An engaging gathering of voices demonstrate “the one truth of American Jewish identity: it can never be pinned down.”
An examination of the “debate over who gets to speak for American Jews and who gets to claim American Jewishness.”
Journalist Tamkin, author of The Influence of Soros, explores a wide variety of questions about the Jewish faith and identity and the murky concept of so-called “good” and “bad” Jews. Is the distinction tied to Zionism and Israel? Should Jews be defined by religious or political ties, or perhaps even racial or ethnic? Do the Ashkenazi Jews have a more “authentic” Jewish experience than Sephardic Jews, who first came to America in the 17th century? Do good Jews vote for progressive Democrats or vehemently pro-Israel conservatives? “I would argue that the fact that we are in a time of change and conflict and challenge has thrown many American Jews off-balance,” writes the author. “Things are not as they were. But that, in turn, means there is an opportunity to think about what things could be.” Tamkin begins her “roughly hundred-year history of Jewish American politics, culture, identities, and arguments” with the massive Jewish immigration to America in the 1920s, after which Jews started to assimilate into the mainstream. The author explores a variety of stereotypes about Jewishness and immigration, and she interweaves her own relatives’ history into the national story. When Joseph McCarthy was wreaking havoc across the nation, Jews were targeted disproportionately, especially in Hollywood. Tamkin then moves through the civil rights era; the rise of the neoconservative movement, epitomized by Commentary magazine and its outspoken editor, Norman Podheretz; and the wild financial excesses of the 1980s, represented by Michael Milken and Bernie Madoff, among others, who played into antisemitic stereotypes. Though not a rigorous, scholarly treatment of the subject, the book ably reflects the author’s experience as a skilled journalist and storyteller.
An engaging gathering of voices demonstrate “the one truth of American Jewish identity: it can never be pinned down.”Pub Date: Oct. 18, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-06-307401-9
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 22, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
The choir is sure to enjoy this impassioned preaching on familiar progressive themes.
Essays on current political topics by a high-profile actor and activist.
Milano explains in an introduction that she began writing this uneven collection while dealing with a severe case of Covid-19 and suffering from "persistent brain fog.” In the first essay, "On Being Unapologetically Fucked Up,” the author begins by fuming over a February 2019 incident in which she compared MAGA caps worn by high school kids to KKK hoods. She then runs through a grab bag of flash-point news items (police shootings, border crimes, sexual predators in government), deploying the F-bomb with abandon and concluding, "What I know is that fucked up is as fundamental a state of the world as night and day. But I know there is better. I know that ‘less fucked up’ is a state we can live in.” The second essay, "Believe Women," discusses Milano’s seminal role in the MeToo movement; unfortunately, it is similarly conversational in tone and predictable in content. One of the few truly personal essays, "David," about the author's marriage, refutes the old saw about love meaning never having to say you're sorry, replacing it with "Love means you can suggest a national sex strike and your husband doesn't run away screaming." Milano assumes, perhaps rightly, that her audience is composed of followers and fans; perhaps these readers will know what she is talking about in the seemingly allegorical "By Any Other Name," about her bad experience with a certain rosebush. "Holy shit, giving birth sucked," begins one essay. "Words are weird, right?" begins the next. "Welp, this is going to piss some of you off. Hang in there," opens a screed about cancel culture—though she’s entirely correct that “it’s childish, divisive, conceited, and Trumpian to its core.” By the end, however, Milano's intelligence, compassion, integrity, and endurance somewhat compensate for her lack of literary polish.
The choir is sure to enjoy this impassioned preaching on familiar progressive themes.Pub Date: Oct. 26, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-18329-8
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: Aug. 16, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
An accessible, informative journey through complex issues during turbulent times.
Immersion journalism in the form of a graphic narrative following a Syrian family on their immigration to America.
Originally published as a 22-part series in the New York Times that garnered a Pulitzer for editorial cartooning, the story of the Aldabaan family—first in exile in Jordan and then in New Haven, Connecticut—holds together well as a full-length book. Halpern and Sloan, who spent more than three years with the Aldabaans, movingly explore the family’s significant obstacles, paying special attention to teenage son Naji, whose desire for the ideal of the American dream was the strongest. While not minimizing the harshness of the repression that led them to journey to the U.S.—or the challenges they encountered after they arrived—the focus on the day-by-day adjustment of a typical teenager makes the narrative refreshingly tangible and free of political polemic. Still, the family arrived at New York’s JFK airport during extraordinarily political times: Nov. 8, 2016, the day that Donald Trump was elected. The plan had been for the entire extended family to move, but some had traveled while others awaited approval, a process that was hampered by Trump’s travel ban. The Aldabaans encountered the daunting odds that many immigrants face: find shelter and employment, become self-sustaining quickly, learn English, and adjust to a new culture and climate (Naji learned to shovel snow, which he had never seen). They also received anonymous death threats, and Naji wanted to buy a gun for protection. He asked himself, “Was this the great future you were talking about back in Jordan?” Yet with the assistance of selfless volunteers and a community of fellow immigrants, the Aldabaans persevered. The epilogue provides explanatory context and where-are-they-now accounts, and Sloan’s streamlined, uncluttered illustrations nicely complement the text, consistently emphasizing the humanity of each person.
An accessible, informative journey through complex issues during turbulent times.Pub Date: Sept. 8, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-30559-6
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Metropolitan/Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2020
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