Jew(ish)

Book 13 of my 2021 Reading Challenge

Jew(ish)

by Matt Greene

Summary (via Amazon)

published 2020

What does it mean to be Jew(ish) in 2020? Caught between tradition and modernity, between a Jewish family and a non-Jewish son, Matt Greene ponders the big questions concerning identity, religion, family and Seinfeld.

When his son was born to a non-Jewish mother, Matt began to consider the upbringing he’d put behind him—the sense of not belonging, the forbidden foods, the holidays that felt more like punishments. There are more types of Jew than there are bagel fillings, and for every two there are three opinions. But if you’re not a black-hatted frummer, if you’re allergic to groups, if you observe but don’t believe, or you don’t observe at all, does that make you less Jewish?

In this wide-ranging series of essays, at turns irreverent, insightful, urgent and iconoclastic, Matt considers what might loosely be termed ‘the modern Jewish experience’, and asks what it means to be anything in a world obsessed with the self and the other.

First Impressions/Judging a Book by Its Cover 

I picked this book out from the free selections through the Amazon First Reads program.  The title was unique and it doesn't take much to convince me to try a memoir...I'm a sucker for people telling their stories.

I'm reading on an e-reader but the cover art of the bagel and the crossed out words (the full title on the book says Jew(ish) A primer A memoir A manual A Plea) gives the impression that the author doesn't take himself too seriously and will explore the stereotypes around his religion as he tells his story.

My Opinion

4 stars

I received this book for free through the Amazon First Reads program. I don't know if that needs a disclaimer or not so I'm including it just in case.

I've delayed this review because I'm not sure how to clearly express what I'm trying to say.  I have notes on the book but nothing feels tied together.  Then I realized that's kind of a review in itself so I'm just going to go with it...

I liked this book but I really can't summarize what it's about.  He talks about his own personal experiences and beliefs so it is a bit of a memoir but it had a global feel in both the history and the present experiences around Jewishness.  The author is well-informed and gives lots of information without being dry (well, the humor was dry but the material wasn't).  The author mentioned a pressure that minorities feel to present things in a "palatable" way (lessen the audience's discomfort with a joke or a positive spin) but I do think it's a good thing in this situation to present a non-fiction book that doesn't read like a textbook. 

The author is British and speaking about the biases in European countries reminded me that prejudice against minority races and cultures isn't uniquely American.  Although he doesn't speak too much about politics there were definitely similarities between American and British political systems (although I'm not qualified enough to make this blanket statement, there were instances where I could've substituted "Republican" for "British Labour Party" without changing the meaning of the sentence).  Also, it was a reminder that American politics don't happen in a bubble and the election of Trump and the subsequence legitimacy that gave to bigots resonated in actions around the world.

So basically, a whole lot of words to say that even though it wasn't what I expected and I still can't really sum it up, I'm glad I read it.

Quote from the Book

"Having a child means many things, most of which I'm still yet to discover, but one of them is explaining the world to someone encountering it for the first time, and this requires understanding, at the very least, your place within it."