Book Description
The history of the Jews of Spain is a remarkable story that begins in the remote past and continues today. For more than a thousand years, Sepharad (the Hebrew word for Spain) was home to a large Jewish community noted for its richness and virtuosity. Summarily expelled in 1492 and forced into exile, their tragedy of expulsion marked the end of one critical phase of their history and the beginning of another. Indeed, in defiance of all logic and expectation, the expulsion of the Jews from Spain became an occasion for renewed creativity. Nor have five hundred years of wandering extinguished the identity of the Sephardic Jews, or diminished the proud memory of the dazzling civilization which they created on Spanish soil.This book is intended to serve as an introduction and scholarly guide to that history.
Customer Reviews:
The best book of Sephardic Jewish History.......2007-10-08
This is a wonderful book. It is well written, objective, and there is a lot of interesting information. I've had this book for several years and I learn something new each time I read it. I've read many books about Sephardic history and it is by far my favorite. It's the book that inspired me to learn more and even study in Israel.
Excellent summary of Sephardic History, well told and well paced........2007-07-29
I knew little of Sephardic Jews, but a trip to Spain prompted me to buy this book. It is a sad, but amazing story and fills me with great respect for these people and their ancestors. Jane Gerber seems pretty objective, but clearly cares deeply for her subject. I found myself wanting to learn more, but fear that other books might be too academic.
An ideal read on the history of the Sephardic Jews.......2007-06-03
I greatly enjoyed Jane Gerber's "The Jews of Spain, A History of the Sephardic Experience." The book provides a historical summary of the Sephardic Jews, starting from their origins in fifth century Spain under the Visigoths and Romans up until the effects of the Holocaust and the establishment of the state of Israel.
From my own perspective as an Ashkenazi Jew who is interested in culture more than religion, I have had a hard time figuring out exactly what "Sephardic" means. Traveling to Amsterdam and Newport, RI, I had seen big synagogues dedicated specifically as "Sephardic", I certainly knew the terms "Ashkenazi" and "Sephardic", but that was about it.
Honestly, I am still a little bit let down in that this book didn't delve more deeply into my question, what was the difference between the two groups?, though Gerber did do a great job of explaining the history behind the Sephards, who they were, where they came from, and how things stand now after the Holocaust and the effects of mass immigrations to Israel.
Given the above, the book provides a fantastic overview of 1500 years of history. I greatly appreciated reading about the era from 800 till 1600, during the "Golden Era" in Andalusian Spain under Muslim rule and the exile. I was also most interested in the Sephardic "situation" today. In both areas, the book was great. Clearly, information on every era of the Sephardic experience could fill a larger book, but Gerber sticks to the larger picture, liberally sprinkling primary source quotes and facts.
One criticism I have is that she idealizes the Sephardic experience under the rule of the Muslims, on one hand telling us how successful and well treated they were, yet on the other hand, we get hints that the Sephards were harassed, relatively uneducated, and living in deprivation. Another book I just started reading paints a much bleaker picture. Additionally, at least the paper back edition omits any biographical information on the author. Who's writing this book????
Regardless, in just under 300 pages of easy and informative reading, I think Gerber does a fine job and would recommend this book to anyone looking for an introductory book on the Sephardic Jews.
Que viva la Ley de Moises..........2006-12-26
I truly enjoyed this historical chronical...I have it by my bedside and re-read it often. The prose is eloquent, fluid, and imaginative. Gerber's account of the Sefardic experiance is a great starting place to further ones intellectual journey into the Sefardic phenomena.
