Customer Reviews

Haikus for Jews: For You, a Little Wisdom

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

As an author of Jewish humor, I hate admitting anyone but me is funny, but Haikus for Jews had me roaring with laughter, and so did everybody that I gave a copy of the book to. This is a perfect gift to bring the hostess when you're invited to dinner. It's a lot cheaper and will last longer than a good bottle of wine ... unless one of the other dinner guests steals it. It is a perfect gift for anyone with a sense of humor. I loved it.

This is a unique book. I haven't seen another one like it! Japanese imagery is intertwined with Jewish themes to create some highly original humor. It doesn't rely on stereotypes. It parodies old stereotypes and it includes new areas in its haikus. "No fins, no flippers... the gefilte fish swims with...some difficulty" or "Seven-foot Jews in ... the NBA slam-dunking... my alarm clock rings." Some of the poems are downright hilarious. All have a certain fun quality. I have given the book to countless people at this point, all of whom enjoyed it. Almost any intelligent reader will get it and sometimes even laugh out loud.

So you thought I would / Write a Jewish haiku to / Sell this book. Guess not.

Bader, a Hahvahd Lawyer, and the author of"How to Be an Extremely Reform Jew" provides the essence of the faith in 5-7-5 / 17 syllable portions. Like the Japanese ahiku, the Jewish haiku (or CHAI-ku) includes 'a kigo', or a 'season word' hinting at a time of year. It is sheer genius. My favorites were one about a mohel pruning the growth in his garden and: Heimlich. Is that a / Jewish name? I wonder as / a diner turns blue.

So, lots of money

for a little book. Buy it

anyway. You'll plotz

This is a fine little book. Granted, I had to explain a lot of the Yiddish to my gentile friends, while even the shiksas smiled and nodded, but this is indeed humour that can be appreciated by your entire blended family. Truth, kvetching and the Jewish way in a pithy little volume that makes a fine gift for all the kosher folks on your list. Do not neglect the bagel-and-chopsticks pictures in the bottom right corners.

Funny, insightful, provocative, and wise, this book will cause the reader to laugh out loud while shaking the head and saying," It's true." Great gift.

Real haiku...the true, authentic, almost sacred kind....should not be funny. It is to be inspiring, uplifting, transcendental even. Who does this writer think he is to make me laugh so hard?

I am part of a vast network of Jews who send jokes back and forth over the Internet. None are as funny as the ones in this book (and I'm very sensitive about stereotypes). I suspect people who don't laugh out loud of 1) not being Jewish, 2) not being able to read, or 3) having problems that must be solved with powerful drugs. I say that we pressure publishers to reissue Bader's other book, How to Be an Extremely Reform Jew.

David Bader has come up with a masterful concept: combine the poetic form of Japanese Haiku with kvetchy Jewish plaint. And bubule, it works.

The book is best savored like bonbons, just a few at a time. Some are wry, some confirm the American Jewish experience, and some are laugh-out-loud funny; even my shaygitz husband completely lost it with:

Today I am a

man. Tomorrow I return

to the seventh grade.

I got it as a birthday gift and I LOVED it! Buy one for a gift and another for you.

I fell off my seat on the subway reading this book i thought it was so funny. and that was the 3rd time I had read it!

Mr. Bader - do a sequel!!