David BaddielReseñas

I did not like this for many reasons, but they are far too numerous to list. TLDR: the author and I disagree on what Jewish identity is and if racialization should even be a goal. Also, I hate Twitter.½

Mi rosszabb annál, ha nem válik valóra, amit kívánunk? Talán csak az, ha mégis... Barry Bennett roppant unalmasnak és túlzottan szigorúnak tartja a szüleit, azt pedig végképp nem tudja megbocsátani, hogy ezt a nevet választották neki. Azonban, amikor másik szülők után fohászkodik, még csak nem is sejti, hogy tökéletes apát és anyát találni nem olyan egyszerű, mint az elsőre tűnik.

A Roald Dahl Funny Prize-díjas illusztrátor,Jim Field és a humorista David Baddiel könyve Roald Dahl és David Walliams rajongóinak kötelező olvasmány.

I received an ARC of The Parent Agency and from the synopsis it sounded like a fun read and it truly was. Barry hated his name, hated the way his parents were, they were boring, and they always too his twin sisters side on everything. He was 9 years old coming up to 10 and his parents wouldn't allow him to do things his friends were doing. After asking his parents for a James Bond party and getting the hump he goes to his room and strange things start happening. He arrives in the Parent Agency. This agency is run by kids and the kids can choose who they want to be their parents. A fantastic idea so Barry thought. But after trying out 5 sets of parents he still couldn't decide who he wanted to be his parents because although some things were good with the ones he had tested it wasn't all that brilliant for him.
I was giggling like a school girl reading this. The names of the characters, their manourisms, place names it was all funny and great fun.
Everytime I picked the book up for a five minute read I found myself still reading 45 minutes later. I was truly hooked.

This is the first book I have read from David Baddiel as an author and I will definitely be looking out for more from him.

A very interesting read that will certainly make you reevaluate what you see and read in the media. I thought some parts of the book were weak but I think that’s due to it being a short read and some points not being expanded on. Definitely worth reading overall.

Excellent, intensely engaged and thought-provoking.

Jews Count

I have very mixed feelings about this book. It is a topic very close and personal, so this review will be quite long. If you don’t want to read the whole thing, here’s the short version: maybe read this if you are a woke progressive, although I am doubtful it will influence your thinking. Don’t read it if you’re Jewish and proud, because it will just make you angry. If you are a gentile genuinely interested in contemporary anti-semitism, read Dara Horn’s “People Love Dead Jews” instead of this one.

I am a decade older than the author, and grew up in New York (and have heard many gentiles say to me “Oh, you’re from Jew York, yuck yuck”). My parents were refugees from Europe who had large swaths of their family murdered by Nazis. Everyone of my childhood friends had parents who were either refugees or camp survivors. I have years of direct experience with Jew hatred, particularly since I grew up Orthodox and wore a kippa. Many times walking the streets of “Jew York”, I was called “hebe”, “dirty Jew” etc. There were universities I didn’t apply too because I knew they didn’t accept many Jews (here’s looking at you Princeton and Brown). I did try Harvard but I guess I exceeded their Jew quota.

I went to Columbia College (their Jew quota was larger, being in Jew York). There I dropped religion. In my senior year I decided to wear a kippa again, to express Jewish pride—not as a religious symbol. A friend who was the student union president of this most liberal university, asked to talk to me in private. He said to me “I don’t understand why you decided to do this, but as a friend I really suggest you reconsider.” Totally surprised and taken aback, I asked why. He said “well, you don’t want to be considered one of them.” My blood ran cold, but I asked him, even though I knew the answer “What do you mean by them?” Without shame he said “Oh you know, loud, pushy, money grubbing” I can go on and on, but the point is Jew hatred and me go way back.

