Library New and Interesting Books to Borrow with literary allusions and Talmudic connections….” A capSince we are still unable tivating Jewish twist on the classic American campus novel.” to browse in the Library, for The Tunnel by A. B. Yehoshua [336 pages] this issue I’m listing some new A master storyteller deals with the challenges of dementia recommended books that you for a couple, in a story about “memory and mercy.” might like to read. To borrow a book, or inquire if we own The World That We Knew by Alice Hoffman [384 pages] something, just send an email “A compelling story, well written and illustrating the ways to emunahlibrary@gmail. in which the Underground rescued Jews, and the ways some com. We’ll check the book out and leave it in the foyer for you. non-Jews saved Jewish lives.” (Elizabeth Pressman) Toni Stechler (emunahlibrary@gmail.com) Adult Fiction The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem by Sarit Yishai-Levi [384 pages] “Like a Sephardi view of Fiddler on the Roof. Yishai-Levi depicts Israel’s unique challenge to assemble its balkanized communities into a coherent whole.”(Haaretz) “This is what historical fiction should be!”(Jenny Brown) Big Summer: A Novel by Jennifer Weiner [368 pages] “If you love Jennifer Warren, you’ll love this one. And if you’re a newbie, start here.” The Book of V. by Anna Solomon [320 pages] “An absorbing story about desire, power imbalances and the quest for self-determination – a feminist rallying cry born in the private spaces of women’s lives.” Haunting Paris: A Novel by Mamta Chaudhry [288 pages] “Elegant.” “Haunting Paris explores dark questions – loss, grief, unforgivable crimes – but the novel itself is full of light and life and beauty.” “Chaudhry deftly portrays how a place can hold so much beauty and tragedy all at the same time.” Neuland by Eshkol Nevo [547 pages] The author is the grandson of Israel’s third prime minister, Levi Eshkol, who famously said, “Put three Zionists in a room and they will form four political parties.” This beautifully written and translated book “tells the story of a history teacher in Israel who travels to South America to find his father, a hero of the Yom Kippur War, who has gone missing.” On Division: A Novel by Goldie Goldbloom [288 pages] “A wonderfully complex example of what it means to be an Orthodox Jew in modern times….” Surie lives on Division Street in Brooklyn, and she has 10 children, many grandchildren, and at the age of 57 finds herself pregnant with twins. A very moving story, filled with love. The Orchard: A Novel by David Hopen [480 pages] “Powerful and stirring, like a 2020 Jewish version of The Catcher in the Rye.” “An entirely surprising tale, rich
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Adult Non-Fiction Becoming Eve: My Journey from Ultra-Orthodox Rabbi to Transgender Woman by Abby Stein [272 pages] This is “a beautiful, haunting story of self-discovery. [Stein’s] longing for truth, acceptance, and love will echo in the heart of every reader.” Genius and Anxiety: How Jews Changed the World, 1847–1947, by Norman Lebrecht [464 pages] “Lebrecht discusses artists, scientists, and rabbis who shaped Western culture. Jews throughout this era were outsiders in a constant state of anxiety about their place in society and even their personal safety. As such, they were in a unique position to criticize and transform Western civilization.” Here We Are: My Friendship with Philip Roth by Benjamin Taylor [192 pages] Rave reviews, such as this: “If you never met Philip Roth, you can now, for Ben Taylor’s new book enacts a kind of resurrection. In addition to bringing a mastery of the writer’s work, Taylor has somehow managed to conjure the living man – someone I found wholly at odds with his public persona.” (Mary Karr) How Yiddish Changed America and How America Changed Yiddish, edited by Ilan Stavans and Josh Lambert [480 pages] “For readers unfamiliar with Yiddish writing, a revelation; for readers and aficionados of the language, a treasure.” Judaism for the World: Reflections on God, Life, and Love by Arthur Green [391 pages] “A neo-hasidic seeker…he shows us a Judaism that cultivates the life of the spirit, that inspires an inward journey….” (jacket cover) The Last Kings of Shanghai by Jonathan Kaufman [384 pages] This is about two Jewish families and their contributions to Shanghai’s development. It’s “not just a brilliant, wellresearched, and highly readable book about China’s past, it also reveals the contingencies and ironic twists of fate in China’s modern history.” (LA Review of Books) Never Alone: Prison, Politics, and My People, by Natan Sharansky and Gil Troy [480 pages] “In this inspirational account, Soviet dissident Sharansky chronicles his life story and offers his perspective on the
