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Holiday reading list, 5775

We’ve all heard that classic joke aptly describing the Jewish holidays: You eat, you pray, then you eat some more. But what if you’re full? Or you need a break from prayer? We’ve all faced that quandary, especially during three-day yontifs, which sort of go on forever, and for some reason (there’s probably a scientific explanation) seem to have become the rule rather than the exception in recent years.

Our favorite solution: Catching up on reading!

This year we’ve turned to the upcoming JAAMM Festival for inspiration, and have selected a combination four authors & five books, which put together provide enough paper to keep you entertained for days.

There’s no way we weren’t going to include Paula’s Window, Paula Burger’s memoir co-written by the IJN’s own Andrea Jacobs. The memoir recounts Burger’s childhood during the Holocaust and her years with the Bielski resistance made famous in the movie “Defiance”. But suddenly, the story isn’t far away in a Belarusian forest, it’s happening to a woman we know right here in Denver. Paula’s memories bring those far away, distant events closer to home. Her very personal recounting of her family, the roundups, ghettos, her father’s desperate attempts to flee, and of course the deprivation and fear that imbued life in the forests, once again shows us that the Holocaust didn’t happen to an intangible mass, but to millions of individuals, each with their own stories, their own lives.

The other two authors we’re recommending each make up a half of literary America’s dream couple. Ayelet Waldman and Michael Chabon are married, and between them have published a host of award-winning and best-selling novels, short stories and collections of essays. Lucky for us, both are appearing at JAAMM, Chabon as the Community Reads Author, and Waldman as the Signature American Author.

If you haven’t yet read Chabon’s Pulitzer Prize-winning The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, or his following novel, The Yiddish Policemen’s Union, now’s the time (warning: both books are on the long side). The first is about two boys, both Jewish, one a Holocaust refugee, who find an outlet in the burgeoning world of comics. The Yiddish Policemen’s Union is a fantastical alternative history that imagines European Jewry fleeing and resettling in the hinterland of Alaska. The book is replete with Yiddish slang, both real and invented, the latter providing the opportunity for a bit of linguistic sleuthing to deduce the meanings and origins.

An odd thing about Chabon’s books: Although their imagery is incredibly bold, and these two novels were both picked up for film adaptations, they’ve landed in what’s called ‘development hell’. Why his books are succeeding in being transformed into movies is confounding, but also disappointing. We’re still dreaming about the rumor of an all-Yiddish adaptation of Policemen’s Union.

Waldman’s newest book, from which she’ll be reading at JAAMM, is a sort of Holocaust mystery, retelling the forgotten story of the Hungarian Gold Train (which, we admit, we’d never heard of previously). Love and Treasures is a transgenerational story of stolen art and relationships, and we’re looking forward to reading this one. Stay tuned for our review.

Have you read any of these books? What was your opinion? And which JAAMM authors are you looking forward to seeing? Let us know!




One thought on “Holiday reading list, 5775

  1. Terry and Art Heller

    We are very much looking forward to hearing Ari Goldman who will be talking about his new book “The Late Starters Orchestra” on Sunday, November 9 at 11 am in the Philips Social Hall at the JCC during the Neustadt JAAMM festival. I heard him in New York and he is a wonderful speaker. The book speaks to all who are seeking a passion and purpose later in life, whether it be music or something else.

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