My university education turned me into an old-school follower of Enlightenment values. I am appalled by so-called “progressive” (in my day known as “New Left “) obsession with identity politics. This book is essentially a long whine by the author directed at woke people, begging them to include Jews in the holy inner circle of the oppressed. Since I am neither woke and don’t need to learn about anti-semitism, this book wasn’t written for me. I might be persuaded that perhaps it’s a good thing that one of their own points out to “progressives” just how two-faced, hypocritical and racist they are when it comes to Jews. The author makes some good points. But overall, he totally misunderstands what Jewish pride means and what the appropriate response to Jew hatred should be. He also turns out to behave exactly the same way as those he criticizes.

To fully explain what I mean, here is an extensive quote from Dara Horn’s “People Love Dead Jews” an excellent book covering the same territory as this one, just infinitely wiser, better written, more authentic and true. Her book helped me cleanse the bad taste this book left in my mouth, and clarify what was so awful about it:

“[Bigotry] doesn’t involve ‘intolerance’ or ‘persecution,’ at least not at first. Instead, it looks likes the Jews themselves are choosing to reject their own traditions. It is a form of weaponized shame.

Two distinct patterns of antisemitism can be identified by the Jewish holidays that celebrate triumphs over them: Purim and Hanukkah. In the Purim version of antisemitism, exemplified by the Persian genocidal decrees in the biblical Book of Esther, the goal is openly stated and unambiguous: Kill all the Jews. In the Hanukkah version of antisemitism, whose appearances range from the Spanish Inquisition to the Soviet regime, the goal is still to eliminate Jewish civilization. But in the Hanukkah version, this goal could theoretically be accomplished simply by destroying Jewish civilization, while leaving the warm, de-Jewed bodies of its former practitioners intact.

For this reason, the Hanukkah version of antisemitism often employs Jews as its agents. It requires not dead Jews but cool Jews: those willing to give up whatever specific aspect of Jewish civilization is currently uncool.”

Baddiel fits this description perfectly. Here is what he says about his Jewish identity:

“my Jewish identity is about Groucho Marx, and Larry David, and Sarah Silverman, and Philip Roth, and Seinfeld, and Saul Bellow, and pickled herring, and Passovers in Cricklewood in 1973, and my mother being a refugee from the Nazis, and wearing a yarmulke at my Jewish primary school – and none of that has anything to do with a Middle Eastern country three thousand miles away. And also: Israelis aren’t very Jewish anyway, as far as my relationship with Jewishness is concerned. They’re too macho, too ripped and aggressive and confident. As I say of them – or, to be precise, Lenny, a Jewish-American taxi driver character I invented for my film The Infidel, says of them – ‘Jews without angst, without guilt. So not really Jews at all.”

in other words, being Jewish for Baddiel is all the “cool” things. As for the most “uncool” part of being Jewish these days—particularly for “progressives”—namely Israel, well, Israelis aren’t really Jews at all! Baddiel, who so wants to “count” amongst his “progressive” friends is willing to unashamedly say the largest Jewish community in the world just doesn’t count!

I will quote Horn one more time, because she says far better than I, exactly what Baddiel makes me feel:

“Uncoolness is pretty much Judaism’s brand, which is why cool people find it so threatening—and why Jews who are willing to become cool are absolutely necessary to Hanukkah antisemitism’s success. These ‘converted’ Jews are used to demonstrate the good intentions of the regime—which of course isn’t antisemitic but merely requires that its Jews publicly flush thousands of years of Jewish civilization down the toilet in exchange for the worthy prize of not being treated like dirt, or not being murdered. For a few years. Maybe.”

cross-ref w/ The Triumph of Seeds book --

A bold and insightful read. Baddiel is bringing to our attention the concept of 'the hierarchy of racism', and that in the current environment, of all the 'protected identities' Jewishness is either at the bottom or non-existent, especially in the progressive left. The book gives a number of examples where this is shown to be the case (in politics, online, in interviews, tv programmes).

The two key reasons he feels that Jews don't count are because:

A) On the whole, Jews are white, and are perceived to belong to the 'privileged' group (although historically they have been perceived as not quite white enough).

B) Jews tend to be perceived as powerful and wealthy (the reality, in a survey of the 13.1 million international millionaires* who identify as religious: 56.2% Christian, 6.5% Muslim, 3.9% Hindu, and 1.7% Jewish).

