Library

New and Interesting Books to Borrow

Since we are still unable to browse in the Library, for this issue I’m listing some new recommended books that you might like to read. To borrow a book, or inquire if we own something, just send an email to emunahlibrary@gmail. com. We’ll check the book out and leave it in the foyer for you.

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

with literary allusions and Talmudic connections….” A captivating Jewish twist on the classic American campus novel.” The Tunnel by A. B. Yehoshua [336 pages]

A master storyteller deals with the challenges of dementia for a couple, in a story about “memory and mercy.” The World That We Knew by Alice Hoffman [384 pages] “A compelling story, well written and illustrating the ways in which the Underground rescued Jews, and the ways some non-Jews saved Jewish lives.” (Elizabeth Pressman)

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

Jewish people... The result is a worthy intro-duction to the life and work of one of the world’s most famous political prisoners.” (Publishers Weekly) Spies of No Country: Secret Lives at the Birth of Israel by Matti Friedman [272 pages] “In unadorned yet piercing prose, Matti Friedman captures what it was like to be part of the Arab Section.” “The author is a lyrical writer and a master of suspenseful storytelling.

His gripping spy story doesn’t just narrate Israel’s heroic founding – it illuminates its tortured present.” [Note: Isaac Shoshan, one of the spies Friedman interviewed, just died, at the age of 96. Interesting NYTimes obituary, Jan. 5, 2021] Too Good to Passover: Sephardic and Judeo-Arabic Seder Menus and Memories from Africa, Asia, and Europe, by Jennifer Abadi [709 pages] “Kudos to Jennifer Abadi for capturing cultural memories and flavors from throughout the Jewish Diaspora.” Recipes are great, and not just for Passover. What We Will Become: A Mother, a Son, and a Journey of Transformation, by Mimi Lemay [336 pages] “Engrossing and compassionate… This fascinating, heartwrenching memoir offers invaluable insights into issues of gender identity.” Lemay visited us on Zoom a few months ago.

Youth

The Brave Cyclist: The True Story of a Holocaust Hero by Amalia Hoffman [40 pages] Gr. 3-4

Once a skinny and weak child, Gino Bartali became a Tour de France champion. But even more amazing were his dangerous rides to save Jewish lives during the Holocaust. Games of Deception: The True Story of the First U.S. Olympic Basketball Team, 1936 Olympics by A. Maraniss [240 pages] “Even readers who don’t appreciate sports will find this story a page-turner.” Gr. 7-10 The Ghost in Apartment 2R by Denis Markell [291 pages] Gr. 5-6

Three friends rescue a ghost. The Length of a String by Elissa Weissman [384 pages] Gr. 5-9 “You’ll yearn with this wonderful heroine as she searches for long-ago Anna and her own hidden past…. A book readers will love.” Someday We Will Fly by Rachel DeWoskin [365 pages] Gr. 7-12

Historical fiction set in Japaneseoccupied Shanghai, with Jewish refugees. Sweep: The Story of a Girl and Her Monster by Jonathan Auxier [368 pages]

Gr. 3-7 2019 Sydney Taylor Book Award

Nan is a chimney sweep who gets stuck in a chimney during a fire. She fears the worst, but wakes to find that a golem has saved her. Takedown by Laura Shovan [272 pages]. Gr. 4-7

Story about a fifth-grade girl who becomes a wrestler. Turtle Boy by M. Evan Wolkenstein [391 pages] Gr. 5-9 “A story about what it means to be brave when all you want to do is hide in your shell.” 2020 Sydney Taylor Book Award

Graphic Books Anne Frank’s Diary: The Graphic Adaptation by Ari Folman, Anne Frank, and David Polonsky (illus.) [160 pages] The Adventures of Rabbi Harvey: 1) Jewish Wisdom and Wit in the Wild West; 2) Jewish Folktales in the Wild West; 3)Rabbi Harvey vs. the Wisdom Kid by Steve Sheinken [each 144 pages] Gr. 6-9 Dancing at the Pity Party by Tyler Feder [201 pages] Gr. 8-12 “A funny, sad, confidently illustrated meditation on grief, and a guide to Jewish mourning practices.” 2020 Sydney Taylor

Award Hereville: How Mirka Caught a Fish; How Mirka Got her Sword by Barry Deutsch [146 pages each] Gr. 3-7 To borrow a book, send an email to emunahlibrary@gmail.com

Be a Shabbat Summer Speaker!

During the summer months (July and August) we invite Temple Emunah members to be a summer speaker during Shabbat services. Topics in the past have been far ranging, including: personal stories – both triumphs and trials, work-related professions, recent trips, Jewish identity and, of course, the speaker’s individual take on the weekly Torah portion.

If you have an interest in speaking this summer to our community, or if you know a Temple Emunah member with an interesting story you’d like to hear, please contact Terri Swartz Russell, summer speaker coordinator, to sign up for a date: terrisrussell@yahoo. com or 617-448-3996.