WHAT ARE YOU READING? A place for remarks, recommendations or reviews Showing 651-700 of 1,112

[Mel]

Brina -- I'm sure you'll enjoy Last Kings. The book was a "who knew?" revelation from start to finish. Enjoy!

[Brina]

Thanks, Mel. I try to stick to Jewish themed books in Tishri and Nissan. My dad read Last Boat Out of Shanghai: The Epic Story of the Chinese Who Fled Mao's Revolution for his book club but this one that spoke of the Jewish presence sounded more intriguing to me. It means that I will have to compare notes with him when I finish.

[Jan]

Brina wrote: "Thanks, Mel. I try to stick to Jewish themed books in Tishri and Nissan. My dad read Last Boat Out of Shanghai: The Epic Story of the Chinese Who Fled Mao's Revolution for his book ..."

A review by Prof Sarah Abrevaya Stein in Jewish Review of Books put me on guard about the history in Last Kings:

Alas, Kaufman is not at his deftest in assessing the big picture: the historical backdrop Kaufman sketches for these “last kings” seems lifted from a 1950s history textbook. Consider his account of the initial move to Bombay (and thence into East Asia) by the scion of the Sassoon family, David Sassoon, which begins, “Through the darkened streets, the richest man in Baghdad fled for his life.” In Kaufman’s imagining, David’s departure was catalyzed by a weak Ottoman economy, an aggressive (if not outright antisemitic) imperial state, and the gradual erasure of options for the Ottoman Jewish middle class and elite. Historians of the Ottoman Empire and Ottoman Jewry have long since upended these tropes. Their studies have shown the resilience of Ottoman society and the astonishing social mobility and imperial loyalty of Ottoman Jews. Kaufman ignores decades of such scholarship in favor of outdated works such as Cecil Roth’s 1941 book, The Sassoon Dynasty.
---
When Kaufman moves to the Chinese context, which he knows immeasurably better than the Ottoman (having written and reported on China for 30 years for the Boston Globe and as China bureau chief for the Wall Street Journal from 2002 to 2005), one might hope his grasp would tighten. But here, too, Kaufman’s rendition of 19th-century geopolitics is surprisingly fusty. ...

(The) idea that East Asian countries suffered a paucity of the derring-do and innovation that drove the West to greatness was a midcentury notion of scholars of China, who were themselves inspired by the thinking of Max Weber. My students would no longer stand for the caricature, and Kaufman shouldn’t either.

I have read about that western stereotype of points further east elsewhere. Probably part of what came to be called "orientalism."

Kaufman describes this relationship with Great Britain as one of sincere fealty, but arguably for these families, as for so many erstwhile Ottoman Jewish families, the quest for European citizenship was strategic. Had the family’s reach extended to the French Empire instead of the British, it would surely have been France that the Sassoon patriarch would have called “just and kind” in appeals for citizenship.

Without a doubt, Kaufman has a flair for the dramatic. The protagonists to whom he devotes the most time (mostly men—he’s not kidding about the “kings” bit) lived very colorful lives. ...
---
Like its cover, The Last Kings of Shanghai is a crude layering of snapshots, though many of the scenes they depict are fascinating. It is in awe of the luxury, landmarks, and encounters with power. In the Sassoon and Kadoorie families, Kaufman has landed on a gem of a subject. Alas, these towering family stories have yet to be written with the sensitivity and depth they deserve.

https://jewishreviewofbooks.com/artic...

This review raised my cautions about the book, Brina, and makes me commend your instincts to compare notes with your father.

[Brina]

Thanks Jan but I wasn’t looking for depth just a Jewish themed book to read over yontiv when I don’t have time to devote much brain power to much. This fit the bill. I actually learned a lot about the subject and found the story of the two families fascinating.

[Jan]

Brina wrote: "Thanks Jan but I wasn’t looking for depth just a Jewish themed book to read over yontiv when I don’t have time to devote much brain power to much. This fit the bill. I actually learned a lot about ..."

I know.
Thanks, Brina.

[Jan]

P. S. I'm glad you enjoyed it, and Mel too. Misinformation scares me; I get carried away and forget others can figure out a thing or two, too. Sorry I came down heavy.

