Foreskin's Lament: A Memoir
by Shalom Auslander
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Book Summary Information
Author: Shalom AuslanderEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Published)
Format: Bargain Price
Published: 2007-10-04
ISBN: N/A
Number of pages: 320
Publisher: Riverhead Hardcover
Book Reviews of Foreskin's Lament: A Memoir
Book Review: "My family and me are like oil and water, if oil made water depressed and angry and want to kill itself..."
Summary: 3 Stars
Interestingly the first thing I noticed about memoirist Shalom Auslander was his name: "Shalom" means "peace" in Hebrew, while "Auslander" means "foreigner" in German. His story is just as unusual. Raised in New York in an Orthodox Jewish family, Auslander rebels against the lifestyle early on. Not only does he choose to defy church custom by the foods and food combinations he chooses to eat, but also he steals and pretty much acts in almost constant defiance of his family's religious and cultural beliefs. His parents' behavior, many times in conflict with what one might expect, complicates things even more. It's in preparation for the birth of his first child that he feels the titled "lament," the results of which I won't spoil by sharing. As mentioned in one of the blurbs about the book, Auslander's honest, funny style and sometimes R-rated humor is a bit reminiscent of David Sedaris, whose book Me Talk Pretty One Day I found laugh out loud funny. He also sheds a lot of light, though quite unconventionally, on some of the customs and beliefs of Orthodox Jews. Although often over the top, R-rated in content, and certain to offend Orthodox Jews (especially his family), Foreskin's Lament is a memoir full of bad boyhood behavior that readers won't soon forget. Also good: Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali, The Summer of Ordinary Ways by Nicole Lea Helget, and Me Talk Pretty Some Day by David Sedaris.
Summary of Foreskin's Lament: A Memoir
Shalom Auslander was raised with a terrified respect for God. Even as he grew up and was estranged from his community, his religion and its traditions, he could not find his way to a life where he didn't struggle against God daily.Foreskin's Lament reveals Auslander's youth in a strict, socially isolated Orthodox community, and recounts his rebellion and efforts to make a new life apart from it. Auslander remembers his youthful attempt to win the "blessing bee" (the Orthodox version of a spelling bee), his exile to an Orthodox-style reform school in Israel after he's caught shoplifting Union Bay jeans from the mall, and his fourteen mile hike to watch the New York Rangers play in Madison Square Garden without violating the Sabbath. Throughout, Auslander struggles to understand God and His complicated, often contradictory laws. He tries to negotiate with God and His representatives-a day of sin-free living for a day of indulgence, a blessing for each profanity. But ultimately, Shalom settles for a peaceful cease-fire, a standoff with God, and accepts the very slim remaining hope that his newborn son might live free of guilt, doubt, and struggle.
Auslander's combination of unrelenting humor and anger--one that draws comparisons to memoirists David Sedaris and Dave Eggers--renders a rich and fascinating portrait of a man grappling with his faith, family, and community.
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