Roots Schmoots: Journeys Among Jews

by Howard Jacobson

When fast-breaking political events forced British novelist Jacobson (Peeping Tom) to put off a trip to Lithuania planned as a search for his Jewish roots, he accepted an offer from the BBC to visit Jewish communities around the globe instead. This informed and witty account of his experiences deals with the wide variety of contemporary Jewish life, as well as with how Jacobson's observations affected his own concept of what it means to be a Jew. Riding an emotional roller coaster, he witnessed the hostility between Jews and African Americans in New York City, attended services in a gay synagogue in California and found his basic cynicism about religion reinforced after he spent time with Orthodox Jews in Israel, although his spirits were lifted by a visit to an idealistic, tolerant Israeli kibbutz. His journey concluded with the postponed trip to Lithuania, where the author found virulent anti-Semitism. The book has been adapted for a forthcoming BBC/PBS documentary.

Genres: Nonfiction, Travel, Jewish, Judaica

502 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Howard Jacobson was born in Manchester, England, and educated at Cambridge. His many novels include The Mighty Walzer (winner of the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize), Who’s Sorry Now? and Kalooki Nights (both longlisted for the Man Booker Prize), and, most recently, The Act of Love. Jacobson is also a respected critic and broadcaster, and writes a weekly column for the Independent. He lives in London.

Profile of Howard Jacobson in The New York Times.

“The book's appeal to Jewish readers is obvious, but like all great Jewish art — the paintings of Marc Chagall, the books of Saul Bellow, the films of Woody Allen — it is Jacobson's use of the Jewish experience to explain the greater human one that sets it apart. Who among us is so certain of our identity? Who hasn't been asked, "What's your background" and hesitated, even for a split second, to answer their inquisitor? Howard Jacobson's The Finkler Question forces us to ask that of ourselves, and that's why it's a must read, no matter what your background.”—-David Sax, NPR.

Reviews

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liked it a lot more than I thought I would. The "action" begins at a Catskills resort; being from the NYC area (though a gentile), it was fairly easy for me to get into the swing of things. Jacobson's treatment of "Israel's role in a 'Jewish identity'" (my terminology, not his) might seem harsh, though honest. The writing quality remains consistently high throughout, but I can't quite bring myself to give the full 5 stars; the final chapter in Lithuania seemed abrupt. Highly recommended.

[Lara · Rating 3 out of 5]

although fascinated in the beginning by the author's wit and spot-on observations, later I became weary of the same wit that seemed to become very self-serving, and tired of grand generalizations based on small enough cases. of course, it's natural for writers of travelogs to present their objects through their own perceptions, but in this case it was too much of the said perceptions and too little of the objects.

[Ben · Rating 2 out of 5]

First the good: this book is occasionally funny and reads quite quickly. I feel Jacobson can be a good guide to modern Jews.

This book is also from a vanished time before the world was homogenised and attitudes were less sterile.

The bad

I don’t think Jacobson knew what he wanted to achieve with this book and the voyage of discovery is totally random.

Jacobson seems to avoid Jewish intellectuals in favour of Jewish taxi drivers and hotel clerks. In one situation he is forced to meet some members of philharmonic and that’s one of the better chapters. I get that academia is a bubble not the real world etc,

We are told that in Lithuania a country decimated by the nazi and only just thawing from communism there Are 30 Jewish cultural organisations? Why did he not reach out? rather then random vox pops at the synagogues we get in the us and Israel.

I don’t mind his wild generalisation, it’s the fact he will contradict himself in the next chapter or paragraph or indeed line. I think this is a feature of his thought having seen him interviewed. It’s a testament to his occasionally good writing he can carry it off.

Conclusion better than modern tosh.

[Jeremy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a powerful and complex book, mainly due to the author's mixed feelings about being Jewish - a proud cultural Jew who despises orthodoxy. I can relate and it was instructive and illuminating watching him work through these contradicting impulses. Fascinating. I first read this book around the year 2000. Reading it a second time provided new insights and illuminations

[Darla Ebert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jacobson did his research and succeeded in uncovering the habits and culture of Jewishness both in America and in Great Britain. I enjoyed the contrasts and the fresh opportunity of learning more.

[Nancy]

It just didn't hold my attention. Maybe because it is non-fiction, maybe it was just my mood.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining and quite fascinating.

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was very good the first 100 pages, but it got old after that. I can read humor for a while but not 500 pages of it. the jokes get old. WAS HE FUNNY , YES, VERY FUNNY, I laughed out loud a hundred times but , it was just too much for me. I wish I had not started to read it but once I started ,I had to finish, I had to give it a little time each day to get thru it. OF COURSE,I SHOULD ADMITT THAT I DO NOT LIKE STAND UP COMICS EITHER

[Denicemarcell]

february 8th, 2011 i waffle back and forth. in itself its fun. he meets Hasidim in Lluandrono (sp?) Wales! and goes to the catskills for Rosh Hashanana (sp?) but it needs more attention than i can currently give.

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author describes his fascinating exploration of his heritage.

[Joel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant.

[Oriyah N · Rating 1 out of 5]

I generally despise books that attempt to be funny, and this was (almost) no exception, but for different reasons. Unlike the majority of humor writers, Jacobson possesses a unique wit and humor that that can't be discredited or dismissed as I would those who rely on cheap shots and obscenity. Jacobson writes intelligently, and with care, and for that he earns a drop of my admiration.

Beyond that, however, he makes light of things that, in my opinion, do better to be held in serious regard, and he carries an anti-religious bias that is based on his liberalism. (A fault that many, though not all by any means, of liberals fall into. They are open minded an accepting of everyone, except those who are willing to voice their own convictions in the presence of said liberals. Tolerance for everyone except those who challenge their own values, as it were.)

A couple of fine moments were particularly enjoyable (those to be noted as an addendum at the end of the review) but all in all, I can't abide by his mockery of serious issues, and so, one star.

I started reading this book months ago (and thought that I had noted it on the site, which I had not) and have several times put it down in the middle to focus on something more enjoyable and worthwhile. I suffered through and finally resolved to finish, which I did. But upon attempting to mark this book as "READ" on the site, I discovered by lack of registering it prior. The ISBN and barcode having been torn from my copy (what happens when you let a book held in low esteem slip behind the bed a number of times for a number of months) I went a-searching by title (mis-remembered by me, I did not find it under "Shmoots" - but as I searched by author's name it dawned on me that I have read another book by this same author (Howard Jacobson) My criticisms of that book were somewhat similar (see The Finkler Question) but I enjoyed his skill in storytelling nonetheless. Now knowing, to a degree, the man behind the book, the context is made clearer and my appreciation for that context increased. But still, I give this book only one star.

Addendum of favorite parts still to follow.