicated migrants, with hopes to speak their native Yiddish and educate their children in the rich culture. The idea started strong, and Jews who had left Russia earlier were incentivized to come back (from US and Latin America) to settle and work the collective farms. Until Stalin started the purges... Which penalized the people for the exact thing they had been encouraged to do a few years before.
So... A Jewish Autonomous Region in name only - because there never was a Jewish majority, never the fulfilled dream of a Soviet Jewish state.
Hence the 'absurd' of the title.
Masha Gessen, a Jewish Russian journalist and two-time emigre to the US, writes this little known history of the Jewish Autonomous Region, framed by their family's own story of immigration for religious and political reasons.
Although a little dry at times, this book begged a larger important question: When is it time to go? When is it no longer safe to stay?...more
"Self-sacrifice does not always represent an erasing of the 'I'. Self-sacrifice can sometimes be a well-honed weapon that the fanatic wields for destr"Self-sacrifice does not always represent an erasing of the 'I'. Self-sacrifice can sometimes be a well-honed weapon that the fanatic wields for destructive emotional purposes. Moreover, those who are eaget to sacrifice themselves will not find it difficult to sacrifice others." --From "Dear Zealots" essay from Dear Zealots: Letters from a Divided Land
This was my introduction to Amoz Oz, the well-known and prolific Israeli writer who passed away in late 2018. I often life to start with essays and poetry and "selected writings" before digging into an author's oeuvre. This was a powerful collection of three essays, the first "Dear Zealots" being my favorite one, a larger polemic on fundamentalist/fanatic psyche, and its permutations. "Many Lights, Not One Light" is the longest essay, regarding Jewish culture with Biblical and Talmudic discourse. The last "Dreams Israel Should Let Go of Soon" reiterates Oz's political stance on the two-state solution for Palestine and Israel....more
A man (Singer?) goes to a public place - a park, a cafe, a cruise ship- starts up a conversation with a person in this place, and a fantastical story A man (Singer?) goes to a public place - a park, a cafe, a cruise ship- starts up a conversation with a person in this place, and a fantastical story is born. This "device" is about 70% of the setup for each story in the collection. And it doesn't get boring. Are these stories true? They often feature a Yiddish writer in the first person, and some other person from a similar background. Sometimes they take place in Poland, or Argentina, or in New York. Sometimes they are about mythological creatures like demons or golems, or about a man leading a international double life, a homeless man with an incredible history, or a wife who has a lurid affair with her young nephew, some with mystical/kabbalistic overtones, and some as clear as day. They often end with a pithy "bring it home" quote.
This framing device draws the reader right in, making each story infinitely readable, like a juicy morsel of someone's private life and exploits.
This was my first full collection by Singer and I saw one critic described this collection as "undernourished", so I am curious to see what one of the other collections looks like - more "fat on their bones", perhaps? Since I enjoyed this one, I am curious to see how it could possibly get better. A 5-star for the ease of reading, while not entirely perfect (there are several "shockers" that one might not expect from the son of a rabbi), I really liked these short stories and will definitely be reading more Singer....more
The last time Susan Faludi spoke to her father, he was violently assaulting a man who was dating her mother after their separation. That was 27 years The last time Susan Faludi spoke to her father, he was violently assaulting a man who was dating her mother after their separation. That was 27 years ago. Fast forward: a photo postcard arrives, soon followed by an email entitled "Changes". Her long-estranged father has returned to Hungary, country of birth, but also the same country that forced their family into exile and murdered thousands of others who shared their religion and culture... and he recently had sex reassignment / affirmation surgery and is now Steffi Faludi.
In 2004, Susan decides to forge a new relationship with the woman she never knew: her father. She travels to Budapest, city of ghosts and secrets, and memories of her family. In this phenomenal story, we become acquainted with Steffi through her various identities and roles: father, husband, son, Holocaust survivor, professional photographer, Hungarian, world traveler, and finally Stefanie, a septuagenarian trans woman.
Faludi delves into her father's life with care, but also with brutal honesty. There is the larger narrative history of Hungary, history of trans/queer rights, feminism, and then through the personal lens of one incredible but imperfect person searching for identity, belonging, and ultimately acceptance for the true self.
One of the things that struck me again and again about this book was Faludi's sensitivity for gendered pronouns - she immediately adopted "she/her" for Steffi, while simultaneously calling her Father/Dad. There is even deeper layer of meaning to this point when Faludi states that Magyar, the Hungarian language, has no gendered pronouns. Her consistency in language is laudable, and really quite amazing considering the scope and timelines of this story.
I am still unpacking this one - there is just so much. This NYT review synthesizes it much better than I can: Susan Faludi's In the Darkroom.
A stunning book that I've run out of superlatives for - I highly recommend it....more
A novella written by the actor, Kirk Douglas. It is the story of a young German-Jewish boy during WWII. The story is told through the young man's eyesA novella written by the actor, Kirk Douglas. It is the story of a young German-Jewish boy during WWII. The story is told through the young man's eyes, as he tries to figure out who the Nazis are, his family's hiding, their concentration camp days, and his life afterwards. The book is told in two parts, after young Moishe decides he wants to hide his Jewish identity, he assumes the name Danny, and calls himself a gypsy. A sweet story about returning to love. The story is simple, and seems to be geared towards children/young teens, but adult readers will be able to enjoy the book just as much....more
The content was different than Potok's other books that I have read, but no less enjoyable. He writes with such a deep emotion, and I love his charactThe content was different than Potok's other books that I have read, but no less enjoyable. He writes with such a deep emotion, and I love his characters. I liked Gershon's Kabbalistic studies and how they coincided with the images of light throughout the book. I think this book was spurred by many of Potok's own experiences as a war chaplain in Korea.
I am glad I was able to read it... anything by Potok is beautiful!...more
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