The Dyke and the Dybbuk: A Novel [Paperback]

Galford (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 18, 1998

Dybbuk Kokos, a soul-stealing demon of Jewish folklore, is freed after 200 years trapped inside a tree. She seeks the descendant of the woman she was to haunt long ago--but finds the unexpected in Rainbow Rosenbloom.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

According to Jewish folklore, a dybbuk is the spirit of a dead person who possesses the body of one yet living. The dybbuk Kokos missed her assignment and was trapped in a tree for 200 years. Now free in twentieth-century London, she tracks the descendant of her original assignee, one Rainbow Rosenbloom, a lesbian. Galford, who lived in New York City until just after the Stonewall riots, moved to Scotland, then to London in the early 1980s, serves up a deliciously absurd stew of mischievous spirits, contemporary Jews, and British dykes, all basted with ladles of laughter. Marie Kuda --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews

A fun, feisty, feminist romp through Jewish folklore as an ancient spirit returns to haunt a modern-day London lesbian. Two hundred years ago, when Anya's lover, Gittel, broke her promise of ``undying sisterhood'' by marrying a Torah scholar, Anya conjured up a vicious curse whereby Gittel and every first-born female descendant for 33 generations would be possessed by a dybbuk and bear only daughters. Dybbuk Kokos, the soul-stealer who gets assigned this job by the Head Office, runs into trouble when the family turns to her nemesis, the Sage of Limnititzk, for help; he drives Kokos from Gittel and traps her in a tree. When a bolt of lightning releases Kokos two centuries later, her reacclimation to modern times proves challenging. The Head Office has been taken over by a high-tech multinational corporation with everything from a plan to terminate her contract to an employee health club. (Who knew demons had to watch their figures?) Kokos insists on tracking down Gittel's 20th-century descendant, but she discovers that Rainbow Rosenbloom, a political, lesbian film-critic-cum-taxi- driver, is a tough nut to haunt. Everyone from the bevy of aunts who look after her to her friends and co-workers already consider Rainbow a little crazy, so Kokos has to modify her approach; instead of making Rainbow lose it, she makes her into a Nice Jewish Girl. On the trail of a beautiful but straight orthodox woman, Rainbow even considers marrying a man and returning to her roots to be closer to her dream girl. This plan serves Kokos well, since it also ensures future generations to haunt. But Galford (Queendom Come, not reviewed) closes the novel with a surprise twist that shows just how formidable Rainbow can be. Craft, camp, and chutzpah. -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 252 pages
• Publisher: Seal Press (September 18, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580050123
• ISBN-13: 978-1580050128
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 5.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,750,896 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nifty little book, October 5, 2004

By 

Zeeskyte - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Dyke and the Dybbuk: A Novel (Paperback)

You don't need to be a Jewish lesbian to enjoy the strong female characters [Gay sex is kept to a descriptive minimum] and the spin on jewish mysticism and folklore that is presented in this book. Who would take offense to corporate politics displacing Sheol or the dybbuk's attempts to modernize haunting in the 21st century? The dybbuk comments on the holocaust are priceless as is the sly treatment of evil and the afterlife in the book. Very Jewish! By the way, I will never look at the Hasidim the same way again...

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars not bad, not bad..., April 16, 2000

By 

"brighter_light" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Dyke and the Dybbuk: A Novel (Paperback)

considering this is my first delve into lesbian and jewish literature, i was quite impressed. the book gave a whole new outlook on evil spirits and demons and gave jewish lesbians an interesting perspective. the only reason the book didnt get 5/5 stars from me is that the ending could've been a little stronger. other than that, the book was wonderful!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars witty, funny and full of lesbian and Jewish life, November 21, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The Dyke and the Dybbuk (Paperback)

Ellen Galford's quick wit and sense of historicity make this novel a truly delightful romp through 20th cen. London lesbian, ultraorthodox Jewish and 19th cen. Eastern European Jewish life.

Galford is as witty and literary as Jeanette Winterson, with a Jewish twist and without Winterson's arrogance. Brava, Galford! --Valerie K.