[Brina]

I would be interested in the women mentioned in the book but I’m not sure if full length books have been written about them. I’m thinking the overlap I have with Last Boat out of Shanghai is the escape of refugees. Here, it was consolidated into one chapter, but I wasn’t looking for a WWII book and might end up reading it anyway to further my knowledge.

[S]

Hi, I am new here. I recently read The Lover by A.B. Yehoshua. It was phenomenal. I was wondering if anyone else here read it?

[Stacey B]

S wrote: "Hi, I am new here. I recently read The Lover by A.B. Yehoshua. It was phenomenal. I was wondering if anyone else here read it?"

Welcome to our group S.
You have good taste!
Yes, I am one of many who read this book years ago and loved it. I didn't know it at the time this was Yehoshua's first book.
If you have a chance, look at the group bookshelf and you will see
other books authored by him we have read.

[S]

I’m so sorry, could you direct me to where I’d find that? Not sure how to navigate here but I’d love to see discussion on it

[Stacey B]

S wrote: "I’m so sorry, could you direct me to where I’d find that? Not sure how to navigate here but I’d love to see discussion on it"

Sure-
Go to the Jewish Book Club home page. On the top middle you will see a list of subjects that you can click on. Click "Bookshelf" and scroll down. Im not the best with directions- hope this helps:)

[Stacey B]

Stacey B wrote: "S wrote: "I’m so sorry, could you direct me to where I’d find that? Not sure how to navigate here but I’d love to see discussion on it"

Sure-
Go to the Jewish Book Club home page. On the top midd..."

So far, all Im seeing is "The Tunnel".
But that doesn't mean we can't discuss The Lover.
I enjoyed it very much- tell me why you found this book outstanding.
Was it his writing style or the cleverness and sensitivity of his story?

[Jan]

Just finished Amos Oz' My Michael. Wow! hails from the past -- the 1950s no less -- but a hard hitter nevertheless! Now to try and review it.

[Jan]

Stacey B wrote: "S wrote: "I’m so sorry, could you direct me to where I’d find that? Not sure how to navigate here but I’d love to see discussion on it"

Sure-
Go to the Jewish Book Club home page. On the top midd..."

Hi, S. The Lover was one of our nominations for a book by A.B. Yehoshua last August ('21) for a book by him to read in October 2021 -- but it lost out to The Tunnel.

Fine to talk here about a book you've read that doesn't happen to be on our bookshelf!

[Jan]

S wrote: "I really enjoyed The Lover, I read it a little bit ago but I still think about it. It was recommended to me by my Israeli father. He said he felt it described the Jews well, the dynamic of the fami..."

I haven't read it yet. Just went back and read my review of The Tunnel. It was good but somehow a little opaque to me emotionally, meaning didn't hit me the way Oz & Grossman do. Similar for To This Day by S. Y. Agnon. (Haven't read anything by Appelfeld yet.) So I was wondering if I was going to be able to connect. Maybe to The Lover I would. You think, S?

[S]

I’d give it a try. If you do I look forward to your review!

[Brina]

Reading By the Grace of the Game: The Holocaust, a Basketball Legacy, and an Unprecedented American Dream. I see Stacey read it. I’ll have to read your review, Stacey, but it’s sports and jewishness and I’m 30 pages in and love it.

Jan, I went ahead and reserved the new Sassoon book. By the time I get it I will have read enough books in between to still be engaged by it.

[Jan]

Brina wrote: "Reading By the Grace of the Game: The Holocaust, a Basketball Legacy, and an Unprecedented American Dream. I see Stacey read it. I’ll have to read your review, Stacey, but it’s sports and jewishness and I’m 30 pages in and love it.

Jan, I went ahead and reserved the new Sassoon book. By the time I get it I will have read enough books in between to still be engaged by it. "

Sounds like that 1st one is right up your alley, Brina!
Let us know how the Sassoon book reads. I caught the excerpt this morning. In the Forward I think. You're lucky it's in your library!

[Stacey B]

Brina wrote: "Reading By the Grace of the Game: The Holocaust, a Basketball Legacy, and an Unprecedented American Dream. I see Stacey read it. I’ll have to read your review, Stacey, but it’s spor..."

I did.
I like the author, and love his choice for the title.

[Brina]

Here’s my review, loved it:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Louise]

Brina wrote: "Here’s my review, loved it:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."

My husband read this and loved it. The author is going to speak at the Naples (FL) Jewish Book Festival at the end of November.

