People of the Book: A Decade of Jewish Science Fiction & Fantasy [Paperback]

Peter S. Beagle (Author), Michael Chabon (Author), Neil Gaiman (Author), Lavie Tidhar (Author), Tamar Yellin (Author), Jane Yolen (Author), Rachel Swirsky (Editor), Sean Wallace (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 14, 2010

From Sholom Aleichem to Avram Davidson, Isaac Bashevis Singer to Tony Kushner, the Jewish literary tradition has always been one rich in the supernatural and the fantastic. In these pages, gathered from the best short fiction of the last ten years, twenty authors prove that their heritage is alive and well - in the spaces between stars that an alphabet can bridge, folklore come to life and histories become stories, and all the places where old worlds and new collide and change.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The strength of Michael Chabon's contribution to this uneven anthology, "Golems I Have Known, or, Why My Elder Son's Middle Name Is Napoleon: A Trickster's Memoir," only emphasizes, by contrast, the middling quality of many of the other 19 entries. Chabon blends reality and fiction in his fascinating account of how his life was affected by meeting golems. The most science-fictional tale, Matthew Kressel's "The History Within Us," explores Jewish and alien concepts of the afterlife 6,000 years in the future. The line between fantasy and scripture blurs in Rachel Pollack's "Burning Beard," which explores Joseph's gift—or curse—of dream interpretation. There are probably interesting reasons why there are no Jewish Narnias or Middle Earths, but the short introduction offers little guidance. (Mar.)
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Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Prime Books (December 14, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1607012383
• ISBN-13: 978-1607012382
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #930,584 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting and Diverse, September 17, 2011

By 

laurenpie (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: People of the Book: A Decade of Jewish Science Fiction & Fantasy (Kindle Edition)

Frequently enjoyable, occasionally heart-wrenching, and almost always a thought-provoking and immediate cultural immersion. The very diverseness of the collection was interesting of itself.

My VERY favorites for narrative strength:
1. Peter S Beagle, "UNCLE CHAIM AND AUNT RIFKE AND THE ANGEL"
2. Glen Hirshberg, "THE MULDOON"
3. Jonathon Sullivan's "NIELS BOHR AND THE SLEEPING DANE"
4. Tamar Yellin's "REUBEN"
5. Michael Blumlein's "FIDILETY: A PRIMER"

My favorites for uniqueness of plot:
1. Neil Gaiman's "THE PROBLEM OF SUSAN"
2. Matthew Kressel's, "THE HISTORY WITHIN US"
3. Max Sparber's, "ELIYAHU HA-NAVI"
4. Elana Gomel's "GOING EAST"

Wistfully beautiful:
Rose Lemberg's "GEDDARIEN"

Just plain fun, but with deeper layers:
Michael Chabon's "GOLEMS I HAVE KNOWN"

Disliked:
Rachel Pollack's "BURNING BEARD" (felt sacrilegious)

Don't give up after the first few stories, their quality gets better! The anthology could have been enhanced by including a few NON-fiction editorial essays on the subject matter.