Jewish Identity Conflict

With an echo of Phillip Roth, Eduardo Halfon writes novels about his own Jewish identity and heritage.

This is Halfon's follow up to his , The Polish Boxer, and he continues the story of his heritage and journey through life. As he states in this book, "in the end, our history is our only patrimony".

He follows his sister to Israel for her wedding to an orthodox Jew and comes face to face with his own atheism and conflicts with his Jewish identity. In a recurring dream he hides his Jewish identity to elude a Palestinian terrorist and relates tales of Jews who likewise survived the Nazi regime, one of them Jerzy Kosinski.

He does this without judgment, "everyone decides how to save themselves...with whatever it takes, whatever makes the most sense to us, whatever hurts the least...but we all act out the role of our best disguise...in the end, no one is saved".

His adventure with an Israeli stewardess he first met in a bar in Guatemala serves as an interlude, his groping for truth while also dealing his sexual appetites.

Halfon is a heavy thinker, bringing historically interesting tidbits, to better illustrate his often cynical viewpoint on the true meanings of life.

I highly recommend him. If you like Junot Diaz, you will enjoy Eduardo Halfon's unique voice.

Thank you! I'll put the book on my list!- what is the name of the book?

I added it to my wishlist. It's Monastery, I believe.

yes Monastery.

The Polish Boxer is also quite good with less emphasis on Jewish identity.

>4 berthirsch:

I'll see if I can find that book as well.