People Love Dead Jews : : Reports From a Haunted Present

Locations
Call Number: Adult Book / Nonfiction / Social Science / Race & Ethnicity / Horn, Dara
On Shelf At: Pittsfield Branch, Traverwood Branch

Location & Checkout Length	Call Number	Checkout Length	Item Status
Pittsfield Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Nonfiction / Social Science / Race & Ethnicity / Horn, Dara	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Traverwood Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Nonfiction / Social Science / Race & Ethnicity / Horn, Dara	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Malletts Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Nonfiction / Social Science / Race & Ethnicity / Horn, Dara	4-week checkout	Due 05-19-2024
Westgate Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Nonfiction / Social Science / Race & Ethnicity / Horn, Dara	4-week checkout	Due 05-24-2024

"A startling exploration of how Jewish history is exploited to comfort the living. Reflecting on subjects as far-flung as the international veneration of Anne Frank, the blockbuster travelling exhibition called "Auschwitz," the Jewish history of the Chinese city of Harbin, and the little known "righteous-gentile" Varian Fry, Dara Horn challenges us to confront the reasons why there might be so much fascination with Jewish deaths, as emblematic of the worst of evils the world has to offer, and so little respect for Jewish lives, as they continue to unfold in the present. Horn draws upon her own family life -- trying to explain Shakespeare's Shylock to a curious 10-year-old, her anger when swastikas are drawn on desks in her children's school in New Jersey, the profound and essential perspective offered by traditional religious practice, prayer, and study -- to assert the vitality, complexity and depth of this life against an anti-Semitism that, far from being disarmed by the mantra of "Never forget," is on the rise"--Provided by publisher.

REVIEWS & SUMMARIES

Library Journal Review
Booklist Review
Publishers Weekly Review
Summary / Annotation
Table of Contents
Author Notes

COMMUNITY REVIEWS

You may also like the author's podcast. submitted by tcramer318 on June 14, 2022, 6:04am If you liked this book, or want some similar content before committing to this book, I recommend Dara Horn's podcast "Adventures with Dead Jews". It's a production of Tablet magazine, and it covers a lot of history that maybe this book didn't get to talk about.

I have a hard time getting into the author's fictional work, but I am so glad this book exists. Very thoughtful and eloquent where some of my feelings have been really hard to describe previously. I would definitely recommend it for anyone who isn't sure if antisemitism is still a problem. This book also includes moments of Jewish joy towards the end, when she describes her experience with Daf Yomi, and I think that really rounds this out.