Foreskin's Lament: A Memoir
by Shalom Auslander
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Book Reviews of Foreskin's Lament: A Memoir
Book Review: Funny/sad
Summary: 4 Stars
Auslander is a funny writer without a doubt. I laughed outloud at his descriptions of various events such as his descriptions of the kids at the mall and their "conversations" etc. He seems to have captured the feelings that some Orthodox kids experience growing up. Part of it is certainly rebellion against a way of life that isn't simple in a world where everyone else is out and about on Saturday when he was in synagogue (or sitting in the kitchen reading the label on the Entenmann's box for the 5000th time) and, of course, part of his rebellion is the one that most kids feel toward their parents' rules and regulations. No question as an outsider looking at his life growing up and trying to obey all of the tenets of his religion, I could relate to his feelings of frustration. However, much as I understood why he felt this way and continues to feel it, his anger made me feel sorry for him. Obviously, he has abandoned Judaism and his God and he and his wife are denying their child his birthright of being raised to be proud of his heritage. It appears that for Auslander, he must be an Orthodox Jew or he can't be Jewish at all. It would seem that it would be better if he could accept being a Conservative or a Reformed Jew as opposed to just abandoning it altogether.
I guess the best thing I can say is that although he wrote this in a very entertaining fashion and filled it with moments that made me laugh, at the end, I felt sorry for him. He's lost something that one day either he and his wife or their son will try to recapture when they could have had it all along. It also made me sad that he is cut off from his parents. I just kept looking for an accomodation -- a way for him to be able to find a bridge to his parents and his child's grandparents.
Bottomline -- this book will make you think about choices and family no matter what religious tradition you follow.
Book Review: Funny and Sad at the same time.
Summary: 3 Stars
One thing with memoirs as James Frey has taught us is that you never really know if all of any of the events in it actually happened. Am I saying this book is untrue no. But I wonder about the perspective of Shalom's family for these events. The basic premise of the book is that Shalom had a bad childhood which from reading the memoir you get the impression it was mostly due to his up bringing as a orthodox Jew. The reality is that there are plenty of people who had bad childhoods and it had nothing to do with how religious or not religious their parents were. Shalom's problem is that he blames religion when in reality its just that his parents for whatever their reasons did not treat him the way he wanted to be treated. Shalom your an adult now get over it. The book has its funny moments but there is a real anger behind everything. On one hand Shalom hates God but on the other he doesn't seem to believe in God. The problem with memoirs is that very few authors can write multiple memoirs that are entertaining the exceptions are Augusten Burroughs and David Sedaris. It will be interesting to see if Shalom can make a real career out of being a writer or if this bitter rant is all he can come up with. I know he wrote one other book but hasn't really put anything else out.Book Review: both funny and sad
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a dark and humorous account of life growing up in a disfunctional, ultra-orthadox Jewish family and the effect it has continued to have on the author's life. Chapters alternate between strange childhood tales of blessing bees, burning porn and sneaking non kosher snacks and situations the author faces as an adult dragged down by his extreme religious upbringing. This culminates in a neurotic certainty that God is out to get him as implied in the Jewish proverb, "man makes plans, God laughs." On the whole it is an entertaining and thoughtful book staring down the negative impact of fundamentalist religion.
Sections of the book have been read on "This American Life". That's how I determined that I wanted to read it. I'll add a comment below so you can check the This American Life stuff, as well as clip of the author reading the first chapter of this book.
Book Review: MORE A LONG ARTICLE THAN A BOOK
Summary: 1 Stars
Yes, this book was mildly amusing. But I bought it expecting much more. I expected an insightful look into the ultra-Orthodox community and into the author and his family. What I got was no more than a long newspaper article with a few laughs. Or maybe an outline for a longer, truer look into the author's life. So many questions were left unanswered. Why did the author's father "hate them all." What was his relationship with his brother and sister (who remain nameless)? Why, really, did he suddenly become religious in Israel? I could go on and on. In short, I was amused but disappoined. Next time I'd like a real look into Mr. Auslander's life and soul. Unless this is the way he chooses to to present himself, it's much more like an idea for a book than a real one.Book Review: Foreskins Lament
Summary: 1 Stars
I read the book. As they say, " I should never be tested", and clearly, our author had a tough gig. I should also mention that i am anything but a prude, and certainly had some pretty awful rabbis in my day. That being said, the authors anger and blatant disrespect for Judaism/God etc.. is really unfortunate for many reasons. Don't get me wrong, growing up with that insanity, I might've been worse. But my main gripe is that by publicly denigrating God and "orthodox Judaism", Shalom (which ironically means peace)paints an improper picture of what "True Orthodox Torah Judaism really is." Mind you, he obviously went through hell, and I do feel that, but his writing is skewed, in the sense that many people will now get the wrong impression about orthodox judaism.