This is the Forward’s coverage of books and literature, including both non-fictional and fictional works.
Books
The Latest
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Books Tortured Soul of Joseph Roth
Philip will have to make room for another Roth. The irony is that Joseph Roth, a Galician-born Austro-Hungarian Jewish writer, dead for nearly three quarters of a century, has never been more alive in the English speaking world. Translator Michael Hofmann, whose gifted ear has graced 11 of Roth’s titles including the recently published “Joseph…
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Books Albert Brooks on Thugs and Presidents
“I wanted to play a villain but couldn’t convince an American director,” Albert Brooks told an audience January 8, his curly hair framing a gentle cherubic face. The Film Society at Lincoln Center was honoring Brooks for his career, including his recent role as a psychopathic Jewish mafioso in the 2011 movie “Drive.” Given his…
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Books Kafka and the Parable
John Kessel and James Patrick Kelly are the editors of “Kafkaesque: Stories Inspired by Franz Kafka.” On Monday, James Patrick Kelly wrote about a man as puzzling as his stories and today, John Kessel looks at Kafka and the parable. Their blog posts are being featured this week on The Arty Semite courtesy of the…
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Books Top Israeli Literary Award Goes to Underdog
At a gala ceremony in Tel Aviv January 16, author Haggai Linik joined a select group of literary luminaries when his third novel, “Darush Lahshan” (“Prompter Needed”) was awarded Israel’s Sapir Prize for Literature. Inaugurated in 2000, the Sapir Prize is Israel’s most prestigious literary prize. Awarded by Mifal HaPayis — the National Lottery —…
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Books Kafka: A Man as Puzzling as His Stories
John Kessel and James Patrick Kelly are the editors of “Kafkaesque: Stories Inspired by Franz Kafka.” Today, James Patrick Kelly writes about a man as puzzling as his stories. Their blog posts are being featured this week on The Arty Semite courtesy of the Jewish Book Council and My Jewish Learning’s Author Blog Series. For…
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Books Land of the Rising Zun
Yiddish-Japanese Dictionary/Yidish-Yapanish Verterbukh/Idisshu-go jiten Compiled and edited by Kazuo Ueda, with the aid of Holger Nath and Boris Kotlerman Daigakusyorin, 1302 pages, ¥60,000 Rabbi Marvin Tokayer of Great Neck, N.Y., knows from Japan. “In 1969, I was living in Tokyo and I got a telephone call at my house from a guy who was Japanese…
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Books Q&A: Oliver Stone on Israel, Palestine and Newt Gingrich
Filmmaker Oliver Stone has been keeping busy. In research for his forthcoming Showtime documentary series, “The Untold History of the United States,” which re-examines crucial events in American history, Stone conducted a seven hour interview with Tariq Ali, the Pakistani-born activist and intellectual who inspired the Rolling Stones song “Street Fighting Man.” That dialog formed…
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Books Destination Bat Mitzvahs
Earlier this week, Shulamit Reinharz and Barbara Vinick wrote about the history of the bat mizvah and Barbara Vinick shared her own story. Today, Shulamit Reinharz writes about meaningful celebrations away from home. Their blog posts are being featured this week on The Arty Semite courtesy of the Jewish Book Council and My Jewish Learning’s…
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Most Popular
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Opinion Outrage over Nicholas Kristof’s op-ed on sexual assault of Palestinians is missing the point
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News They texted about Torah and mitzvahs. Feds say they were insider trading
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Opinion I run The Jewish Theological Seminary. Here’s the real story about President Isaac Herzog speaking at our commencement
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News Middlebury College Hillel votes to rebrand, distancing from parent group on Israel
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