An enlightening, encouraging take on the complexities of religious intermarriage.
A mother presents a debut guide to building a mindful, harmonious Jewish family life.
Larkin blends a family memoir with religious exploration, in a thoughtful examination of Judaism and intermarriage. Raised Jewish, married to a supportive non-Jew and committed to raising her young son in her faith, she details the arduous but rewarding process of actively defining her family’s religious life. She argues that intermarriage doesn’t threaten Judaism at all, but can actually help increase one’s involvement in the Jewish community. “Falling in love with a non-Jew,” she writes, “was the spark that reconnected me to my faith,” and this book is full of advice for readers in similar situations. She offers an overview of intermarriage and genealogy throughout history, looks at strategies for getting along with extended families and addresses the importance of discussing past and present anti-Semitism. The result is a thorough, sensitive and well-researched journey through the challenges and gifts that intermarried families—and Jewish families more generally—experience. Although an early section about the author’s unhappy first marriage feels superfluous, she largely maintains an effective balance between her own experience and broader trends, making her story read like an intimate chat with a very knowledgeable friend. Although the book is geared mainly toward interfaith families who’ve chosen to raise Jewish children, it will likely interest anyone involved in an interfaith relationship. It’s also an excellent starting point for those looking to engage further with its issues; its appendices include an extensive list of resources for continued study and a guide to starting an interfaith families group. The book’s greatest strength, though, has little to do with Judaism specifically, and more to do with the author’s clear-eyed appreciation of the nuances inherent in any community, religious or otherwise. “[I]t is the zigzags of our family histories,” she writes, “that give the story of the Jewish people richness, depth, and diversity.” That inclusive, open-minded attitude toward politically and emotionally charged subjects makes this book an edifying read for those of any faith.
An enlightening, encouraging take on the complexities of religious intermarriage.Pub Date: July 24, 2014
ISBN: 978-1495301520
Page Count: 286
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Oct. 9, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
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