A haunting reimagining of the Book of Psalms.
A Jewish author reflects on the Psalms through the lens of the Holocaust.
“Again and again, we are told that Adonai is and always has been merciful and compassionate,” writes Rosensaft in the book’s introduction, adding, “yet, we know that no such divine intervention…that no divine lovingkindness manifested itself at Auschwitz.” In this poetic reconfiguring of the Bible’s Book of Psalms, the author reinterprets the ancient writings (“in what may well be the ultimate manifestation of chutzpah”) in the context of the Holocaust (Rosensaft’s brother was killed in a Birkenau gas chamber in 1943). A legal scholar by trade, the author has published multiple works that combine memoir, poetry, and Holocaust remembrances. In these pages, responding to all 150 Psalms individually, the author balances his mastery of Jewish theology with a raw writing style that is unafraid to question, lash out at, and lament God’s seeming passivity in the face of evil. In his response to Psalm 23, a Biblical passage that has comforted Jewish and Christian believers for millennia, the author describes feelings of “emptiness” where there exists “no shepherd / only foes” as the children of God walk “through the valley of death.” Similarly, in his reimagining of Psalm 101, the author declares to God, “I will not sing to You…while slaughters of the innocent / remain unpunished.” As the son of Holocaust survivors who was born in a displaced persons camp in Germany shortly after the war, Rosensaft writes from a place of deep-seated pain and generational trauma. The work’s final section, “The Relentless Continuum of History,” highlights the perpetuation of antisemitic tropes (such as the notion that Jewish “killers…betrayed Christ”). One concluding poem, “Simhat Torah Requiem,” recalls the horrific events of October 7, 2023, stating that, “the ss have returned / to merge into hamas”; another laments the death of both Palestinian and Jewish children as Adonai and Allah watch in “anguish.”
A haunting reimagining of the Book of Psalms.Pub Date: Jan. 27, 2025
ISBN: 9781963475388
Page Count: 254
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: Nov. 7, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
A virtuoso performance and an ode to an undervalued medium created by two talented artists.
The veteran actor, comedian, and banjo player teams up with the acclaimed illustrator to create a unique book of cartoons that communicates their personalities.
Martin, also a prolific author, has always been intrigued by the cartoons strewn throughout the pages of the New Yorker. So when he was presented with the opportunity to work with Bliss, who has been a staff cartoonist at the magazine since 1997, he seized the moment. “The idea of a one-panel image with or without a caption mystified me,” he writes. “I felt like, yeah, sometimes I’m funny, but there are these other weird freaks who are actually funny.” Once the duo agreed to work together, they established their creative process, which consisted of working forward and backward: “Forwards was me conceiving of several cartoon images and captions, and Harry would select his favorites; backwards was Harry sending me sketched or fully drawn cartoons for dialogue or banners.” Sometimes, he writes, “the perfect joke occurs two seconds before deadline.” There are several cartoons depicting this method, including a humorous multipanel piece highlighting their first meeting called “They Meet,” in which Martin thinks to himself, “He’ll never be able to translate my delicate and finely honed droll notions.” In the next panel, Bliss thinks, “I’m sure he won’t understand that the comic art form is way more subtle than his blunt-force humor.” The team collaborated for a year and created 150 cartoons featuring an array of topics, “from dogs and cats to outer space and art museums.” A witty creation of a bovine family sitting down to a gourmet meal and one of Dumbo getting his comeuppance highlight the duo’s comedic talent. What also makes this project successful is the team’s keen understanding of human behavior as viewed through their unconventional comedic minds.
A virtuoso performance and an ode to an undervalued medium created by two talented artists.Pub Date: Nov. 17, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-26289-9
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Celadon Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2020
PERSPECTIVES
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
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