Customer Reviews

Romeo and Juliet in Jerusalem and Other Short Stories

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I am very disappointed that I bought this book; it contained a lot of vile anti-Semitic and racist material. The author, Kim taps into peoples fear arising from terrorists and global terrorism to encourage them to support his extreme views. Kim distorts the situation in the Middle East so that he can justify his anti-Semitic political stance. Kim gives an inaccurate impression of the social forces at work in the Israeli society e.g. he claims that there is conflict within the Jewish community with white Jews being racist towards coloured Jews (Arabic speaking Yemeni and Moroccan Jews). These ideas are simply untrue and nonsensical.

This novel was a real bore. The stories had no plot and were very predictable. I found the characters to be unrealistic in terms of their behaviour since they were happy to discuss volatile political matters in a hostile environment, where they risked being shot. Kim gives an American colonialist impression of Israel and Israeli culture. It is clear from reading this novel that Kim has never had a relationship with a woman. He does not have a clue about relationships and how women behave. I find it disconcerting that Kim has to place 'false reviews' just to boost his own ratings. Please avoid this drivel.

'Romeo and Juliet in Jerusalem' really was the pits as far as fictional literature goes.

I found this story to be very slow moving and predictable. The plot was uninspiring and fails to in captivate the reader. One becomes very bored after only a few pages. There were a lot of ridiculous ideas being conveyed i.e. the idea that Moroccan Jews are discriminated against in Jewish society because of their Arab-like appearance. The characters made unrealistic declarations to each other and happily divulged private and personal information to complete strangers. Everything was so Americanised to the extent that the story wouldn't look out of place had it been set in New York.

This was a very poor collection of stories conveying the message that Christianity is superior to all other religions. Islam is the fastest growing religion whilst Christianity is on the wane therefore, if anything, it is superior. Avoid this poorly written book at all costs.

When one reads through these short stories, one finds the worst literature imaginable with equally appalling messages and undertones. The content of each story was more or less the same, in other words they were very predictable. The material covered consisted of anti-Semitic rants, descriptions of prurient and lewd sexual acts. It seems to me as though Kim is merely writing these stories to convey his anti-Semitism and lewd sexual fantasies. The standard of English was very low. I can only assume that English is not Kim's first language. It is clear to me that Kim is a very inexperienced writer, who has much to learn about the subtleties that good literature entails. I would add that this book was very poorly edited, if indeed it was edited at all.

I would avoid this book since it really is simply awful in all respects. If you do decide to purchase this book, I suspect you'll find yourself falling asleep after about one or two pages.

We are assailed by fears of global terrorism. The Middle East Conflict is at the heart of it all. I am glad that I purchased this book at a local W. H. Smith bookstore. This book was completely unexpected because it was entertaining to read but also very informative historically. I came to understand social forces at work in the Israeli society that I would not have otherwise known. I also realized the there is diversity within the Jewish community. Most of the Jews that I have known are white. This book showed that there are non-white Jews. I realized that there is conflict within the Jewish community with white Jews being racist against Jews who are dark-skinned -- like Jews from Morocco or Yemin, who have lived there for hundreds of years and speak Arabic at home. It was all really interesting.

This collection of appallingly written poems describes how Christian Kim attempted to lure a Jewish girl into bed. Kim used many different techniques to lure a woman. One of his favourite methods is to yell a series of 'facts' to the women e.g. "Did you know that 90% of American's go to Evangelical Christian churches?" He would often approach the girl and say "So you're a Jew huh" and "Would you convert to Evangelical Christianity" often followed by "You have the most beautiful soft blonde hair, may I run my fingers through it?" and before she has a chance to answer the last question, he would proceed to run his hands through her hair. Not surprisingly, Kim failed every time. It is important to note that Kim is very old and unattractive for his age. Had he been young and attractive, he may have got away with his actions. I get the impression that Israel was where Kim started his crusade to get a girlfriend and that his anti-Semitism stems from his abject failure. I doubt very much that Kim will ever get a girlfriend since he is old, ugly, boring and very weird. He also writes terrible poetry that would turn off any woman.

Most Americans consider the whole Israeli-Arabic conflict a big headache. It's been going on for decades and has inspired global terrorism. There is nothing that Americans want more than peace in that region. I am glad that President Bush and Prime Minister Blair both are dedicating themselves to founding the State of Palestine, although the Jewish side is resisting. (Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is currently refusing to talk with the new President Abbas of the Palestinians, just elected through democratic election.) In the light of global turmoil and the contribution of the Jewish-Arabic conflict in the whole mess, I found this book very helpful and informative. I was able to see from both sides why there is a conflict. I also came to understand that not all Jews hate Palestinians, but also want peace. It was a learning experience to read this book.

I was impressed by this book for several reasons:

(1) Interesting storylines

(2) Fascinating characters

(3) Important facts about life in Israel and Palestine

(4) Book makes you think

(5) Relevant to understanding global terrorism

This book is nothing like I have read before. It dives into the hopes and fears of the modern Jew, particularly in light of the Jewish-Arabic conflict. This book openned my eyes to the inner struggles within Jewish communities. I came to understand what makes many Jews tick and what kind of questions that they struggle with. Given that the situation in Israel is an important part of the equation for Global Peace, this book is very important. Enjoyable reading that teaches something valuable about today's conflicts. A must read!

This is a wonderful book! If you want to get a feel of Jerusalem, you should definitely read this book. You can actually recognize places and they "feel" real from the descriptions in the book. Eizeh yofie!