A while back I asked for ideas for Jewish-themed summer reading, and you responded with a great list in the comments section. I asked the same question on another social network, and got more great suggestions. I can’t summarize them or vet for quality, but they came from people who enjoyed them:
The Boston Girl by Anita Diamant
The Golem and the Jinni by Helen Wacker
“Anything by Herman Wouk”
Playing with Matches by Suri Rosen
Joshua, a Brooklyn Tale by Andrew Kane
The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman
The Tin Horse by Janice Steinberg
A Dictionary of the Khazars by Milorad Pavic
And then these, which are Jewish-authored but not Jewish-themed:
Books and stories by Harry Turtledove (alternate histories)
And some online lists for fun and profit:
Tablet Magazine’s List of 101 Great Jewish Books
Goodreads Best of Jewish Authors
MyJewishLearning.com: List of Jewish Fiction in the 21st Century
Jewcy: The 50 Most Essential Works Of Jewish Fiction Of The Last 100 Years
These should keep us reading for a while!
Actually, at least two novels and several short stories by Harry Turtledove are specifically about Jews. There’s one about a rabbi faced with a kosher pig.
Neil Gaiman was raised orthodox Scientologist, so he’s not really Jewish.
Yikes, thank you for the corrections! BTW, I am loving that collection of short stories you recommended.
Oh God why did you you add to my TBR?
You can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that they do not come with a due date, nor are there any quizzes!
With respect, Neil Gaiman may not be a practicing Jew, but he is most definitely Jewish.I went to (Orthodox Jewish) primary school with his cousin. And besides that fact, he’s a wonderful writer.
Aha! The plot thickens. Thanks for the info!
Sorry to have missed the previous post. At Fig Tree Books, we focus on publishing novels of American Jewish Experience, so please consider our titles, too. Plus, we review “classic” books in the “Recent Reviews” on our website. Give us a look!
Will do! Thanks so much for speaking up!
I just finished The Tin Horse by Janice Steinberg.
Great story.
Thanks for the recommendation.
Great! That one is still on my list.