Although for the most part he seems to believe the rise in antisemitism is part of unconscious bias in cultures, and he in no way suggests that other protected identities should be 'down graded' within the hierarchy, he wants Jewishness to be seen equally as a minority and for there not to be a hierarchy at all.

Perhaps if Whoopi Goldberg had read this book, she may not have blundered recently. I certainly learn't plenty from reading it. It will need a reread soon.

*New World Wealth organisation.

Imagine the uproar that would result today from having white people portray Blacks and Asians in movies, plays, and television programs. Much of the same would happen if the character was disabled, gay, or trans. Such changes were very common for a long time until audiences and producers became more aware of how insulting it was.
Now think about all the shows with Jewish characters being portrayed by non-Jews. It happens frequently–Mrs. Maisel and her parents, the main characters in Falsettos on Broadway (whose first song is “Four Jews in a Room”), Valerie Harper as Golda Meir. When the character is reduced to a stereotype, it’s no different than white actors appearing in black face. In many cases, the original characters are no longer Jewish. The only difference today is that people don’t seem to care. Non-Jewish actors have not been replaced by Jews in the roles. The stereotypes remain in place.
David Baddiel discusses this issue, and more, in JEWS DON’T COUNT.
During the Black Lives Matter protests and as part of the #MeToo movement-- primarily progressive movements--people who were not members of the groups experiencing the problems were urged to listen, to learn, to accept and not challenge, when others speak about their experiences. Except, it seems, when Jews do. (Jews were highly supportive of both movements as well as other civil rights movements. The reverse has not been true.)
Not recognizing or ignoring anti-Semitism is a serious problem in both the US and Europe. (The author and book are based on British examples.) Huge increases in attacks against Jews in UK, USA, etc. 600% increase in UK. In US in 2018, 60% of all religiously motivated hate crimes were perpetrated against Jews (by contrast 18.65 targeted Muslims.) In 2021, the US, Jews the numbers are continuing to rise.
One reason that anti-Semitism is ignored is that too many people consider Jews as white, not recognizing that they do not have the same status as white Christians in our society. Some people say Jews are rich (A study by the New World Wealth found that 56.2 percent of the 13.1 million millionaires in the world were Christian, while 6.5 percent were Muslim, 3.9 percent were Hindu, and 1.7 percent were Jewish) but turn that into a negative by saying they are greedy, unethical, or miserly. Of course, not all Jews are rich. And that unfound accusation has been around for centuries.
Some people base their anti-Jewish feelings on a disapproval of Israel and its politics but place the blame on all Jews, as Hitler did with anyone with a Jewish grandparent, and excuse some of the same government actions when carried out by countries other than Israel.
Denying or erasing the experiences of Jews today makes the problem even worse. Jews must count.

I found it useful and it kinda articulated my own emotions about the Left and their approach to Jews, so it was a useful aide memoire. What I felt it sidestepped was Zionism because he personally claims not to care about Israel’s existence. He even said he barely considers Israelis as Jewish because they are so confident. A Jewish friend of mine who is anti-Zion but believes a lot of protests about Israel are anti-Semitic explained it to me really well so I felt I understood. Unfortunately I forgot what he said (we had a lot of wine that night) and I hoped the book would help me with that so that was disappointing.

I thought the feeling ‘safe’ as a white person was especially well done and I could finally see how it does feel to be white and how it is different. And the hierarchy of minorities was particularly insightful.

This is a brilliant book and I encourage all my non-Jewish friends to read it. My Jewish friends will not need to read it because what Baddiel writes — and he writes really well — is something they already understand.

The publishers summarised it this way: this “is a book for people who consider themselves on the right side of history. People fighting the good fight against homophobia, disablism, transphobia and, particularly racism … one type of racism has been left out of this fight … [Baddiel] outlines why and how, in a time of intensely heightened awareness of minorities, Jews don’t count as a real minority; and why they should.”

This is a complex argument and rather than attempt to summarise it, and get some of it wrong, I suggest that people read it. It’s a very short book, just 123 pages. It may change the way you think about Jews, anti-semitism and racism. Or not.

