A Brief Reading List for Background on "The Jewish Question"

This article relates to The Finkler Question

Nonfiction
A History of Israel: From the Rise of Zionism to Our Time, Howard M Sacher, Updated Edition 2007, 1270 pages: Considered the definitive work on modern Israel.

It's Easier to Reach Heaven Than the End of the Street, Emma Williams: 2010 memoir - an invaluable book for anyone wishing to understand the tensions in the region; particularly notable for the author's ability to boil down the situation's complexities into easily understandable and relatable prose.

A Tale of Love and Darkness, Amos Oz: A stunning 2004 memoir about the author's childhood in Israel with the back story of his parents and how they came from Europe as part of the Zionist movement.

Fiction:
Gentleman's Agreement, Laura Hobson: 1947 bestseller concerning the social and economic aspects of anti-Semitism in American life.

The Adventures of Augie March, Saul Bellow: His 1953 breakthrough novel is a quest for identity by a fatherless Jewish/American young man in Depression Chicago.

Exodus, Leon Uris: 1958 bestseller covers European anti-Semitism, the Jewish exodus to Palestine in the 19th and 20th centuries and the founding of modern Israel.

The Hope, Herman Wouk: 1993 novel relates the three Israeli-Arab wars between 1948 and 1967 including historical figures and fictional characters.

The Romance Reader, Pearl Abraham: 1995 novel about a young Jewish woman seeking to live outside her orthodox Hasidic upbringing.

The Yiddish Policeman's Union, Michael Chabon: 2007 alternative history/ murder mystery set in a temporary Jewish homeland in Alaska, includes Jewish identity issues and humor as well as the weight of family.

36 Arguments For the Existence of God, Rebecca Goldstein: 2010 novel explores philosophy, religion and traditional Jewish life in modern times.

To the End of the Land, David Grossman: 2010 anti-war novel in which a mother suffers through a war that has no end while her son reenlists in the Israeli army and brings us up to the present in this conflict.

Filed under Places, Cultures & Identities

This article relates to The Finkler Question. It first ran in the November 17, 2010 issue of BookBrowse Recommends.

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