Jewish American Literature

Including Pulitzer Prize winners like Art Spiegelman's groundbreaking Maus and Michael Chabon's The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, the texts in this collection celebrate the literary contributions and stories of Jewish Americans.

The Bad Beginning

by Lemony Snicket

Publication year 1999

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Siblings, Justice, Teamwork, Good & Evil

Tags Humor, Fantasy, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Action & Adventure, Children`s Literature

Published in 1999, The Bad Beginning, a darkly humorous adventure novel for middle-grade readers, chronicles the misadventures of three orphaned children whose distant cousin adopts them as part of a plan to steal their huge inheritance. As the first of 13 books in the bestselling A Series of Unfortunate Events, the novel is written by Daniel Handler under the pen name Lemony Snicket, who’s also a character in the story. The books have sold 60... Read The Bad Beginning Summary

The Book of Magic

by Alice Hoffman

Publication year 2021

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family, Love, Femininity, Death, Future, The Past, Animals, Appearance & Reality, Objects & Materials, Place, Mothers, Siblings, Self Discovery, Community, Education, Art, Beauty, Fate, Good & Evil, Literature, Loyalty & Betrayal, Order & Chaos, Religion & Spirituality

Tags Fantasy, Romance, Historical Fiction

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The Chosen

by Chaim Potok

Publication year 1967

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Friendship, Fathers, Community, Coming of Age, Hate & Anger, Religion & Spirituality

Tags Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Religion & Spirituality, Jewish Literature, Education, Education

Rabbi Chaim Potok published The Chosen in 1967, and the book became a National Book Award finalist and established Potok as an influential Jewish writer. Born in Brooklyn and raised by Hasidic parents, Potok’s historical novel arguably links to parts of his personal life, as it follows two Jewish best friends, Reuven and Danny, and emphasizes Danny’s rocky relationship with his Hasidic father. The book centers on themes like Judaism and the Quest for Knowledge... Read The Chosen Summary

The Conversion of the Jews

by Philip Roth

Publication year 1958

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Religion & Spirituality, Truth & Lies, Power & Greed

Tags Satirical Literature, Education, Education, Jewish Literature, American Literature, Classic Fiction

“The Conversion of the Jews,” originally published in 1958 in the literary magazine The Paris Review, is a satirical postmodern short story by American novelist Philip Roth (1933-2018). The short story was later included in a collection of Roth’s stories titled Goodbye Columbus (1959), which won the National Book Award for Fiction. This guide references the version collected in The Oxford Book of Jewish Stories (1998).“The Conversion of the Jews” centers around the precocious and... Read The Conversion of the Jews Summary

The Day They Came to Arrest the Book

by Nat Hentoff

Publication year 1982

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Literature, Conflict, Truth & Lies, Education, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Family

Tags Realistic Fiction, Race & Racism, Children`s Literature, Education, Education, World History, Historical Fiction, Psychology, Psychology

Originally published in 1982, The Day They Came to Arrest the Book is Nat Hentoff’s only novel for youth. Hentoff was a multi-talented scholar and entertainer, known for his years as a columnist at the legendary Village Voice, an alternative newspaper in New York City. He was also a music critic and professor. Hentoff was regarded as an eloquent, tireless advocate for freedom of speech; he made his arguments in essay form for adults in... Read The Day They Came to Arrest the Book Summary

The Denial of Death

by Ernest Becker

Publication year 1973

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Death, Religion & Spirituality, Fear, Art

Tags Psychology, Philosophy, Religion & Spirituality, Grief & Death, Anthropology, Anthropology, Science & Nature, Sociology, Psychology, Philosophy, Self-Improvement

The Denial of Death was written by the American cultural anthropologist Ernest Becker and published in 1973. The work explores the fear of death and the ways in which rituals and beliefs have helped humans to cope with it throughout history. It was inspired by the fact that Becker had been diagnosed with terminal colon cancer. Over the course of his life, he taught at several prestigious universities, including Syracuse University, UC Berkeley, and, by... Read The Denial of Death Summary

The Devil's Arithmetic

by Jane Yolen

Publication year 1988

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Coming of Age

Tags Historical Fiction, Science Fiction, Fantasy, World War II, Holocaust, Jewish Literature, Children`s Literature, World History

Jane Yolen is the author of The Devil’s Arithmetic, a novel for young readers (1988). The main character, Hannah Stern, is almost 13 at the start of the novel. The story begins in her present, the late 1980s, and then travels back in time to 1942. The novel straddles multiple genres: fantasy, time slip, and historical fiction. Stern experiences the tragic history of the Holocaust, and Yolen uses her knowledge of history to provide accurate... Read The Devil's Arithmetic Summary

The Dovekeepers

by Alice Hoffman

Publication year 2011

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Perseverance, Femininity, War, Fate, Religion & Spirituality, Safety & Danger

Tags Historical Fiction, Military & War, Gender & Feminism, Magical Realism, Jewish Literature, Grief & Death, World History

The Dovekeepers (2011) is a historical fiction novel by Alice Hoffman, set in ancient Israel in 70-73 CE. Infused with magical realism, the book is a dramatized feminist retelling of the Siege of Masada, an event in which 960 Jews resisted the onslaught of Roman forces for nine months. The siege took place in the rugged mountain fortress of Masada and left only seven survivors: two women and five children. In Hoffman’s telling, the narrative... Read The Dovekeepers Summary

The End of Poverty

by Jeffrey Sachs

Publication year 2005

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Race, Justice, Community

Tags Race & Racism, Social Science, Business & Economics, World History, Sociology, Social Justice, Poverty, Politics & Government

In The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time (2005), leading economist Jeffrey D. Sachs draws on his extensive global experience to identify a path to end extreme poverty within 20 years. This work is inspired by, and in some ways modeled after, the classic John Maynard Keynes essay Economic Possibilities for Our Grandchildren (1930). In the depths of the Great Depression, Keynes outlined a pathway to ending poverty in the industrialized countries near... Read The End of Poverty Summary

The Ersatz Elevator

by Lemony Snicket

Publication year 2001

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Siblings, Good & Evil, Justice, Literature, Loyalty & Betrayal, Power & Greed, Safety & Danger, Science & Technology, Truth & Lies, Trust & Doubt, Order & Chaos, Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Fear, Love, Childhood & Youth, Appearance & Reality, Friendship, Family, Teamwork

Tags Fantasy, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Action & Adventure, Humor, Children`s Literature

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