[Brina]

If it was a week later I’d send my parents. I’m sure my dad would love it.

[Louise]

Brina wrote: "If it was a week later I’d send my parents. I’m sure my dad would love it."

That would have been cool!

[Perlie]

Just read Aharon Appelfeld's wonderful "A Table for One". A memoir of his life told through the cafes of Jerusalem. Touching, thoughtful and with some memorable lines.

Question -- how do I get on the Jewish Book Council's review group? ;-)

[Stacey B]

Perlie wrote: "Just read Aharon Appelfeld's wonderful "A Table for One". A memoir of his life told through the cafes of Jerusalem. Touching, thoughtful and with some memorable lines.

Question -- how do I get on ..."

Perlie, are you referring to the one on FaceBook?

[Perlie]

@Stacey B - I saw that you received a book to review for them. I'm curious how that's set up?

[Amy]

I'm reading the Lost Shtetl this month - of course!

[Stacey B]

Perlie wrote: "@Stacey B - I saw that you received a book to review for them. I'm curious how that's set up?"

Perlie,
Ohh,
Ok, now I know. The book I received from them was a gift. They use Amazon and I think another site as their seller for books.

[Stacey B]

Amy wrote: "I'm reading the Lost Shtetl this month - of course!"

Me too.

[Jan]

I'm reading George Eliot's Daniel Deronda. I'm just past the half-way mark and have until just after the first of the year to finish, having persuaded my book study group to read it with me. It's good! It's growing on me. Sometimes it seems so contemporary. and then again the time period is just after the American civil war.

[Adrian]

Finally, finished reading this book. Sharing my review below.

Letters for a Better Tomorrow
In this thought-provoking series of letters, Yossi Halevi spills out his emotions to an unnamed Palestinian neighbor. He makes a genuine attempt to initiate a conversation on the shared future of the Israelis and the Palestinians in the Middle East.

The author endearingly addresses the Palestinians as neighbor. “We are intruders in each other’s dreams, violators of each other’s sense of home. We are living incarnations of each other’s worst historical nightmares,” he says while reflecting on their century-old conflict defined by asymmetries that have tied them together.

The writing is straight from the heart. It is poetic and sometimes, gets a tad too poetic. Yossi Halevi laments about how the Palestinians are denied the rights of citizenship that he enjoys as an Israeli. He elaborates that the ongoing disparity challenges his “deepest self-understanding and moral commitments as a Jew and an Israeli.”

As he notes, the Israelis and Palestinians are trapped in a seemingly hopeless “cycle of denial” wherein the Palestinians deny the Israelis’ legitimacy and their right to self-determination, and the Israelis prevent the Palestinians from achieving national sovereignty.

Besides vehemently criticizing Israeli policy, he validly asserts that criticism of Israeli governmental policies isn’t anti-Semitic. On the other hand, denying Israel’s right to exist is.

The Israelis and the Palestinians are caught in a conflict between two just narratives. They are divided by both a literal and metaphorical wall. Yet despite how much each side tries to erase the other’s map, Israel and Palestine continue to persist. Halevi contemplates whether the Israelis and Palestinians are playing out an ancient rivalry between Abraham’s two sons in their current war over competing national and religious narratives.

Going back in history, he explains how the Zionist movement was catalyzed by need and created a permanent solution to the homelessness of the Jews. Need gave Zionism its urgency, but longing gave Zionism its spiritual substance. Zionism became the meeting point between need and longing.

Halevi views his presence in Israel as part of the return of an indigenous, uprooted people, and a reborn Jewish state as an act of historic justice, of reparation.

Since one of the main obstacles to peace is an inability to hear the other side’s story, Halevi explains the Jewish story and the significance of Israel in Jewish identity to Palestinians. He stresses on the need to respect each other’s right to tell their own stories by saying “I respect your right to define yourself, and I insist on the same right. That is the way to peace.”

Halevi justly asserts that “to solve our conflict, we must recognize not only each other’s right to self-determination but also each side’s right to self-definition.” For many years we in Israel ignored you, treated you as invisible, transparent. Just as the Arab world denied the right of the Jews to define themselves as a people deserving national sovereignty, the Jews have denied the Palestinians the right to define themselves as a distinct people within the Arab nation, and likewise deserving national sovereignty.

