A sneak peek at two books from December Jewish Book Festival events

Are you ready to enjoy the Jewish Book Festival that begins Dec. 3 and runs through March 30? We wanted to give you a taste of two of the authors and books being featured in December with the following book reviews. Not registered yet? Go to JewishBook Festival.org and reserve your spot today!

Love Is a Rebellious Bird by Elayne Klasson

Reviewed by Carole J Greene, Jewish Book Festival Committee Member

The title of this novel drew me to it. (Fledgling novelists take note!) “Love is a rebellious bird” are the opening words of “The Habanera,” lyrics from the libretto of Georges Bizet’s opera “Carmen.” The first and the final stanzas of the aria say: “Love is a rebellious bird that nobody can tame, and you call him quite in vain if it suits him not to come. The bird you thought you had caught beat its wings and flew away . . . Love stays away, you wait and wait; when least expected, there it is!”

Author Elayne Klasson could not have found a more fitting passage to capture the spirit of her novel. Judith Sherman, the narrator of the story, tells readers she must explore the answers to two essential questions: who is it that we love, and why have we loved these people?

She begins with Elliot Pine, the love of her life — literally — whom she meets in fifth grade and loves for 60 years with a passion “consuming, painful and, ultimately, unsuitable.” As Elliot flits in and out of her life, both of them having long-term relationships with others, Judith’s stories ultimately deliver the answer to the second of those two questions — why she loved her two husbands, and why Elliot chose women other than her. The entire story answers the other question of whom we love.

Klasson writes the book as if Judith is telling it to Elliot. Her narrative of family life — first with Seth, father of her twins, Evan and Miriam, then with second husband, Walt, father of Joseph — frequently works in a sentence or two directed to Elliot. “It wasn’t me you wanted; it was diversion.” “You were the man by which I had measured all other loves.” “I pull the thought of you out of a drawer I keep in my mind.”

I found much to like in this book. Klasson summarizes the key element in each chapter in a one- or two-word chapter title: Beauty, Consolation, Magic, Insanity, Being Seen, Elliot’s Table… I applaud her taking such care with those selections. I also appreciate her many evocative descriptions. She talks about Elliot’s manner of running his hand through his thick “Kennedy hair.” Anyone who has ever seen a photograph of JFK knows exactly what she means.

Klasson bares her soul in simple sentences: “Once I start out on a path, I don’t like turning back.”

“… when we do not appreciate a gift, it is taken from us.”

“Isn’t it interesting that these central facts of who we are, we keep hidden from our children?”

The book is a Jewish novel only to the extent that Judith and Elliot were Jewish and grew up in the mid-1950s West Rogers Park region of Chicago, a Jewish neighborhood of privilege. As teenagers, the two worked together to boost him to a high office in a Jewish youth group, at the same time exploring their hormone-drenched sexuality — but not to consummation.

I won’t ruin the book’s conclusion, except to say that it reflects the final stanza of Bizet’s aria: “Love stays away, you wait and wait; when least expected, there it is!”

Friday, Dec. 11 at 10:30 a.m. $10

Elayne Klasson grew up in Chicago and is a recent transplant to the Santa Barbara area, where she is a popular lifestyle newspaper columnist. Her professional career has largely been in academia at San Jose State University, with her research and clinical expertise focusing on the mentally ill. Now in her 70s, Klasson relishes the fact that this debut novel was a finalist for the Goldberg Prize for Debut Fiction from the National Book Awards.

Appearing with Elayne Klasson will be Nessa Rapoport, author of Evening.

This program is being generously sponsored by the Collier/Lee Chapter of Hadassah.

A Rabbi at Sea by Rabbi Corinne Copnick

Reviewed by Iris Shur, Jewish Book Festival Committee Member

What’s it like to be a rabbi on a cruise ship? Rabbi Corinne tells engaging stories about her journeys at sea. She also gives you first-hand details of the duties of a cruise ship rabbi and shares stories of her time on board. From Friday night services to seders to performing weddings, she finds joy in every minute of her travels. You will enjoy reading about them.

When she was asked whether cruise ship passengers were interested in attending services while on board, she replied, “When you’re in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean without sight of land — just seemingly endless waves — for a week before reaching a port, it certainly puts you in a receptive state of mind to find some time to have a conversation with God.”

But the book is not only about her time on cruise ships as she traveled from Hawaii, Australia, South America, Europe, Southeast Asia and beyond. She tells you about her visits at each port and her search for Jewish life and history. Sometimes the Jewish area is designated only by a small sign and sometimes there is still a vibrant Jewish presence. Rabbi Corinne shares her Judaic explorations with great clarity. You could even use this as a Jewish guidebook for your next trip abroad.

One of the stories she tells is about Esther Abrahams, a Jewish convict in Australia who ended up, surprisingly, as the First Lady of the colony! Esther had married a man who became acting governor.

When many of us travel abroad, we seek out the Jewish section in the cities we visit. There is something comforting, albeit sad, in synagogues that are hundreds of years old, sometimes no longer in use, visualizing what life was like centuries ago for the Jews in, say, Budapest or Venice. Rabbi Corinne takes you with her as she visits the Jewish section of many ports of call.

What was most impressive about A Rabbi at Sea was how informative it was about Jewish cultural life in the past. Rabbi Corinne discusses Jewish luminaries — artists, writers and others — connected with the various Jewish communities she visits. If you haven’t heard of these people, you will immediately want to Google their names to find out more. Mersad Berber, a Bosnian painter who is said to be one of the bestknown graphic artists in the world, is a favorite of Rabbi Corinne’s. She also loved the work of Cesar Monrique, a Spanish artist, who transformed a black lava tube in the Canary Islands. Rabbi Corinne likened the artistically manipulated tube to a synagogue and had this to say:

“Once, even before the Spanish and Portuguese inquisitions, there was a humble Jewish community on this island, Lanzarote. Later, there was a prosperous community of Portuguese Jews who fled their own land and built this island’s economy. Once . . . I take a deep breath. At this moment in time, just for this beautiful moment, I have found what could serve as a synagogue deep in the rocks. Complete with mikveh – and catering service. And my daughter is by my side. Outside the sun is shining.”

A Rabbi at Sea is easy and delicious reading. When I went back to check some facts, I found myself rereading almost the entire book. Can’t wait to meet Rabbi Corinne virtually, to hear her stories and enjoy her humor in a more personal way. Expect an entertaining speaker, and hey — think about it — only a very special person becomes a rabbi at age 79!

Tuesday, Dec. 22 at 1 p.m. $10

Author Rabbi Corinne Copnick was ordained in 2015, when she was 79 years old. Rabbi

Corinne spent a lifetime in volunteer activities while pursuing her business career, her arts career and her rabbinical career. She was born in Montreal, Canada, and it was there she made a name for herself in radio, film, stage and visual arts. She has authored several other books, including How To Live Alone Until You Like It . . . And Then You Are Ready for Somebody Else.

This program is being generously sponsored by Temple Shalom Sisterhood.