The Sefardic phenomena is likend unto a giant puzzel with many pieces. Each piece must fit and not everyone has all the pieces, so one must search for them diligently. This said, Gerber's account is a good place to begin, it is not totally authorative, but it is well written and informative. Sefarad is a very complex and rich phenomena and the history of it is not fully written. Even profetically speaking, the story is yet to published. That is why the Sefaradim are so important to Israel as a nation (spiritually speaking), but more importantly to the history of the world as we know it and hopefully as we will come to know it. The Prophet Obediah spoke of Sefarad in "those days" terminology. Therefore, we must acknowledge that, The Sefaradim will come to play an important role in Amonay's plan for redemption and restoration in the future. With that said, it benefits us to understand as much as we can concerning this subject and it's people. Mennashe ben Israel understood this and so have others, including today, out of the ashes of persecution a Nation is starting to be formed and restored ( I am not talking about The Zionist State of Israel, either). It is exciting because of the possibilities and at the same time fustrating because of the opposition by certain Tudescos, who oppose G-D and our sages. As Sefaradim, we must look within our ranks for the answers as was the case in 17th Century Amsterdam. My prayer is that we can see a renaissance of Sefardic scholars and Chachamim, who fear G-d and La ley de Moises.
A refreshing, compact look at Sephardic history.......2006-02-13
It has often been difficult for me to keep old textbooks. Oftentimes they're dry as toast and I can't wait to foist them off to the university bookstore again. However, I kept Gerber's book after my Spanish Jewry class ended. Simply put, it's a nice little treasure.
At 300 pages, this is a compact volume. I don't know how Gerber managed to include Roman-era Jewish origins on the Iberian peninsula to Jewish revival in the post-Holocaust era - but she does it, and it never feels like she had to cram anything in. Her writing is fluid (there's no literary jargon, no dry analysis, just tight and concise writing that's a pleasure to read). Moreover, her historical analyses touch on Jewish interactions with both the Muslim and the Christian worlds, from the former's invasion of Spain to its overthrow by Christian rulers and then Jewish persecution under the Inquisition.
In short, Gerber's book is informative and FUN. At the back, there is a map section and an enormous list of further reading, should the reader be interested in delving further into Sephardic history. Highly recommended.
Book Description
The Jewish mystic path and its practices to attain God-consciousness.
Customer Reviews:
The practice of Hasidic techniques--useful Kabbalah.......2007-01-24
This highly uplifting tome is pragmatically oriented spirituality, primarily derived from Hasidic sources. IMHO its emphasis is on d'vekut--cleaving to God: pp. 6-10: "All your actions, speech, & thoughts be directed by God, who is within you. The person who has attained to this high level will have continuous God consciousness at all times...God-consciousness is the purpose of the main mitzvah of the Torah, when they are performed with complete intentionality...If you want to do something & see that this action will increase your God-consciousness & love of God, then know that this is a mitzvah & God's will...The goal of Hasidim d'vekut is continual God-consciousness." The author advises the reader to p. 51: "Choose a practice that fits your mood & spiritual level", To this end, many techniques are given & described including: frequent repetition of holy phrases & words (pp. 36 & 444), equanimity (p. 474), forgiveness (p. 543), spiritual sex (p. 589), nonattachment (pp. 590 & 675), spiritual seclusion/hitbodedut (pp. 614 & 632), selflessness (p. 675), generosity/tzedaka (pp. 458-9), gratitude (p. 457), overcoming anger (p. 634), accepting the bad with the good (p. 517), and meditation. pp. 379-80: "Hasidic spirituality is ideally one continuous meditation on God by diverse means...Sefer Haredim quotes the Ari as saying that a meditation for achieving d'vekut is `seventy times more valuable for the soul than Torah study'...Certainly Torah study & doing mitzvot involve d'vekut but it is less than that d'vekut directly achieved by meditation." Examples include: p. 109--Breathing Meditation, p. 436: blessings (as short meditations), p. 451: visualization of God's name & concentration on the mind of God, pp. 378 & 466: understanding your thoughts as coming from God, everything coming from God (p. 672), and meditating on the skies (pp. 321, 498-502, & 678).