He yearns to hear from his neighbors that Israel is here to stay. “What I need from you is respect for my people’s story,” he asks earnestly. Since the Palestinians have denied the connection of the Jews to the land, he fears that the attempt to erase the Jews conceptually is the first step toward erasing them physically.

Along the pages, Halevi makes many just points and asks hard-hitting questions like: How can we ever reconcile if I don’t exist, if I have no right to exist?

He suggests that both sides must learn to accommodate each other’s narratives. Moreover, he offers the Arabic translation of this book for free download and invites Palestinians to write to him in response.

Halevi acknowledges the pain and suffering of the Palestinians, particularly the exodus of 1948. Moreover, he doesn’t shy away from shedding light on Israel’s misdeeds. He mourns the lives wasted in the bitterness of exile. Although he apologizes for many things, he makes a strong statement by saying, “But I cannot apologize for surviving.”

He recounts his experiences as an ex-IDF soldier and the journey he undertook into Palestinian society to understand the faith and experiences of his neighbors. While writing about his travels to the Palestinian side, he shares his deepest fear that “the dream of Palestine wasn’t only to be free of Israeli occupation but to be free of Israel’s existence entirely.”

He goes on to write about how some Jews distort chosenness into a self-glorifying theology and how the very universal purpose for which the people of Israel was appointed—to be a blessing for the nations—is displaced by an exaggerated sense of Jewish centrality. Although secular and religious Israelis argue about normalcy and exceptionalism, neither is likely to entirely prevail.

Israel could not remain a democratic state with ethical Jewish values if it became a permanent occupier of the Palestinian people. In the author’s own words, “I didn’t return home to deny another people its own sense of home.”

Reflecting upon the longstanding occupation, he states that “occupation penetrates the soul” and makes an earnest call for Israel to end the occupation—not just for the Palestinians’ sake but also for the Israelis. No matter how much tempting it is to embrace a one-state solution owing to the failure of the peace process and the emotional resistance on both sides to partition, he sees no sane alternative to partition. Furthermore, he endorses a two-state solution. “What choice do we have but to share this land?” he writes.

As Halevi rightfully says, “we can continue fighting for another hundred years, in the hope that one side or the other will prevail. Or we can accept the solution that has been on the table almost since the conflict began, and divide the land between us.”

Both sides have to come to a compromise as “neither side can implement the totality of its claim without erasing the claim of the other. This poses a moral dilemma because “for the sake of allowing the other side to achieve some measure of justice, each side needs to impose on itself some measure of injustice.”

He presents two major hindrances to the two-state solution: Israel’s settlement movement and Palestine’s demand for the return of Palestinian refugees to the state of Israel. Both share the same goal: to deny the rival claimant national sovereignty in any part of this land.

The author dreads that the Palestinians look at a potential two-state solution as a temporary situation they want to undo. That is a devastating realization for people like him who believe in a two-state solution. Yet he latches on to his hope amid all cynicisms and doesn’t accept the current state of seemingly endless conflict as the definitive verdict on the relationship between the Israelis and the Palestinians.

He speaks from his heart, “My future is inseparable from yours.” He mourns the displacement and uprooting of the Palestinians in 1948, regretting how the opportunity for a two-state solution was squandered, and laments aloud, “How much energy have we wasted trying to prove the justness of our claims and the supposed hollowness of the other’s claims? How much of the world’s attention has been diverted to this seemingly endless sparring?” Both sides have tried to deny the legitimacy of the other’s national identity and to rationalize the other out of existence.

Halevi expresses his sorrow over the collapse of the Oslo peace process. In his perspective, the Palestinian leadership share the majority of the blame since they did not present a counteroffer despite Israel making multiple offers to end the occupation.

Halevi observes that the key to ending the occupation is giving the Jews some hope that their withdrawal will be reciprocated by the Palestinians’ willingness to accept the West Bank and Gaza as the Palestinian state, without trying to undermine the state of Israel.

Rather than seeing each other as enemies, he pleads for the Israelis and Palestinians to “see each other as two traumatized peoples, each clinging to the same sliver of land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, neither of whom will find peace or justice until they make our peace with the other’s claim to justice.”

Towards the end of the book, Halevi prays that he would be able to host the neighbor one day in his home. He sincerely hopes that peace will prevail someday.

Letters To My Palestinian Neighbor is more than just a book. It’s an earnest call for much-needed peace between two nations.

