Book Summary and Reviews of Mazeltov by Eli Zuzovsky

Book Summary

In a glorious debut, a boy confronts queer lust, shame, the threat of war and the plague of family on the day he becomes a man.

At a banquet hall, at the onset of war, Adam Weizmann's bar mitzvah party turns into a glorious catastrophe. On the cusp of manhood―and the verge of a nervous breakdown―Adam braces for his special day, mired in family neuroses and national dysfunction.

In a chorus of voices, a fractious cast of well-wishers narrates Adam's coming-of-age: his newly devout father and the mystic rituals he practiced on his young son; his best friend, Abbie, who points the way to joyful transgression; Khalil, the Palestinian poet, who offers a glimpse of a different way to be; and Adam himself, filled with shame and desire as he faces the brokenness of his world.

At once tender and lustful, a work of scathing satire and piercing insight, Mazeltov is a wholly original vision of a young man's quest to know his own heart.

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

1. The novel begins with Adam sneaking away from a camping trip with his classmate Eleanor. What is Eleanor's significance to Adam? How do his early experiences influence Adam's later relationships?
2. At the end of Part I, Adam fails to perform his role in a school play, freezing up at the moment of his solo. What is the significance, throughout the novel, of performance, performativity, and the inability to perform? Are there other characters who struggle to meet expectations or fill their designated role?
3. Abbie disapproves of her mother, Liat, and Adam is judgmental toward his own parents. Do you agree with their judgments? Are you able to identify external factors that influence their parents' views and actions that aren't...