The plethora of techniques allows one to pick & choose those activities appropriate to one's nature & life situation at a moment in time. There are a great many wonderful quotes (I added pages of them to my collection); my favorites include some advocating role reversals:
pp. 458-9: R. Aaron of Apt--When a poor person accepts Tzedaka...if the poor person receives it with this kavvanah..."If I have to take, I am going to do so to give merit to the rich person who gives me the tzedaka,' then he is doing a mitzvah. This is what our Sages of blessed memory said: `More than what the householder does for the poor person, the poor person does for the householder.' (Leviticus Rabbah 34:10)
p. 675: R. Yitzhak of Vorki--No one ever stole anything from me for each day I give up all my possessions, abandoning my claim to their ownership. So whatever anyone stole--it was from what was already without an owner.
This is a fabulous book for anyone wishing to understand Hasidism but even more for someone wishing to add to his or her spiritual repertoire or activities/techniques. It may be an expensive book, but it's the size of 3 books--and it's worth much more than most. Highly recommended!
Best Book for Learning Jewish Mytical (Kabbalistic) Spiritual Practices.......2005-12-05
I teach Kabbalah classes and lead a Jewish Renewal women's havurah. (For more information about Jewish Renewal, the newest denomination in Judaism, go to www.aleph.org). I recommend Yitzhak Buxbaum's "Jewish Spiritual Practices" to all of my classes and have put it on their reading lists.
For years I searched for a practical book that would offer a comprehensive overview of simple techniques to enhance a person's practice of Jewish mysticism and enable them to deepen their connection with God.
Many Kabbalah books I consulted were exasperatingly esoteric, were not Jewish-oriented, were too simplistic, had too many techniques from other religions, etc. Then I found "Jewish Spiritual Practices" in a bookstore, and was overjoyed. It has over 2,000 simple Jewish spiritual practices from the classic Hasidic tradition, all clearly explained.
I have read the book twice. It is one of the most valuable books in my Jewish spirituality library. I plan on rereading the book (God willing) several more times in my lifetime. It immeasurably deepened my personal spiritual practice.
Don't be put off by the price of the book. I would have gladly paid twice as much.
This book should be in every Jewish home .......2004-11-07
Yitzhak Buxbaum has made a tremendous contribution to the world of Jewish Learning with this book. He collects Hasidic hanagot ( customary practices) and considers the way they can enrich one's spiritual life and practice. He teaches in the work how the religious Jew can in every detail of his life, in every experience transform the ordinary into the sacred. He teaches how the Jew can transform his consciousness to greater ' devekut ' clinging to God.
This book has been one of the most important in my own life. Time and again it has given me new insight into Jewish practice and thought. It is written in a most clear and understandable way.
It too , it seems to me, without advertising itself as such provides a framework for Jewish thought and belief as strong as any other work I know. If I had to recommend one book to be in each Jewish home ( aside of course from the canon of Sifrei Kodesh ) it would be this one.
What a great great great book.
Useful Compendium.......2002-09-25
Yitzhak Buxbaum has done a great service in compiling these Jewish spiritual practices from a variety of sources, many of them Chassidic. The book is so helpful and informative in its tone, that it is easy to overlook the amount of research, scholarship, and organization which underlies it. For the Jew wondering how to enhance kavannah, how to make another part of daily life more kodesh, and how to benefit from the particular religious genius of our forebearers, this book will be a welcome, and oft-perused addition to the family library. Synagogues would do well to make this book available to their membership as well.
