Category: Book Reviews

January 5, 2015

Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant? by Roz Chast **** (of 4)

It’s a cartoon memoir of the passing of Roz Chast’s, a New Yorker cartoonist, parents. Her parents lived into their 90s and died the long,...

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December 14, 2014

Warburg in Rome by James Carroll *** (of 4)

I learned a lot about the plight of European Jews in the years 1944 to 1947. American Jews knew of the death camps, but widespread...

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November 26, 2014

The UnAmericans by Molly Antopol **** (of 4)

Eight short stories about young and old Jews in America and in Israel and every character elicits your sympathy. Antopol starts her stories in the...

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November 26, 2014

Yiddishkeit by Harvey Pekar and Paul Buhle *** (of 4)

Even the title of the book isn’t really translatable, encompassing as it does more than a language. Yiddishkeit is a people, it’s culture, and an...

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November 13, 2014

Indonesia Etc. by Elisabeth Pisani *** (of 4)

Indonesia is the fourth largest country in the world comprised of more than 10,000 islands and hundreds of languages and cultures. From west to east...

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October 28, 2014

Agent Zigzag by Ben McIntyre *** (of 4)

Prior to the outbreak of WWII, the British citizen Eddie Chapman spent his youth blowing safes and robbing banks. Passing in and out of jails, Chapman...

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October 23, 2014

The Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny **** (of 4)

Sixteen monks live in an isolated Canadian monastery dedicated to Pure Gregorian Chant, God, and the obscure Saint Gilbert. Until there are fifteen monks because the...

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October 7, 2014

The Good Lord Bird by James McBride *** (of 4)

Of course I’ve heard of John Brown, the abolitionist, who tried to start an insurrection and free the slaves by himself. But, truth is, that...

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September 26, 2014

The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling *** (of 4)

The plot entails a battle in city council, in Britain called Parish Council, over whether the poorer neighborhood of Yarvil should be cut free from...

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September 9, 2014