[Brina]

Rereading My Father's Paradise: A Son's Search for His Jewish Past in Kurdish Iraq after ten or so years. Now that I study languages I find it more meaningful.

[Stacey B]

AD wrote: "

Finally, finished reading this book. Sharing my review below.

Letters for a Better Tomorrow
In this thought-provoking series of letters, Yo..."

AD-
Happy New Year, and thank you for posting such an in- depth review. A very bittersweet book for me, as most of them are regarding this subject. "The Best Laid Plans" fall apart :(

[Stacey B]

Brina wrote: "Rereading My Father's Paradise: A Son's Search for His Jewish Past in Kurdish Iraq after ten or so years. Now that I study languages I find it more meaningful."

Brina..
Happy New Year!
What other languages are you studying? Very cool.
I think this book is on my list- but I see you reread it. Is it more powerful the second time with understanding a bit of translation in vocabulary?
Enjoy!!

[Brina]

I’ve known Spanish and Portuguese forever. I learned Yiddish so when my son reads a text I can understand it. By default I picked up some German. I’ve also added Italian and Russian.

[Stacey B]

Brina wrote: "I’ve known Spanish and Portuguese forever. I learned Yiddish so when my son reads a text I can understand it. By default I picked up some German. I’ve also added Italian and Russian."
Very impressive.
You will be a translator superstar. :)
Evidently I didn't read this or I wouldn't have to ask ...
I know the book is in English and Persian jews speak Farci. Does the book refer to Kurmanji or Sorani ? I want to recommend it a friend of mine.

[Mel]

AD wrote: "

Finally, finished reading this book. Sharing my review below.

Thank you for a thorough summary of this book. What did you think of it, as a written work? Did you find the writing compelling? Did it flow? Would you recommend it, and to whom? Thanks.

[Brina]

This is not a book about Farsi although it’s a similar part of the world. This is about the Jews of Kurdistan who spoke Aramaic. I would still recommend as this is excellent enough for me to reread 10 years later.

[Stacey B]

Brina wrote: "This is not a book about Farsi although it’s a similar part of the world. This is about the Jews of Kurdistan who spoke Aramaic. I would still recommend as this is excellent enough for me to reread..."
Thank you Brina. Most appreciated.

[Amy]

I am reading Ron Balson’s latest, Affair of Spies. Started out pretty strong.

[Brina]

And I rewrote the review. Happy new year to all of you!

[Stacey B]

Brina wrote: "And I rewrote the review. Happy new year to all of you!"

Your review excellent. Thank you for the info you included. :)

[Brina]

Stacy, not as much my info as the Sabars’. I know generic nonfiction didn’t win in the poll but I encourage everyone to read this book. Usually if I have favorites I don’t tell others to read it but this was that good.

[Louise]

Amy wrote: "I am reading Ron Balson’s latest, Affair of Spies. Started out pretty strong."

I was a bit disappointed in this one.

[Louise]

Brina wrote: "Rereading My Father's Paradise: A Son's Search for His Jewish Past in Kurdish Iraq after ten or so years. Now that I study languages I find it more meaningful."

I read your review. The book sounds fascinating.

[Brina]

Louise, you know how I know it’s one of those special books? Not because I reread it but because my husband remembered it. He is not a big reader with his work schedule but he found it captivating.

[Louise]

Brina wrote: "Louise, you know how I know it’s one of those special books? Not because I reread it but because my husband remembered it. He is not a big reader with his work schedule but he found it captivating."

That says a lot.

[Stacey B]

Louise wrote: "Amy wrote: "I am reading Ron Balson’s latest, Affair of Spies. Started out pretty strong."

I was a bit disappointed in this one."

Amy,
Im sorry.
I heard this from a few of my friends. Ugh, I hate when that happens.
What part disappoints?
Daniel Silva did that to me with his last three books, so I divorced him :)

[Stacey B]

Brina wrote: "Stacy, not as much my info as the Sabars’. I know generic nonfiction didn’t win in the poll but I encourage everyone to read this book. Usually if I have favorites I don’t tell others to read it bu..."

Brina, I know but I still appreciated it.
I have it- just need to make time for it.

[Brina]

Ok everyone. What do I read next? I read a lot of quality memoirs and nonfiction the last few months and somehow fiction isn’t calling my name at all. Any ideas?