Customer Reviews

Inside, Outside: A Novel

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There's no such thing as a bad book by Herman Wouk, and the breadth of his writing is almost as vast as the depth. To think that one man wrote MARJORIE MORNINGSTAR, THE CAINE MUTINY, THIS IS MY GOD, THE WINDS OF WAR, WAR & REMEMBRANCE, DON'T STOP THE CARNIVAL plus a half dozen others simply boggles the imagination.

Along with DON'T STOP THE CARNIVAL, Wouk's funniest book, INSIDE, OUTSIDE is an easier read than most of the other topics he has tackled. Set in a recent decade, the title refers to the fact that in Jewish families, some people use one name at home, their Hebrew, "inside" name and the Anglicized version of that same name out in the big world. Along with the name chosen go two different and distinctive aspects of their personalities.

It seemed clear on reading INSIDE, OUTSIDE that the hero's sister, Lee, is the all-grown up version of Marjorie Morningstar. This is not Herman Wouk's most important book, far from it, but it is one of his easiest works to read. The story he has told, as always, is an interesting one. There is no such thing as a bad book when Mr. Wouk is the author.

Inside, Outside is a sometimes rambling but ultimately engrossing story of a young man growing up in New York City in the 1920s and 1930s. Structured as the memoir of a functionary in the Nixon White House, the text cuts between "the present day" (the collapsing administration and the Israel-Egyptian war) and the narrator's reminisinces.

The story is told by Israel David Goodkind, now a high powered corporate and civil rights attorney, then favored son of a Bronx laundryman and his wife, "a rabbi's a daughter". Both his parents are devout jews, his grandfather a Talmudic scholar, and the book's title tells of I. David's split worlds as he struggles with the dubious rewards of assimilation.

The first hundred pages or so seem a bit unanchored, drifting in short chapters from his mother's upbringing to his father's childhood, from late night meetings with Nixon (never mentioned by name) to phone calls from his old childhood chum, the famed Jewish! writer Peter Quat (any resemblance to Philip Roth is purely intentional). But soon the story tightens both in the past as Goodkind leaves Columbia and takes work as a radio gagman, to the present, as Israel goes to war again. The last half is an engrossing read, and ultimately draws close parallels between the story of a young Jewish american and the future of the Jewish state.

If you like Wouk (especially if you have read his primer on the Jewish faith, This is My God) you will probably enjoy Inside, Outside. It's several degrees less instense than the harrowing War and Remembrance, but no less a hymn to Judaism at its core. It's also frequently amusing and often moving in its character portrayals.

Though this is the story of a Jewish boy growing up in New York, it felt to me that Wouk had met my soul one day and probed it of its deepest thoughts. No book I have ever read has spoken this directly to me. The theme of alienation is one that anyone, anywhere, Jew or Gentile, male or female can identify with.

It also helps that this is one of the funnier books I have read in a long time. It is a true gem.

Fascinating, funny, romantic, wise... This is a stunning exploration of the American Jewish experience - the heartfelt tale of every immigrant torn between the culture of his forefathers and the glorious temptations of a new land's dream. - A grand piece of storytelling-Boston Globe. Rich and compelling-The New York Times. Laugh until your side aches...Wipe away a tear...-Pittsburgh Press

I've read numerous works by Herman Wouk and generally been well pleased. On occasion, I've encountered what I consider to be masterpieces (Caine Mutiny for example) and this book belongs in that category. Told from the viewpoint of a very religious and educated Jewish advisor to Richard Nixon during the Watergate crisis, this novel examines the advisor's current life and his background through the use of flashbacks. Both story lines are extremely compelling and the examinations of his early years through anecdotes involving his immigrant Jewish family members (from Minsk and Lithuania) are spellbinding.

I've read numerous other novels (some by Wouk) focusing on Jewish characters that were much more difficult to read, due to the extensive reference to Jewish culture and Yiddish terminology. That is not the case with this novel. Where cultural disconnects are possible, Wouk goes to great pains to explain them. As a gentile, I found this book remarkably easy to read and understand, even in the deepest recesses of Old World Jewish enclaves.

The title of the book refers to the authors dual life, both "inside" the confines of his religious cocoon and "outside", in the secular world where his advanced intelligence and education have allowed him to rise to the top of his profession (tax attorney) and into a role in the Nixon administration (despite his Democratic politics). The internal tensions involved in both of these dichotomies are fascinating as they play out through the novel.

Of additional interest are the historical events which provide the backdrops for the novel. The aforementioned Watergate crisis is a constant factor in the author's "current" life, as is the 1973 Yom Kippur War between Israel and the surrounding Arab states. The Great Depression is a looming force in the flashbacks to his past. All in all, an outstanding novel and one that I highly recommend.

"Inside, Outside" comes as close to being an outright autobiography as Wouk is likely to write."

"Wouk demonstrates his ability to write with compassion about people both literary and historical, real and imaginary."

Wouk's 1985 saga is a social comedy of Jewish-American life reaching from New York to Jerusalem and spanning much of the 20th century.

A terrific story of the clash of immigrant and American cultures. Although Jewish in setting, this could be any of our immigrant ancestor's story.

As I said in a review of Marjorie Morningstar, Wouk (pronounded "woke") was my favorite living American writer for decades. This book is a treasure of how his eclectic family members lived and interacted. Inside Outside refers to the Jewish tradition of using one name for a person within the community and a different name when outside the community. The history of pogrom and holocaust should make it clear why that practice was adopted. Wouk's books all exhibit the deep love the author has for his characters -- the delightful ones, as well as the curmugeonly or testy ones. His anecdotes sometimes bring a smile to the face of the reader, sometimes a chuckle, sometimes a guffaw. Never will your interest or enjoyment flag. Pick up any of his works, start reading, and you'll understand. His diptych on the war exhibits his precision as a historian and his intimate performance as a U.S. Naval Intelligence offer. Even in that serious work, his characters become persons you wish you knew and you understand how deeply Wouk loves them.

Took this book with me on a cruise and couldn't put it down. Wouk's writing so fabulous I am now reading all of his book, some a second time.

He is a masterful writer and creates characters that come alive and stay with you.Inside, Outside: A Novel

Herman Wouk is an exceptional writer and this book lives up to all the others. I feel like I know the characters and I've gained a much better understanding of Jewish life in America.