By Rabbi Rachel Esserman
Family sagas have been called “kitchen sink” novels with the term used in a pejorative way, suggesting that family life is only of interest to women. But women’s lives are as greatly influenced by world events as men’s, something shown in two recent novels:…
By Rabbi Rachel Esserman
Are we responsible for our ancestors’ sins? If we have in some way benefitted from their actions, what do we owe the descendants of those they harmed? Readers might expect a novel focusing on this topic to take a serious litera…
By Rabbi Rachel Esserman
It’s not unusual for novels to focus on a similar topic. In fact, this happens a great deal with those about World War II and its aftermath. The latest trend is works that look at the effect the war had on hidden children, those separated from their parents and pr…
By Rabbi Rachel Esserman
Since the 18th century, scholars have debated the origin of the Bible, generally dividing it into four source documents written or compiled by the Yahwist, the Elohist, the Priestly writers and the Deuteronomist. Numerous books in contemporary times have sought to d…
By Rabbi Rachel Esserman
When is a memoir not exactly a memoir? In the case of “We Are On Our Own: A Memoir” by Miriam Katin (Drawn and Quarterly), it’s when the graphic artist is really telling her mother’s story, more than her own. Her memoir …
