From the bestselling satirist and memoirist Neal Pollack comes a funny, gritty historical noir about a tough Jew on the brink and about a great American game coming into its own. 1937. The gears of world war have begun to grind, but Inky Lautman, star point guard for the South Philadelphia Hebrew Association, America's greatest basketball team, is dealing with his own problems. His coach has unwittingly incurred a massive gambling debt to the German-American Bund. His main basketball rival is self-righteously leading public protests against the rise of homegrown American fascism. And his girlfriend wants him to join a Jewish student organization that's all talk and no action. It's more than Inky can deliver. He just wants to play ball and occasionally beat people up for money. The tides of history are flowing against a guy like Inky. Can he make his free throws and still make it through the season alive? This...is Jewball.
Jewball
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Neal Pollack is the author of five previous books, including the bestselling memoirs Alternadad and Stretch, the cult classic The Neal Pollack Anthology Of American Literature, and the rock novel Never Mind the Pollacks. A longtime contributor to countless magazines, websites, and anthologies, Pollack lives in Austin, Texas, with his wife and son.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
30 of 34 people found the following review helpful
By Ben Brown
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
There is a scene in this book that is so tense that it caused me to break into sweats and miss my subway stop. Jewball is a fast paced, action packed novel halfway between a noir detective story and a sports history biopic. I don't like sports or crime novels, but I loved this book.
Neal Pollack is a very talented author. You may remember his comedy and satire writing from the early days of the McSweeney's publishing world. Or, you may have read one of his hilarious and humanizing memoirs. Well, now he's written a real, proper smash-em-up novel with real characters and plots and both sex scenes and basketball scenes that will make your palms moist.
Buying this as an ebook is a steal - if you were buying this book from an international corporate conglomerate instead of directly from Neal, you would be paying 5 times as much.
Neal Pollack is a very talented author. You may remember his comedy and satire writing from the early days of the McSweeney's publishing world. Or, you may have read one of his hilarious and humanizing memoirs. Well, now he's written a real, proper smash-em-up novel with real characters and plots and both sex scenes and basketball scenes that will make your palms moist.
Buying this as an ebook is a steal - if you were buying this book from an international corporate conglomerate instead of directly from Neal, you would be paying 5 times as much.
14 of 16 people found the following review helpful
By G. Robillard
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
Jewball is great, unexpected fun. It was a fast weekend read, but I had to slow down at the end because I wanted more. Neal Pollack combines two unlikely elements, his sharp wit and the right touch of noir. Wait, plus basketball! Set in 1930's Philadelphia, the novel pulls of the unexpected: with the dark shadow of World War 2 and the Holocaust looming, there's an unexpected exuberance and optimism for the lives of inner city Jews in America.
-- G. Xavier Robillard, author of Captain Freedom
-- G. Xavier Robillard, author of Captain Freedom
14 of 16 people found the following review helpful
By JT
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
Neal Pollack has done it again. Breaking the bounds of any typical book, "Jewball" is a challenge to encapsulate or box into a type. You can read about the concept, but trust a picky reader -- this is absolutely worth a buy, even if you're NOT:
A: Jewish
B: A white supremacist
C: A huge basketball fan
D: Used to references to peach baskets (no, that's not a dirty term)
E: Aware of the healing properties of brisket
"Jewball" moves fast as heck, bouncing from character to character, city to city, as fast as the starring 1930s Philadelphia basketball team does. The characters are complicated -- the protagonist is no one-note hero -- and there's a lot of action on an off the basketball court.
Even if I weren't a fan of Neal's previous work, the concept here would have caught my eye and interested me. And, as an author-sympathizer, I will always do my best to support indepdendent publishing. So if you're up for a great, fast, intelligent read with a bit of blood, history, and a good dose of smart-ass, download this book (or get the paperback, which I understand is in the works as of this review date).
A: Jewish
B: A white supremacist
C: A huge basketball fan
D: Used to references to peach baskets (no, that's not a dirty term)
E: Aware of the healing properties of brisket
"Jewball" moves fast as heck, bouncing from character to character, city to city, as fast as the starring 1930s Philadelphia basketball team does. The characters are complicated -- the protagonist is no one-note hero -- and there's a lot of action on an off the basketball court.
Even if I weren't a fan of Neal's previous work, the concept here would have caught my eye and interested me. And, as an author-sympathizer, I will always do my best to support indepdendent publishing. So if you're up for a great, fast, intelligent read with a bit of blood, history, and a good dose of smart-ass, download this book (or get the paperback, which I understand is in the works as of this review date).
Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Narrow appeal, good for certain boys
The book is about vintage era sports, ghettos, gangs, and racial politics. If those topics aren't 100% your bag, then skip this one. Read more
Published 6 days ago by S. Bufe
4.0 out of 5 stars
Jews and Basketball: Wh'dathunk It?
I really enjoyed this book, much more than I expected. As a non-Jew, I have always respected their struggles to overcome deep prejudice (I grew up during the period of the... Read more
Published 11 days ago by Charles R. Hilston
3.0 out of 5 stars
Surprising
This is not the type of book I usually purchase but I thought I'd give it a shot and was pleasantly surprised. Not your run-of-the-mill thriller.
Published 13 days ago by Janis L. Strunk
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great book
The title is a bit strange but once you read the story it makes sense. Excellent story, I would recommend it to anyone. I especially liked the little bit of history at the end.
Published 15 days ago by ykceralde
4.0 out of 5 stars
Jewball
I liked the book. If it were not for my kindle, I never would've heard of this author. It's a good read, better than
a lot of NYT 'bestsellers' that write junk. Read more
a lot of NYT 'bestsellers' that write junk. Read more
Published 19 days ago by Steven Meltzer
4.0 out of 5 stars
praise for Jewball
Great for anyone interested in the origins of NBA basketball and it's Jewish urban roots. If you are a Celtic fan and remember Red Aurbauch or you are a Phillip Roth fan and want... Read more
Published 1 month ago by pgh
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very Different Story
I think the stereotypes really hooked me on this story. I never even considered a connection between Jewish neighborhoods and basketball. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Ray Jordan
4.0 out of 5 stars
this is a good story
I bought this book because it was supposed to be free because I have Prime I was not free but I am enjoying the story so I am glad I bought it. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Sharon
5.0 out of 5 stars
Not what I expected
There was a lot of violence, but it never got to the gross-out stage. Interesting premise. Since I like basketball, the terminology was familiar. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Dr. A
4.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting Read
This book combines history, the story of the South Philadelphia Hebrew All-stars basketball team with a fictionalized account of it's battle with the German Bund during the 1930's. Read more
Published 1 month ago by David Allyn
