Foreskin's Lament

by Shalom Auslander

published

October 4th 2007 by Riverhead Hardcover

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binding

Hardcover

isbn

1594489556 (isbn13: 9781594489556)

description

Shalom Auslander was raised with a terrified respect for God. Even as he grew up and was estranged from his community, his religion and its traditions...more

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Lena rated it:

05/08/08

bookshelves: memoir

This is a fascinating and darkly funny account of one man’s attempts to live under the vengeful God he inherited as a part of his orthodox Jewish upbringing.

Shalom Auslander learned early on that the God who was watching over him was one he describes as “eternally pissed off.” As a child, he developed such fear of this vengeful Old Testament character he still spends much of his time imagining the various ways God might murder his family in punishment for his own numerous sins.

D...more

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Edy rated it:

(review of isbn )

11/01/07

Read in October, 2007

(from page 71) "I wonder sometimes if he-- and I-- suffer from a metaphysical form of Stockholm syndrome. Held captive by this Man for thousands of years, we now praise Him, defend Him, excuse Him, sometimes kill for Him, an army of Squeaky Frommes swearing allegiance to their Charlie in the sky. My relationship with God has been an endless cycle not of the celebrated 'faith followed by doubt,' but of appeasement followed by revolt; placation followed by indifference; please, please, please...more

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Matthew rated it:

(review of isbn )

09/26/07

I believe in God. It's been a real problem for me.

Alas, Shalom Auslander's problems with God aren't so easily shrugged off. His problems with God are all-encompassing, paralyzing, potentially life-threatening. They've followed him from birth, through adolescence, and now into adulthood, to the birth of his first child. They've followed him despite his attempts to break free of his Orthodox upbringing. They've followed him despite his attempts to embrace of his Orthodox upbringing. God...more I believe in God. It's been a real problem for me.

Alas, Shalom Auslander's problems with God aren't so easily shrugged off. His problems with God are all-encompassing, paralyzing, potentially life-threatening. They've followed him from birth, through adolescence, and now into adulthood, to the birth of his first child. They've followed him despite his attempts to break free of his Orthodox upbringing. They've followed him despite his attempts to embrace of his Orthodox upbringing. God, it seems, just won't leave him alone.

His memoir, Foreskin's Lament, is relentless in its portrayal of this vengeful, Old Testament God. Shalom, who was taught from an early age that not only was God responsible for wars, genocide, and random acts of Biblical bullying, but also omni-present - here, there, and everywhere! - still struggles with Him in his seemingly happy adult life. He is married. He has cut himself off from his family. God has allowed him some normalcy (finally), but Shalom knows it won't last. His wife's pregnancy, he believes, is a harbinger of God's delayed vengence. He thinks: the baby will die, or his wife will die in childbirth, or they'll both die, or they'll both live and on the way home, they'll die in a head-on collision with a drunk driver. "That would be so God," he writes.

Yes, it's cynical. Yes, it's neurotic. But it's also very funny, illuminating in its descriptions of the Orthodox community, and surprisingly moving. The sections about his confused adolescence are particularly powerful. It would be a shame to classify Foreskin's Lament as simply a "Jewish book." It should appeal to anyone who has a family, anyone who grew up, anyone who just wants to be left alone to live their life, anyone who has wondered, "Why me?" and "Oh shit, what next?"

Check out the book trailer here: http://shalomauslander.com/vid...

"When I was a child, my parents and teachers told me about a man who was very strong...But when we didn't obey what he had commanded, he didn't like us. He hated us. Some days he hated us so much, he killed us; other days, he let other people kill us. We call these days 'holidays.'"...less

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karen rated it:

(review of isbn )

02/11/08

Read in February, 2008

I loved the title of this book, and had to read it. I ended up really enjoying it. Reading it took me only a few days, which I love with my busy lifestyle! In the beginning I felt the author whining too much, but hung in there and glad I did. As you travel through the book you begin to understand the relevance of his complaints and woes in life. I also found that many of the taboos in the orthodox Jewish faith are prevalent in strict Christianity as well. It seems that religion can screw up so m...more

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Jennifer rated it:

02/09/08

Read in February, 2008

I bought this book thinking the writing style would be a combination of David Sedaris, and AJ Jacobs (he wrote "know it all" and "the year of living bibically"). I'd also heard some pieces read by the author on NPR, so I figured it was a good bet for purchase.