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. Had no idea what to expect and it turned out to be really entertaining with a great message to boot.

Barry hates his name. It's too old-fashioned and he blames his parents. He blames them for a whole list of things. One of which is the lame birthday parties they come up with. Barry is about to turn 10. He loves two things. James Bond and Lionel Messi. They can't even plan a James Bond themed party that is mildly fun. Barry storms off in protest and the next thing he knows he's in an alternate London called Youngdon where couples compete to be chosen by kids to be their parents. He is whisked off to the Parent Agency to find himself a set of parents. The head of TPA gives him a five day package to try out five different sets of parents. First he asks for rich parents, then famous, then athletic, then pushovers, and lastly spoilers. Each set of parents have to plan a birthday party for him. None of them are quite the right fit, so you can pretty much figure out how it ends.

My only comment relates to the very present British nuances in the book. Editors replaced British words with American words as much as possible in the American edition (mum, lorry, football is changed to mom, truck, soccer), but certain things just couldn't be changed such as the daily tea and London setting. I wouldn't be surprised if Argentinian soccer player Lionel Messi also has limited fame with American middle graders.

I both read and listened to the story and I have to say that I preferred the audiobook even though it's the British version. The author read his own book and he was absolutely fantastic.

this book is awsome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The person controller is a great book. It's so exiting and enthusiastic. Ellie and Fred are twins who have a bracelet and a totally normal video game controller but it's not really normal because the controller is connected to the bracelet so whoever wears the bracelet will be paired with the controller. Daniel age 8.

Barry wishes he had better parents, and dreams that there is an agency that allows you five days to pick the perfect parents. This enjoyable story is fun and imaginative.

It was cute but a little disappointing. Boy doesn't like his parents, ends up at a parent agency, tries out five sets of parents - rich, famous, sporty, permissive and parents who treat him like their favourite...decides he wants his original parents back. I wanted the parent agency to be explained and expanded a lot more than it was.

a humourous look at role reversal where children choose parents, but be careful of what you wish for as you may get the parents who do things to the extreme. Barry has always hated being called Barry. In fact, its number 2 on the list of things he blames his parents for, along with 1) 'being boring' and 3) 'always being tired' and so on and son. But then one day Barry makes a fateful wish, and finds himself in a world where everything is reverse. Barry has 5 days to find the perfect parents for him and he makes choices based on his top 10 list of the perfect parents. Things do not go to his plan as adults and children do not apply the same meaning or logic to interpretation - a very humourous look at how both groups view parenting and childhood.

The Story

Even if we don't want to admit it, we've all had a time when we felt a bit fed up with out parents. So much, we wished we had new ones, better ones. Usually this feeling goes away, and we feel bad for ever having thought such a thing...but, what if it didn't go away? What if each day was such a drag, you hated every moment - Being ignored, your brother/sister was the favourite, lame gifts, boring parents, embarrassing parents and even...groundings!

What if it didn't have to be that way? Barry wished it was true. He wished it three times over and wished it so hard his room started to shake. Not the normal shake from a lorry passing by. This was different...and are his Messi and Bond posters glowing. Oh god!!! They just talked to him.

This was only the beginning, as Barry was whisked away to Youngdon, a city run by kids, for kids. No seriously, the adults seem to be there, but they are different. Barry cries out for help, and ALL of the parents rush to please him, beg him ('Let me be your parent!!'). Errr, something really was different. What was going on?

Whew, it's all ok because Barry just spotted his best mates coming toward him. Finally something normal. Oh, well, not really. His mates claim to be PCs (Parent Control) and rush him to TPA.

If Barry thought this was crazy, the next five days were going to be insane! Five sets of parents, five birthday parties, five days- Fives times what he's always wanted, right? Then why does he keep seeing a slightly familiar, slightly blurry couple following him to each house? What happens if he doesn't choose a new family? Why does everyone seem so familiar?

What's a boy to do, when he's lost at The Parent Agency, not sure what he really wants?

