Double Thread

by John Gross

John Gross is the son of a Jewish doctor who practised in the East End of London from the 1920s through the Second World War and beyond. His parents were steeped in the customs and traditions of Eastern Europe, yet outside the home, he grew up in a very English world of comic and corner shops, sandbags and bombsites, battered school desks and addictive, dusty cinemas. Looking back on his childhood, he traces this double inheritance. the religion that underpinned family life - Yiddish stories and jokes, the rituals and mysteries of the synagogue - is set against the life of the streets, where gangsters are heroes and patients turn up on the doorstep at all hours.

Genres: Autobiography, Nonfiction

Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

John Gross was the editor of The Times Literary Supplement in London, a senior book editor and book critic on the staff of The New York Times in New York, and theatre critic for The Sunday Telegraph. He was also literary editor of The New Statesman and Spectator magazines.

Reviews

[Muaz Jalil · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Gross. Currently reading his edited book of essays. I only wish he had one that dwelt on his adult life. His prose style is so smooth. Near the end he mentions how he dealt with anti-Semitism in literature and I think his can be applied to other areas such as racism/colonial mindsets/patriarchal/misogynistic attitude in literature. Gross's approach 1) judge on a case by case basis 2) neither ignore nor exaggerate 3) recognize that it may not be the most important aspect of the work 4)ignore them if they are not major aspect of the novel 5) take in to account when it was written. Hence anti-semitism post Hitler is much worse than say in Victorian era.

[David Askanase · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful picture of both threads! Well written and short enough to hold my interests. Knowing he grew up to be the book editor on two great papers adds resonance.

[Lemar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very honest and unflinching book recounting the rather unusual and important experience of growing up Jewish in 20th century Britain. Extremely erudite and, appropriately, combining warmth with a certain British reserve. I loved it.