I liked the book's writing style, which made sense based I what I knew - very conversational. That said, I was a little overwhelmed by the author's view of religion and God. He was raised as a Orthodox Jew, and seem...more

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Gwen rated it:

(review of isbn )

01/27/08

Read in January, 2008

I loved loved LOVED this memoir. Auslander is very, very bitter that he was raised an Orthodox Jew with an abusive father and, in his opinion, an abusive Father as well. He sees God as an asshole who exists just to fuck with people, and he's pretty pissed off about it. And yet he's convinced God exists, so he lives in perpetual fear that God's about to kill his son or wife or otherwise take away something he loves, just to be a dick. And so he's in a constant discussion with God: "Fuck you....more

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margueya rated it:

(review of isbn )

01/19/08

I went through a lot of indecision in the star givings for this one. On the one hand, a lot of it was disturbing and bothersome, and I had to skip some passages out of sheer disgust. On the other hand, it was funny, well written, thought provoking and a rather interesting examination of frumkeit. So bottom line, once I got in the second half of the book, I was a lot more interested and engaged, and I left with an overall appreciation for the book's strength.
As to Auslander himself, so somet...more I went through a lot of indecision in the star givings for this one. On the one hand, a lot of it was disturbing and bothersome, and I had to skip some passages out of sheer disgust. On the other hand, it was funny, well written, thought provoking and a rather interesting examination of frumkeit. So bottom line, once I got in the second half of the book, I was a lot more interested and engaged, and I left with an overall appreciation for the book's strength.
As to Auslander himself, so sometimes I got annoyed at him - his attitude toward Gd can be so immature - I didn't get what I want, so why should I bother, ie, I davened and you didn't let my aging and dimentia riddled grandmother live, what good are you, pass me the ham. Then at the same time, I totally get the feeling of the random chaos that this universe seems to run by and how futile and senseless it seems to turn to Gd when He's the one setting this into motion (ok, fine, with a lot of help from mankind, but still, it does seem like, so why are we here, then? Some sick cosmic joke? I mean, sheesh, He has nothing better to do with His time?).
I am super interested in knowing more about his family - while his annecdotes were shocking and disturbing they in many ways only confused me as to his tenuous hold on relations as well as relgion seemed to wax and wane with little clarity as to when, how, and exact gradations, but I guess nothing is so precise. It was fascinating to read about Shalom flipping out in Israel and donning a black hat though not surprisingly there was little discussion on any thought process or feeling, whereas the anti Gd stuff seems endless.
At the end of the day, what do we make of this man - in some ways he is the mouth piece for what many, I'm sure, are too scared to say - at the same time, perhaps these thoughts are best left silent, perhaps he is only encouraging a mentality and behavior that is unhealthy, perhaps there needs to be a love it or lump it attitude with Gd rather than this angry diatribe - I guess I mean I can't tell if he's a hero or pathetic, worthy of sympathy or antipathy - he is cnfused and complicated and so is this whole issue. Does a catharsis of such nature have a place in the world, our world specifically, or is this destructive and therefore meant to be ignored/shunned etc.
Anyway I have to say, sikkum, that the book has some awesome lines that are just hysterical and it certainly got me feeling - anger, sadness, shock, horror, dismay, etc. So can I give it to the two stars I wanted to when he gets into his porn stage? Or worth the four stars I wanted to give it for sheer well written eloquence and heart felt sincere anguish?...less

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Abby rated it:

(review of isbn )

02/10/08

bookshelves: dorks

Read in December, 2007

recommended to Abby by: Ira Glass?
recommends it for: Jews. Non-Jews.

I read this book at my parents' house in December when I was home for the holidays. My parents' house is not a fortress of great Jewry or anything, but Home With Family is certainly a Jewier place to be than, say, Apartment With Roommates (though not necessarily Aboard the 2/3 With Hasids from Brooklyn).

As noted by one of the fine ladies at <ahref="http://www.jezebel.com"&g..., reading Foreskin's Lament felt m...more

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Kim rated it:

(review of isbn )

06/10/08

Read in June, 2008

This is a hilarious quote. "By the time my junior year of high school came around, it was becoming painfully obvious to me that none of the niggas in my yeshiva knew shit about motherfucking shit. It was 1987, and I had just discovered rap. 'Did you hurt your leg?' my mother asked, forcing a yarmulke on my head. 'Why are you limping?' "Why you gotta be like that?' I asked.

Okay, I finished it. I have to give it four stars because I would feel guilty giving five to a book that ...more

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Alicia rated it:

(review of isbn )

12/21/07

Man, I feel like I was waiting for this book forever! Auslander, author of Beware of God and frequent contributor to This American Life (note to my dad: you heard him do one of his pieces--I think the one about how he wasn't allowed to throw away anything with his name on it, b/c Shalom is one of God's names, or maybe it was the one about how he watched over the dead for a part-time job), has written a caustic and funny memoir about growing up religious, and how all his conflicts came to a head ...more

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megan rated it:

(review of isbn )

08/17/07

Read in July, 2007

Auslander grew up in an ultra-Orthodox Jewish community, in a dysfunctional family, and the two forces of faith and family drive him in adulthood. Drive him far away, very fast. In this memoir he tells of hilarious dilemma of hating religion but believing in the vengeful God of his childhood. His stories of his religious and family life growing up are poignant and funny. If he sometimes hits the same note a few too many time, you will be laughing too much to overly mind. In addition to the gr...more

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Damon rated it:

(review of isbn )

10/14/08

I loved this book, and will likely love it more, as I found that the really confusing part in the middle was because my copy was missing 40 or so pages. So I'm reading it again. Because it was that compelling.
I really identified with his concept of god, even though we were raised worlds apart geographically and religiously.

