Customer Reviews

The Latke Who Couldn't Stop Screaming: A Christmas Story

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Finally, a book that reinforces that Hanukah is not the Jewish Christmas and is not about presents. It is about hope in the face of being outnumbered. Here is a story about a latke in the midst of a Christmas story. It is screaming and wailing. And why shouldn't it? Someone who lives in the house without the xmas lights adorning it has tried to fry the latke in sizzling hot oil. Rather than jumping out of the frynig pan and into the fire, this little latke heads for the open window. As the story progresses, we learn about the story of Hanukah and the misconceptions about the latke and the holiday. A variety of popular Christmas symbols cross paths with the latke and think it is nothing more than a hash brown, a nice side meal to a Christmas ham, and more (or less). Oh, what a deep and meaningful book this is. It gets more insightful with each reading. Why do the colored lights fail to understand the latke? Why does the candy cane only focus on its minty fragrence and have no inclination for understanding that not everyone desires a peppermint scent? How could a candy stick be so distasteful under its red and white striped mint coating? Each confrontation ends with the latke running and screaming in search of understanding and identity. Until it lands under a pine tree in a snow covered, deep, dark forest (or is this the subconcious). Yet again, the pine tree is only focused on its small, provincial worldview. If something plopped under it, then it must be a present. No? But wait. A family with an axe approaches the pine forest...

The small, square, hardback is a great book for families of all religions to learn a little about Hanukah and the importance of understanding different cultures, but it's just as skewed and wicked as the other Lemony Snicket titles. Holiday lights, a candy cane and a pine tree just can't understand that not everything is about Christmas, especially a little potato pancake. The flashing lights say that the latke is basically hash browns, which go great alongside a nice Christmas ham.

Finally the latke finds some kindred spirits: a Jewish family who understands him so well, it eats him.

[To the tune of "There's a Kind of Hush (All Over the World)" as recorded by Herman's Hermits and The Carpenters.]

There's a kind of hash, in Lemony's world, that's right
In Lemony's world, you can hear the sound of a latke with lungs
If you know what I mean
Just potato mush, with onions and egg, and fried
There's no better way, than the Hanukah way, with the latke that cried

So read it very carefully
Closely now and you will see what I mean
The latke that screamed
Between the silly bits you'll see
That there's a lot of history
On the Jews, and Hanukah's meaning

Yes there's a kind of hash, in Lemony's world, all right
In Lemony's world, you can learn a lot, from Hanukah lore


Seriously now, this deceptively simple little book effectively illustrates the difference between Hanukah and Christmas for those of us who weren't too sure before (and were afraid to ask).

Through funny exchanges with other objects and some delightful illustrations by Lisa Brown, "Snicket" brings out the significance of Hanukah by comparing the traditions of Christmas with the miraculous defeat of Antiochus IV at the hands of the Maccabees, the subsequent re-dedication of the temple, and the oil that burned for eight days.

The book ends in true dramatic Snicket fashion, with a kind of hush.

Educational, yet entertaining, this is a good, albeit brief, book for everyone.



Amanda Richards, December 10, 2007

I hate to tell you this, but if you read this review, you just may end up buying this book (or even more copies for the loved ones in your family). In his stark, realistic, enigmatic and loving style, Lemony Snicket relates much more about the story of Hanukkah than most of us could imagine. Our majority Christian society blissfully harbors much ignorance about Judaism, and especially the perpetuated myth that Hanukkah is somehow a `Jewish Christmas.' But as the tragic hero of the story (heroes always perish, don't they?) this latke demonstrates, as do many of us discover, that a simple and straightforward telling of the Hanukkah story can explode this myth. The `Christmas Story' of the subtitle does not refer to the narrative of the birth of Jesus. Rather the reference is made to the experience of every identifying Jew who, at this end-of-year holiday season, screams in frustration at the unwillingness of society to accept religious differences. I would say that this book will appeal to the older juvenile that the Amazon Tags system refers to, but then, again, anyone who has had the unfortunate experience of reading Snicket's series of unfortunate events will truly enjoy this unlikely tale of a screaming and ill-fated latke. At least the latke was consumed by those who, in the final analysis, understood him. (I must say, I wanted seconds, but that will have to wait until his next book. How about a cookbook with a instructions for making a great latke, or a recipe for puttanesca?)

