Book Review | Philip Roth’s Jewish America
The first time I read a book by Philip Roth, I read it from back to front.
Opinion | ‘Mrs. America’ Gets It Wrong
“It galls me when Mrs. America keeps underscoring the friction among feminists rather than grappling with the complexity of our challenges.”
Meet the Jewish Women At the Heart of FX’s ‘Mrs. America’
What to Watch: ‘The Restaurant,’ Swedish Cuisine, with a Jewish Flavor
When The Restaurant launched in Sweden in 2017, the website Drama Quarterly said that the series “is as brave, bold and ambitious as they come. A sprawling ensemble drama that opens in the aftermath of the Second World War and runs across two decades, it is an emotion-filled family saga that charts the fortunes of the owners and staff of Djurgårdskällaren, a high-end restaurant in the heart of Stockholm.” The show’s first season won the Kristallen Award for Best Swedish TV drama.
‘The Plot Against America’ Adds New, Rich Layers to Roth’s Classic
Simon and Burns thus expand the point of view of the series, taking us outside Philip’s home and into Evelyn and Alvin’s lives. In doing so, they fill out Roth’s characters, shaping them into vibrant and complex figures driven by clear motivations and desires. They strive to tell a more complete story of the Levin family, one that showcases Alvin and Evelyn as people in their own right, more than what Phillip sees.
Book Review | ‘We Are Not Here to Be Bystanders’
In his foreword to Linda Sarsour’s memoir of political activism, Harry Belafonte remarks, “It wasn’t that long ago that we lost Martin and Malcom and Bobby.” He is comparing the vilification of Sarsour, the hijab-wearing, Brooklyn-born Palestinian-American, for her anti-Israeli politics to the murderous racist violence of the 1960s. It seems a stretch.
What to Watch: ‘A Place to Call Home’
What to Read: A Sampling of the Ways the World Ends
Something about watching civilization and its institutions collapse makes me nostalgic for the dystopian novels of my childhood.
Book Review | Unasked Questions About Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince
Ten Musicals by Jewish Composers to Watch In Times of Quarantines
Enough of medical warnings. If you want to relax and keep happy at home, watching musicals is just the thing. Here are some selections by our favorite Jewish composers and lyricists, many of which are available to stream online; the songs also might be found on Spotify, Apple Music or other music streaming services.
Poem | Afikomen
I’ve written the soup, the parting of the sea, the savage plagues and the candles