Based on over 200 interviews, almost all with men, this debut book is an embarrassingly superficial account of the mother-son bond. Weinstock, a New Yorkbased journalist, writes as if the mother-son relationship takes place in a kind of emotional cocoon; there is precious little here about fathers, siblings, other relatives, and friends. In fact, there is very little here about mothers' perspectives, which Weinstock promises to provide. Apparently, how sons love their mothers isn't affected by how they are loved by them. His writing on the idyllic ``secret garden'' where mothers supposedly bestow unconditional warmth and support on their infant and young boys is romanticized to the point of being maudlin: ``Beginning with our birth, a mother's love bathed us unconditionally.'' What, one wonders, of mothers who experienced post-partum depression or were distracted by professional obligations, their spouses, other siblings? Weinstock offers a simplistic tripartite developmental schema, in which, first, mothers protectively envelop their sons, then adolescent sons necessarily distance themselves, and finally mature adult sons come to ``mother'' their mothers, supposedly helping them strengthen their psychological resources and broaden their perspectives—a downright patronizing attitude. But rather than really probe the mother-son bond, Weinstock largely celebrates it, so that the relationship seems to know little of conflict or ambivalence. Finally, in his preoccupation with what mothers and sons reveal to each other, Weinstock reflects one of the more significant problems of American popular culture: the idolatry of talk, as if self- revelation and verbal emotional support were sufficient for ``love''; as if sons, particularly those of aging and widowed or divorced mothers, didn't also have some definite responsibilities toward them. Weinstock writes in the authoritative first-person plural, as if he knew a great deal about the multifaceted, impossible-to- schematize dynamics of mothers and sons. His book reveals that he has much more to learn.
Pub Date: April 14, 1997
ISBN: 1-57322-050-7
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Riverhead
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 1997
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A forceful, necessarily provocative call to action for the preservation and protection of American Jewish freedom.
Known for her often contentious perspectives, New York Times opinion writer Weiss battles societal Jewish intolerance through lucid prose and a linear playbook of remedies.
While she was vividly aware of anti-Semitism throughout her life, the reality of the problem hit home when an active shooter stormed a Pittsburgh synagogue where her family regularly met for morning services and where she became a bat mitzvah years earlier. The massacre that ensued there further spurred her outrage and passionate activism. She writes that European Jews face a three-pronged threat in contemporary society, where physical, moral, and political fears of mounting violence are putting their general safety in jeopardy. She believes that Americans live in an era when “the lunatic fringe has gone mainstream” and Jews have been forced to become “a people apart.” With palpable frustration, she adroitly assesses the origins of anti-Semitism and how its prevalence is increasing through more discreet portals such as internet self-radicalization. Furthermore, the erosion of civility and tolerance and the demonization of minorities continue via the “casual racism” of political figures like Donald Trump. Following densely political discourses on Zionism and radical Islam, the author offers a list of bullet-point solutions focused on using behavioral and personal action items—individual accountability, active involvement, building community, loving neighbors, etc.—to help stem the tide of anti-Semitism. Weiss sounds a clarion call to Jewish readers who share her growing angst as well as non-Jewish Americans who wish to arm themselves with the knowledge and intellectual tools to combat marginalization and defuse and disavow trends of dehumanizing behavior. “Call it out,” she writes. “Especially when it’s hard.” At the core of the text is the author’s concern for the health and safety of American citizens, and she encourages anyone “who loves freedom and seeks to protect it” to join with her in vigorous activism.
A forceful, necessarily provocative call to action for the preservation and protection of American Jewish freedom.Pub Date: Sept. 10, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-593-13605-8
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 22, 2019
A heartfelt if somewhat unsurprising view of old age by the former president. Carter (Living Faith, 1996, etc.) succinctly evaluates the evolution and current status of federal policies concerning the elderly (including a balanced appraisal of the difficulties facing the Social Security system). He also meditates, while drawing heavily on autobiographical anecdotes, on the possibilities for exploration and intellectual and spiritual growth in old age. There are few lightning bolts to dazzle in his prescriptions (cultivate family ties; pursue the restorative pleasures of hobbies and socially minded activities). Yet the warmth and frankness of Carter’s remarks prove disarming. Given its brevity, the work is more of a call to senior citizens to reconsider how best to live life than it is a guide to any of the details involved.
Pub Date: Oct. 26, 1998
ISBN: 0-345-42592-8
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1998
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