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Chagall to Kitaj: Jewish Experience in 20th Century Art
Avram Kampf
Manufacturer: Praeger Publishers
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ASIN: 0275939006 |
Book Description
This is a revised and updated edition of Jewish Experience in the Art of the Twentieth Century (Bergin & Garvey, 1984). Beautifully illustrated, this book contains 48 more color illustrations than the first edition, as well as more than 200 black and white and color illustrations. Also, over fifty percent of the illustrations have been changed from the first edition and the text has been substantially revised. From reviews of the first edition-- "Jews in this century have coped with mass migrations, adaptation, the Holocaust, a return to roots. How have these experiences left their mark on modern art? It is a neglected question, and one that finds a myriad of answers in Kampf's important, stunningly illustrated book, which offers a much-needed new perspective." Publisher's Weekly "What a splendid work. An excellent and intelligent text. As for the illustrations, they, like the text, are stunning, exciting, and moving, and much else, all at the same time. It is a book that is destined to endure, and to have a great influence." Ashley Montagu "It is superb--a noble and necessary effort carried out with both passion and scholarly detachment." Wolf Von Eckardt, Time Magazine This unique volume brings together artists active in the broad stream of the modern movement, whose work responds to experience of the world at large and reflects in particular those Jewish themes and concerns which have marked the turbulent events of our era. Many of these artists, whether at home in England or the Americas, in Europe or Israel, have been immigrants or children of parents who were part of large migrations from East to West. They or their parents have struggled to adapt and survive in strange environments and new landscapes while preserving their own cultural identity. Some were inmates in camps or lived in hiding, others were about to build and defend a home in their ancient land. Many came from families deeply rooted in Jewish religious faith or Hebrew culture. Whatever their individual situation or personal history, few could ignore the momentous events which shook the very foundations of Jewish existence. As artists they reacted to a world in which the values that make human individual and communal life meaningful were strained to the limit and tested by unpredictable and inconceivable results. Avram Kampf focuses on artists such as Mordechai Ardon, David Bomberg, Marc Chagall, R. B. Kitaj, Jack Levine, Amadeo Modigliani, Mark Rothko, Chaim Soutine, and Max Weber whose works of art are an expression of the Jewish people, the approaching catastrophe, the Holocaust, Israel, and the religious traditions and philosphies nourished from Jewish sources. Chagall to Kitaj portrays the artists and their work as part of a cultural investigation into the nature and significance of the Jewish contribution to art in our century. This is an indispensable book for art libraries and will be of great interest to art historians, those involved in Judaic studies, and others studying the art of the twentieth century.
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The Italian Jewish Experience (Filibrary series)
Manufacturer: Forum Italicum
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 1893127214 |
Book Description
The State University of New York at Stony Brook's renown Center for Italian Studies delved into the history of Jewish people in Italy by presenting a symposium entitled "The Italian Jewish Experience" on October 24-25, 1998. The program included photo exhibits, a film presentation,a reception and scholarly presentations depicting the full range of topics related to the Italian Jewish saga. This volume includes the papers presented at the symposium. It is an important contribution to the continuing examination of the Italian Jewish experience in both historical and contemporary analysis.
Amazon.com
Because Auschwitz was among the most brutal of the concentration camps, ruled by capricious, pure force and not by any discernable political or social structure, the intellectual there "was alone with his intellect ... and there was no social reality that could support and confirm it." In other words, there was no place for the intellect to act, outside of the confines of a person's own skull. Jean Amery's At The Mind's Limits is a focused meditation on the position of the intellectual placed in "a borderline situation, where he has to confirm the reality and effectiveness of his intellect, or to declare its impotence: in Auschwitz." In the camp, Amery writes, "The intellect very abruptly lost its basic quality: its transcendence." Considering this loss, Amery describes his own experience of torture, his reactions of resentment, anger, and bitterness, his loss of any vital sense of metaphysical questions, and his search for some way to maintain moral character and Jewish identity in the absence of such consciousness. --Michael Joseph Gross
Customer Reviews:
Disappointing.......2006-10-18
Amery did not only pick up a new French-sounding name, but (although this book was originally written in German) apparently also the circumlocutionary style of the French. If you like a book full of idle verbiage, with arguments beginning nowhere and leading nowhere, and references to passé writers such as Sartre, then this book is for you.