This book is typical Lemony Snicket: clever, funny and off-beat. I think I even found it funnier than my kids did (they're 5 and 8). Much of the humor is aimed at somebody with an adult or least adult-like understanding of our predominantly christian society. But when I start laughing they do too. I'm laughing about a relatively complicated reference to pagan rituals, and they're laughing at the fact that the latke is, well, just screaming a lot. I'd absolutely recommend it anyone regardless of their race or religion. But probably not for people that insist on political correctness simply for the sake of political correctness.

This is a hilarious way to educate kids about the meaning of Chanukah and how it differs from Christmas. It's as much fun for me to read to my 5 year old as it is for him to yell along with that poor, screaming latke. But one of my favorite parts of the story is when the pine tree talks about combining traditions to make something completely different, and offers to tell the story of the pagans. Lemony Snicket succeeds at making fun meaningful.

Wow! I just read this book to my 8 year-old & my 5 year-old. A lot of it went over the little one's head, but my 8 year-old & I were rolling on the floor! It's tough to be Jewish in December, to have neighbors telling us that the block would look so much better if we decorated our houses, too, to have to explain to the kids why Santa doesn't visit their house. There's pressure to embrace it all, (attempts to outlaw "Happy Holidays" in favor of "Merry Christmas"! Ack!!) & just assimilate to the point where Jews are decorating "Hannukah bushes". This remarkable little picture book eloquently demonstrates this frustration & feeling of being an outsider through the voice of a freaked-out & fed-up potato pancake! A fractured "gingerbread man", the latke runs screaming from first the family frying it in hot oil, then a string of lights & a candy cane & finally falls exhausted at the foot of a pine tree--where the final hilairous twist occurs. I'm buying it for all the cousins for Hannukah this year. A "not to be missed" book for Jews on Christmas & curious non-Jews as well.

This is a terrific story keeping in the style of Lemony Snicket's other works. His satirical humor is, as always, honest about the world we live in good and bad. The latke has a series of run-ins with holiday symbolism that doesn't understand him, but in the end, he finds exactly where he belongs.

There's a delightful irony in the confused reviews who think this book is critical of Christmas. "The Latke Who Couldn't Stop Screaming: A Christmas Story" is a *Hanukkah* story about the difficulty of being misunderstood. It's a wonderful little story that manages to fit a lot of laughter and insight into very few pages (the illustrations are also great). It's also a Lemony Snicket book, so yes, there's some subversive humor (the crack about pagan holidays is a good one), but this book was a big hit in my mixed-faith household where just the other day we had an argument over whether latkes are "like hashbrowns" or instead something "totally different."

This is about as funny as Snicket's other works- definite humor, but very dark. It says something that the hero of the story ends up being eaten at the end. (I mean, didn't the kids from A Series of Unfortunate Events fare better?)

After a harrowing "birth", the latke goes on to have encounters with some of the symbols of Christmas, including Christmas lights, candy canes and a pine tree during which it (he?) explains why Chanukah came into being. The latke starts off in righteous, loudmouthed indignation, but by the time he gets to the pine tree he's hoarse and resigned, so much so that he's about to have to endure his own schooling about pagan rituals. Thankfully, he's rescued by a family who already knows about the true meaning of Chanukah and takes him home. And then they eat him.

While I thoroughly enjoyed this little book, I hope your child's Chanukah literature includes works that are little lighter and take more joy in the tradition as opposed to emphasizing the (all too real) isolation most Jews feel during "the holidays." But I've got to say, that's part of what makes this so funny.