Customer Reviews

The J-Word

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is a wonderful novel about the Jews of London, observant and secular, and their struggles with identity and anti-Jewish hostility ("In every generation..."). Jack Silver, who thought he raised a secular like himself discovers otherwise and is charmingly transformed by a tradition-seeking grandchild. There is also the fractured, multicultural British welfare state and the delays, indifference and friction it inevitably produces. I was already smitten with the author's 4th edition of Fodor's Exploring Israel (which is a visit all by itself) so I was not surprised to find he had such a good story in him and the talent to convey it with humor and substance. I can't imagine how anyone could be anything but pleased with either volume. And in light of the probability that The J-Word will not be seconded for some time, I have begun reading it again.

Literate, entertaining and thought provoking. The English background gives an added twist to this powerful book about a man who is forced to think closely about his Jewish identity in the modern world - an identity he has previously neglected. Unsettling and controversial,it may leave you uneasy.

I'm not Jewish, just like good literary fiction, and was really impressed by this book. I know Golder's Green in London a little, and it helped me get to know it a whole lot better, especially of course the Jewish community. The characters are really believable, and I was very moved by the story, and the way one man tries to pursue justice after a horrific assault. He does the kinds of things that are both brave and foolhardy, and you admire him for it.

The J-Word is also, like the best of Jewish fiction that I've read (e.g. Philip Roth), hilariously funny.

The J-Word sheds a fascinating light on the discomfort over their identity experienced by many Jews in Britain,
a concern no New Yorker could identify with in a city which feels as Jewish as Tel Aviv, and indeed few Jews in
the tolerant USA as a whole. Andrew Sanger has cleverly opened a window on this discomfort over three generations; the son is not uncomfortable, but a little confused; the father is troubled and conflicted, while the resolutely assimilated grandfather is forced to confront the paranoia he has built over his Jewish identity
for several decades. The story moves along at a fast pace and is told with tenderness and humour; at its heart
is a warm tale of a relationship between a boy and the grandfather he barely knows which bridges the generation gap. Heartily recommended.

I gave this book a fair chance and read 175 pages. It got no where.
Very wordy and after all those pages of reading, still had no idea where this story was going and didn't care.
This is over 300 pages and could have been much shorter and gotten to the point faster
I have read many Jewish books, that are much more interesting and thought provoking