But it's not merely the style that I disliked. All essays (rants, more like) gravitate around Amery's pathological hate for all Germans, past and present. All Germans, except for some four individuals he mentions by name, are inherently bad. Nazis all of them, and torture is the essence of their being. Amery is dissatisfied with the world, because after the war, Germany was not permanently turned into a potato patch as the Morgenthau plan had envisaged it. A typical only child, Amery seems to think that the world should turn around his personal sufferings and frustrations. He hardly ever speaks of his fellow prisoners, and if he does, he belittles them because they are not interested in, let alone able to quote Liliencron or other poets Any Intellectual Should Know. Finally, as could be expected, the post-war generation of Germans is bad, because they do not want to permanently crawl in the dust before Amery.
I regret having spent money on this book.
Jean Amery, the thinker, makes one think.......2006-03-13
Of all the Holocaust books, this book stands above the rest, with the content focused not on the gory details of Nazi atrocities (which are by themselves worth reading if you want to validate the experiences of those who suffered), but rather on the psychological implications of being a victim. Only books by Primo Levi contain this degree of depth of thought and introspection.
An extraordinary meditation on catastrophe........2005-10-24
Prior to reading Amery's book, I thought of myself as thoroughly read in what one French scholar has called "the writing of the disaster," but Amery's may be among the half dozen essential texts in the now overwhelming body of Holocaust literature. A profound meditation on language, on mind, and on disaster in the 20th century.
One to return to.......2005-08-11
Ever since writing a term paper on Amery's "At the Mind's Limits", I have continuously come back to this work. There is a lifetime's worth of contemplation to survey here, not that this is an autobiography or even a complete memoir, but the years of his life on which he writes and the experiences dissected provoke a lifetime's worth of questions, mostly unanswered.
I think of this work as a distinct and great existential accomplishment. It provokes the reader to empathize while simultaneously making him question or even feel guilty for such empathy. How can an intellect, in the modern west at least, empathize with one who has experienced dehumanization to such an unimaginable degree? The short answer is that to try to do so is impossible and even probably detestable, morally speaking.
But isn't the motivation of Amery's expression the prevention of such dehumanization in future? And isn't such prevention dependent on empathetic attempts at least (among other things)?
These are unanswerable contradictions for the reader. But the introspective applications make this a necessary book to read over and over again.
haunting human analysis..........2002-11-18
This man, who lived caught between paralyzing fear and paralyzing anger, refuses to countenance the immoral world he found so horribly crude, ignorant and inadequate. I know of no more unrelenting self-criticism or self-asceticism than portrayed here in this work.
Every "outsider" will recognize immediately that the author talks to him/her. No matter by what standard one is taken as an outsider, here is a priceless analysis of your experience, writ humbly, clearly and painfully.
Every "moralist" will recognize immediately the accusations the authors aims in your direction with too-precise accuracy that will not allow you to wriggle free of the dread implications.
Every "religionist" will recognize the futility of responding in comforting platitude to the undeniable evidence of evil writ hugely in this thin volume.
I know of few intellectuals who will receive the meaning of this work with welcome. To almost all others, it will be set aside with well-explained rationalizations...
But for the reader who knows what "outside" means, what "cataclysm" means, and what "torment" of any stripe whatsoever means, then here you will find a comrade. Here you will find words of encouragement to struggle on...your lot is not as bad as it could be, after all...for here we find our comrade who has endured to the very limits of the mind. And survives, with bright intellect intact and sharp. Uncomfortably so.
A note on the "Auswitz" in the title--Don't allow this word to dissuade you from the universal human experience that is the focus of this work. Any and every human being can take an enhanced image of life and world from this resource.