My Thoughts

This is a fab little book! As an adult, I found myself chuckling at so many points and at the subtle jokes hidden in the story. The similarities to real life - Youngdon/London, United Kiddom/United Kingdom, Lionel Tidy/Lionel Messi, Jatt Blatt/Jack Black, Wobbly Stadium...you see my point. I found it brilliant that the author made the world so similar and yet so different at the same time.

The characters, story, plot and challenges were all great little stories in themselves. I found myself caught up in Barry's trials, trying to find better parents with a list that was set to be his downfall. I think the premise of the story and the way in which it is told makes it absolutely PERFECT to youngsters. I believe it would be goo for all ages, from the youngest reader to adult. Children will find it a great laugh, and may even believe they have something in common with Barry. Adults will find the whole premise of the story and the way it is told rather hilarious.

I also love that the story as a whole makes a brilliant point and strives to teach a great lesson - Be careful what you wish for, it may not be exactly what you want. By the end of the story, Barry has learned a lot about life, expectations, parents and himself. All lessons that are great for children to learn, especially if they learn it from a good read (and not from parents) as we all know they listen and learn better when it is from anyone but parents!

The pace and types of character are excellent, leaving no stone unturned. You get a true likeness of all types of people in our country and of their hilarious doubles. It is very tongue in cheek, but in a youthful sort of way.

Finally, I also like that there is an untold depth to the story, which leaves adults/older kids wondering. Barry comes to find that certain events in Youngdon actually happened in the real world (i.e. paper/window), which begs the question, is TPA real or all in Barry's head. Did he learn the lesson on his own? Was he dreaming? The void??? All of these things make the story very well-rounded and deep. The kind of story you'll revisit many times as you grow up.

OVERALL: A very brilliantly written story. It is genuinely a great book to grab for all ages, especially for kids. Perhaps the perfect Christmas gift, for kids to delve into over the holidays, have a laugh and learn a bit. I would highly recommend it! It's out NEXT WEEK, so pop over and grab a copy. You won't regret it. (Maybe you'll even be able to sneak in a read, when the kids are done).

En 1939, Isaac Fabian fuit Königsberg et l'Allemagne nazie pour trouver asile à Cambridge. Mais la logique absurde de la guerre n'a pas encore dit son dernier mot ! Citoyen allemand et sympathisant communiste, il est aussitôt considéré comme traître potentiel et envoyé sur l'île de Man, un camp d'internement où sont parqués des prisonniers ennemis, mais aussi des milliers d'exilés juifs allemands. Au coeur de cette ironie amère, la séduisante June, une traductrice du ministère de l'Information, qui parvient à le détourner de sa mélancolie. Un roman saisissant qui met en lumière un épisode honteux de l'histoire britannique, mais qui laisse aussi subtilement place à l'amour et à la foi en l'humanité. Biographie de l'auteur Cocréateur de trois des émissions loufoques les plus populaires sur la BBC, David Baddiel est aussi un romancier reconnu et un critique respecté. Il est l'auteur de deux autres romans : Au lit ! et L'Amour, si ça veut dire quelque chose.

Abandoned, self indulgent, verbose½

Having just visited the Isle of Man, I enjoyed this novel about a hidden part of WW2 history. It is a serious novel about truth in war and how much did British government suspect about what was happening to the Jews. But there is a hysterically funny section about rabbis and beans which had me snorting with laughter. Although the internees resent their imprisonment and its interminable boredom, to the reader their lives seem boring but safe when you know with hindsight what is happening to Jews in Europe. The British are portrayed with a paradoxical mix of low level racism combined with indifferent tolerance.½

Recommended some time ago by bopeepsheep in the 'I promise to read the first book that is recommended to me' meme on livejournal. It's taken me a couple of years, but I finally bought a copy and got round to it. A little dark, and a little sad. The story of a jewish refugee to England during the Second World War, his time in an internment camp on the Isle of Man, his family and the young civil servant trying to reveal the truth about the atrocities going on in the concentration camps. It wasn't at all what I was expecting, but enjoyable.

Funny