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LOST JEWS

Name: LOST JEWS
Author: Emma Klein
ISBN: 0-312-12890-8

THE STRUGGLE FOR IDENTITY TODAY

by Emma Klein ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 5, 1996

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A narrow examination of the conflicting concepts of identity shared by the masses of marginal Jews. The limitations for American Jewry of this interview-laden study of estranged Jews and those of patrilineal Jewish descent (according to Jewish law, descent is matrilineal) begin with its author and setting. Klein is a British journalist who speaks most and best about the problems of British and European Jews, many of which are irrelevant to American readers who live in a less stratified, less formally Christian, and Jewishly more varied society. Klein is disturbed that diaspora Jewry consists of a large periphery surrounding a narrow, insular core. While she makes clear that more must be done to make that core an attracting, rather than a repelling magnet, too many of the voices here are unconnected outsiders venting criticism about a system they don't have a clue about. Most mysterious to Klein is the way lost Jews with matrilineal links are immediately accepted, while patrilineal and potential converts are held up to a higher standard of practice. Klein would like to see a quick reintegration ceremony for all lost Jews for whom waving a membership card would satisfy their quest for Jewishness. Those interviewees without a grain of spiritual or cultural ties often come off as boring (or expendable), including a few celebrities like chess champion Garry Kasparov, whose mother is Armenian and his father Jewish, and the poet Allen Ginsberg. The book's main appeal is the respondents' diversity, with a pagan who likes the paganism of Judaism, a Messianic Jew who values anti- paganism, and an Israeli couple who ``hate so much the Jewish faith because it controls all the areas of life.'' The author herself describes ``new joys which have affirmed my sense of Jewishness,'' although these joys are all merely aesthetic or culinary. This collection of identity conflicts seems to be struggling for its own identity.

Pub Date: Feb. 5, 1996

ISBN: 0-312-12890-8

Page Count: 266

Publisher: St. Martin's

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 1995

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

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NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

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This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)

Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996

ISBN: 0-15-100227-4

Page Count: 136

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

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An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.