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- A must read for those interested in the topic
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Religious Imagination and the Body: A Feminist Analysis
Paula M. Cooey
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
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God's Phallus
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ASIN: 0195087356 |
Book Description
In recent years feminist scholarship has increasingly focused on the importance of the body and its representations in virtually every social, cultural, and intellectual context. Many have argued that because women are more closely identified with their bodies, they have access to privileged and different kinds of knowledge than men. In this landmark new book, Paula Cooey offers a different perspective on the significance of the body in the context of religious life and practice. Building on the pathbreaking work of Elaine Scarry in The Body in Pain, Cooey looks at a wide range of evidence, from the Argentine prison narrative of Alicia Partnoy, to the novels of Toni Morrison and the paintings of Frida Kahlo. Drawing on current social theory and critique, cognitive psychology, contemporary fiction and art, and women's accounts of religious experience, Cooey relates the reality of sentience to the social construction of reality. Beginning with an examination of the female body as a metaphor for alternative knowledge, she considers the significance of physical pain and pleasure to the religious imagination, and the relations between sentience, sensuality, and female subjectivity. Cooey succeeds in bringing forward a sophisticated new understanding of the religious importance of the body, at the same time laying the foundations of a feminist theory of religion.
Customer Reviews:
A must read for those interested in the topic.......2000-06-23
This book is an incredible exploration of how the body mediates perception and experience. Dr. Cooey is a clear writer who clearly explains difficult concepts to the reader.
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- Weight of the Sky
- A beautifully written book
- Sandell's Writing Can Be Compared To A Beautiful Painting!
- A Stellar Debut
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The Weight of the Sky
Lisa Ann Sandell
Manufacturer: Viking Juvenile
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A Brief Chapter in My Impossible Life
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ASIN: 0670060283 |
Book Description
Sarah, like every college-bound junior, deals with constant pressure from teachers, friends, and parents. Besides that, she's a marching band geek and the only Jew in her class. So when she gets a chance to spend the summer on a kibbutz in Israel, Sarah jumps at the opportunity to escape her world. But living in Israel brings new complications, and when the idyllic world Sarah creates suddenly shatters, she finds herself longing for the home she thought she'd outgrown.
This lyrical novel beautifully captures the experience of leaving behind a life that's too small, and the freedom of searching for a place with a perfect fit.
Customer Reviews:
Weight of the Sky.......2007-01-04
Narrating this novel in a free verse style that reads like prose, sixteen year old Sarah tells the story of the summer she spends working on an Israeli kibbutz. For an American girl from a small, mainly Christian town, in Pennsylvania who considers herself a dork and an outsider, it is a transformative experience. Along with the thrill of belonging as a Jew in a Jewish land, Sarah experiences her first taste of independence and her first romantic encounters with boys. Her impressions of Israel, especially Jerusalem and the area of the Galilee where she works as a kibbutz volunteer, are idealistic but acute; they will evoke memories in any reader who has been already been there and will arouse curiosity in those who haven't. Her personal growth, achieved with some pain but also with much satisfaction, is beautifully portrayed; Sarah is a character with whom many teenage readers will identify and ultimately, admire. Other characters are seen through her eyes and emerge as distinct and dimensional individuals, especially the two Israeli boys to whom she is attracted. When one of them, a soldier, is killed, Sarah's almost idyllic summer is shattered and for the first time, she longs for the safety of her home in America. This incident is one of a few that relate to political issues and all of them are dealt with subtly, providing context for a story about living in present-day Israel and background to the lives and feelings of the young Israelis with whom Sarah interacts. The conclusion, once Sarah is back in the United States and applying to colleges, affirms her commitment to Israel and illustrates the options open to almost all Jewish American young people. This is the author's first novel and, like two other recent novels about contemporary Israel, Pnina Moed Kass's Real Time and Tammar Stein's Light Years, it is highly recommended for teenagers.
Reviewed by Linda R. Silver
A beautifully written book.......2006-10-01
I worked on a kibbutz myself many years ago. And what Sandell is exactly right: it's foreign and beautiful and depressing all at once. Reading this book brought it all back to me. But it's a lot more than a novel about life on the kibbutz. Lisa Ann Sandell's novel is that rarest and most difficult of things to achieve: a readable novel in verse. At first I wasn't sure if I'd enjoy this. Frankly it's not the sort of thing I normally read. But once you get into it, the book reveals its true quality. This is billed as Young Adult fiction. And it's very useful as an introduction to life in modern Israel. Certainly it's not beyond any reasonably literate 12 year old. But the book deserves a much wider audience. Buy it for a child, yes. But make sure you also read it yourself. First class.