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DadGoneMad rated it:

(review of isbn )

11/13/07

Read in October, 2007

The highest compliment I can pay to FORESKIN'S LAMENT is this: No book I have ever read has so perfectly captured what my childhood looked like.

Like Auslander, I grew up in a suffocating Jewish environment and ultimately grew to resent the heavy-handedness of it all. Whether you were raised as a Catholic, a Mormon, a Hindu, a Muslim or any other faith, I think Auslander's characterization of the role of relentless religiosity in the mind of a young boy will be accessible to you.

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Marie rated it:

(review of isbn )

03/23/08

bookshelves: memoir-ish

Read in March, 2008

I need to save my review for this book for when I get back from my trip, because I don't want God to smite me in the mean time. (wa-ha, ha! that's funny if you've read this book...or if you're really tired and loopy).

(that was then)I figure the best way to comfort myself with my ongoing sense of disappointment and frustration with my religion is to read about other peoples disappointment and frustration with their religion. this books seems as good a candidate as any.

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Rob rated it:

(review of isbn )

01/16/08

bookshelves: currently-reading

Read in January, 2008

This book is pretty funny, though a little heavy on the anti-Orthodox Jewish thing. I can't really relate to the author's constant stream of vile hatred for his parents and religious upbringing, though it makes for amusing anecdotes. Only about halfway through the book so far, but I feel like it would have been better as smaller, more episodic bits instead of an ongoing tirade.

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Mark rated it:

(review of isbn )

08/14/07

Read in August, 2007

recommends it for: Someone who is tortured by their belief in God

This memoir of Shalom Auslander's strict religious upbringing in New York state and his clearly abusive relationship with God is funny . . . to a point. At some point you wish the narrator would just move on already and divorce God already and get on with his life; but like any addiction, he just can't do it.

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Tom added it (review of isbn )

10/03/08

bookshelves: life

DO NOT READ THIS BOOK! This book will offend. Or, perhaps, read this book if you are interested in getting a bird’s eye perspective of someone who grew up in a orthodox Jewish home, what that meant for his life, and what that continued to mean for his life as he grew into adulthood.

Make no mistake. The author is angry. Very, very angry. At God, his parents, his upbringing. And he has no qualms about cursing himself, his family and God. In fact he curses those three things, especially...more DO NOT READ THIS BOOK! This book will offend. Or, perhaps, read this book if you are interested in getting a bird’s eye perspective of someone who grew up in a orthodox Jewish home, what that meant for his life, and what that continued to mean for his life as he grew into adulthood.

Make no mistake. The author is angry. Very, very angry. At God, his parents, his upbringing. And he has no qualms about cursing himself, his family and God. In fact he curses those three things, especially God about once every page. Given his background and what he endured within his family life some of his rage makes sense and is understood, but yet, he obviously made choices in his life for which he alone was responsible for and to which he cannot simply push the blame onto other people.

Perhaps the most telling thing he said in the book came at the end: “The one thing I’ve found that most religious people agree upon is that if you meet them, and you’re having a little converasation and you say, for instance, - God’s a prick, they tend to react badly. Which I find surprising. Because they’re the ones who told me He was. And I believed them. I still do.”

As a christ-follower I know better than to curse God, if only because I know him to be so different than how we and others make him out to be at times. The author as had a really bad experience with God. The God he was introduced to was a god who will “get you” if you did the wrong things, didn’t do the right things, who put rules and regulations above relationship and love and forgiveness. I’m not justifying his actions or his words…only reminding myself of the important question of: how do i represent God/Jesus to others?

Again, this book is in no way, shape or form for everybody. But if you can get past some of the stuff he gets hung up on (sex, pornography, swearing, etc) you can see into a life that no matter how angry it has become is still craving love and wants to believe in a God that is different than the one he was introduced to as a child and who has “tormented” him ever since. ...less

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eb rated it:

(review of isbn )

10/17/07

I loved this excerpted in the New Yorker, but as a memoir, I found it scattershot and very repetitive. Because of bad editing and not enough creepy details about the lives of the super-religious, Auslander and his angry humor are boring by the third chapter.

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Benbo rated it:

12/04/07

Read in December, 2007

I would have given this book five stars, but God may have frowned upon that and punished me for it by sicking a virus on my computer. That would be so God.

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