Book Club Selections

(Fiction, 256 pp. 1997) In a modern urban version of a classic Jewish myth, Ozick offers her take on the Golem. Visionary and malcontent Ruth Puttermesser stars in this surrealistic tale of destruction and rebirth.   Discussion guide: The Jewish Reader, February 2002 (including review by Shoshana Marchand, Philip Graubart…...

(Short Stories, 400 pp. 2017) Fifteen of Paley’s most famous stories, nineteen essays and thirty-four poems, all dealing with her characteristically large subjects: war, men, marriage, children, life and death.  Kirkus Review Reading Resources (Yiddish Book Center) Review by Alexandra Schwartz, New Yorker, May 8, 2017. Review by Josephine Livingstone,…...

(Short stories, 375 pp. 2011) Spanning four decades and three prize-winning collections, these selected stories continue Edith Pearlman’s favorite theme of accommodation, as well as young love, old love, thwarted love, and love denied; of Jews and their dilemmas; of marriage, family, death, and betrayal. The settings are Maine, Central…...

(Short Stories, 277 pp. 2015) Set primarily in a fictional suburb of Boston, this collection of splendidly crafted short fiction reflects Pearlman’s mastery in exploring the interior lives of her characters and shining light on the meaning found in everyday existence. Review by James Wood, New Yorker, February 6, 2015…...

(Memoir, 432 pp. 2022) In her candid memoir, writer and activist Letty Cottin Pogrebin exposes the fiercely-guarded lies and intricate cover-ups woven by dozens of members of her extended family. Beginning with her own long-suppressed secret, Pogrebin bares the intimate lives of her parents and relatives—revealing the truth about their…...

(Fiction, 368 p. 2016) A multigenerational family saga about the long lasting reverberations when a terrible accident transforms a summer of hope and self discovery into a lifetime of atonement and loss for members of this close knit clan. Discussion Questions from Elizabeth Poliner Kirkus Review Review by Eli Gottlieb,…...

(Fiction, 369 pp. 1990) When Asher Lev, an internationally famous painter, returns from exile in France to his native Brooklyn to attend his uncle’s funeral, he begins a struggle with his own destiny : his devotion to his family and his religious beliefs are pitted against his artistic survival. Kirkus…...

(Fiction, 288 p. Hebrew 2014 ; English translation 2017) This controversial novel, boldly portraying the strains—and delights—of a forbidden relationship, is a love story and a war story, a New York story and a Middle East story, an unflinching foray into the forces that bind us and divide us. Discussion…...

(Fiction, 384 p. 2014) Sasha Karnokovitch and his family would like to mourn the passing of his mother, Rachela, with modesty and dignity.  But Rachela, a brilliant Polish émigré mathematician, is rumored to have solved the million-dollar Navier-Stokes Millenium Prize problem, and spitefully taken the solution to her grave. A…...

(Nonfiction, 462 pp. 2009) Presents a rich history of Bay Area Jews from the Gold Rush through the present day, with an emphasis on the values—such as an embrace of social justice and an affinity for the arts—that have often animated the community. Review by Ava Kahn, San Francisco Chronicle,…...