Sandell's Writing Can Be Compared To A Beautiful Painting!.......2006-04-28
THE WEIGHT OF THE SKY is written solely in free verse- a popular form of poetry that does not rhyme nor does it have a meter. Its popularity stems from the belief that free verse is poetry without rules. Moreover, it is different from prose or poetry in the arrangement of carefully chosen words into verses.
Lisa Ann Sandell's debut novel, THE WEIGHT OF THE SKY is powerful in its simplicity. What is more amazing is that the entire story is written in verse, no small feat by any means! The characters are very much alive as are the settings, both in the flashbacks in Pennsylvania and in Israel.
The narrative focuses on a simple plot involving an insecure sixteen -year old Sarah, the only Jew in her class in Pennsylvania, who is sent to violence- torn Israel for a summer vacation. Gradually, she falls in love with the country, despite the brutality, the shootings in the streets and bombs going off on buses that that are reported daily news broadcasts. Lior and Nadaf, two handsome soldiers help her on the road from insecure adolescence to maturity. Harsh life on Kibbutz Kfar Avivim makes her want to return to her cozy home in Pennsylvania, but the beauty surrounding her, the smells, the sounds, and the friendships, override her homesickness.
Sandell's writing can be compared to a beautiful painting with all the attributes of a master painter. She brings tears to your eyes with the contrast of so much beauty and yet so much sadness. For example, when Sarah asks Michal, the cousin she is staying with:
"Aren't you proud of them,(Michal's sons) fighting for Israel?
She glances at me, the lines (etched on her forehead) deepen,
Her mouth screwed up in a grimace.
Yes, I'm proud of them, Sarah,
But not for fighting."
Or when she describes the setting sun on Kibbutz Kfar Avivim:
"We're sitting on a wooden bench
in the garden,
watching the sun dip down below
the horizon.
It falls slowly to the crests of the hills
And sinks in
A flare of fuchsia and golden flames."
The Weight of the Sky should not be limited to the Young Adult audience. Everyone should read and enjoy the beautiful free verse written by such a talented author.
Lily Azerad-Goldman, Artist and Reviewer for Bookpleasures
A Stellar Debut.......2006-03-07
Lisa Sandell's "The Weight of the Sky" is one of those rare books that linger long after you put them down. In Sarah, a teenaged-girl who spends a summer on a kibbutz in Israel, Sandell has created a compelling heroine, one whose voice, insight and sensitivity give the novel its air of lyrical enchantment. While Jewish readers are likely to revere Sarah's astute, piercing observations about contemporary Israel, "The Weight of the Sky" is, at heart, a universal novel; Sarah's soul-searching and her struggle to find her identity and gain her independence would undoubtedly resonate with young adult readers, regardless of their background. Finally, Sandell's decision to write the novel in short, lucid, poem-like chapters makes for a spellbinding reading experience, one that transforms the reader not only to an exotic land, Israel, but also into the mind of a clever, thoughtful young woman as she first awakens to her own identity. The book, in short, is masterful, and is a must for lovers of serious, beautiful fiction, be their age whatever it may.
Book Description
Eisen analyzes the attempts of American Jewish thinkers to adapt the notion of closeness to the context of the new country. He traces the reinterpretations of "second-generation" American Jews and examines the "third generation" (1955 to the present).
Books:
- King of the Jews (Norton Paperback Fiction)
- Kingdom Come: The Final Victory: The Final Victory (Left Behind #13)
- Leave a Candle Burning (Tucker Mills Trilogy, Book 3)
- Lost City Radio
- Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die
- Maimonides Reader
- Maimonides Reader
- Me and My Dad: A Baseball Memoir
- Memories of Drop City: The first hippie commune of the 1960's and the Summer of Love
- My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding
Books Index
Books Home
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