Erika Dreifus
By Erika Dreifus
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The Schmooze 5 Jewish Books To Read in 2014
At this time of year, I’m confronted with the many books published in 2013 that I haven’t yet managed to read. It seems that every day another “best-of” list materializes to remind me of the recurrent truth: There’s just never enough time to get to all of the books that I’d like to read, not…
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The Schmooze 10 Ways to Celebrate Jewish Book Month
The Holy Days are barely behind us, and we’re already preparing for Hanukkah (the first day of which, as some have realized, coincides with American Thanksgiving this year). But between these events comes something else that should be on your calendar: Jewish Book Month. Running this year from October 26 to November 26, Jewish Book…
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Culture Using Plastic Surgery To Combat Maternal Anxiety
● Textile By Orly Castel-Bloom Translated by Dalya Bilu The Feminist Press, 160 pages, $15.95 In Orly Castel-Bloom’s “Textile,” Amanda Gruber deploys an unusual strategy to help manage her particularly Israeli brand of maternal anxiety about the fate of her combat soldier son: undergoing serial cosmetic surgery. As the novel opens, Amanda is about to…
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The Schmooze Malamud’s ‘Refugee’ at 50
A version of this post originally appeared on Ron Hogan’s Beatrice blog. I owe my discovery of Bernard Malamud’s “The German Refugee” — published 50 years ago Saturday — to “The Best American Short Stories of the Century,” which joined my bookshelf shortly after its release. And although I don’t normally use the word “frisson”…
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Life Childless Does Not Mean Clueless
As if back-to-school season and the High Holidays weren’t enough to command our attention and energies, here in New York we’re anticipating mayoral primary elections (slated for September 10). Last week’s campaign developments, as noted in Kate Taylor’s “Trailside” column in The New York Times, included the following: “Two Democratic front-runners, Bill de Blasio and…
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Life My (Hopefully) Last Post on the Alice Walker Affair
When I saw Sarah Seltzer’s “Why Alice Walker and Michigan Are Both Wrong” posted on The Sisterhood late Thursday afternoon, I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Or maybe bang my head against a wall. Laughter (rueful), because Seltzer’s response was so predictable (especially after her published comment on my original post about Alice…
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Life Alice Walker Isn’t Welcome — And Rightly So
Alice Walker, the BDS advocate who last summer refused to authorize a Hebrew translation of her Pulitzer-winning novel “The Color Purple,” and who more recently sought to persuade singer Alicia Keys to cancel a performance in Israel, is quick to try to silence others. But now, Walker is declaring herself a victim of censorship. According…
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Culture David Roskies and Naomi Diamant Guide Readers Through Holocaust Literature
● Holocaust Literature: A History and Guide By David G. Roskies and Naomi Diamant Brandeis University Press, 360 pages, $85 In the preface to “Holocaust Literature: A History and Guide” (Brandeis University Press), which he co-wrote with Naomi Diamant, David Roskies recalls a variety of Holocaust commemorations from his Montreal adolescence. At one Bundist gathering…
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