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Loading... 25 Questions for a Jewish Motherby Judy Gold
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"There's a little Jewish mother in every mother," as comedienne Judy Gold reveals in her achingly hilarious and poignant book For a Jewish girl who remembers the first book ever read to her as a child was the pop-up version of The Diary of Anne Frank, learning how to be a Jewish mother who wasnt a carbon copy of HER Jewish mother wasnt easy. Here, Emmy Awardwinning comedienne Judy Gold asks, "Are there any Jewish mothers out there like me, or are they all, G-d forbid, like my mother" In 25 Questions for a Jewish Mother, she incorporates her own adventures in Jewish motherdom and her memories of growing up Jewish in suburban New Jersey -- communicating with her mother by putting Ann Landers articles on the fridge ("Dear Ann, My mother wont let me walk alone to school and Im 16! Please help." "Dear Ann, The crossing guard drinks. Please help.") -- with the voices of the fifty other Jewish mothers, she and her co-author, Kathleen Moira Ryan, interviewed. They asked homemakers, lawyers, Holocaust survivors twenty-five questions, including: --Who's your favorite Jewish mother (Judy's is Barbra Streisand.)? --How many times a day do you talk to your children or mother (for Judy, it's anywhere from one to the high double digits)? --Are Jewish mothers really more paranoid (or, "Why do I have to write an entire itinerary with names, addresses, and phone numbers every time I leave the house")? And so on. The culmination of these extraordinary stories confirms that there is ultimately something strong, courageous, and loving in every Jewish mother -- a hopeful -- and very funny -- message to mothers and their children everywhere. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)792.7028092The arts Recreational and performing arts Stage presentations, Theatre Variety shows and theatrical dancing Techniques, procedures, apparatus, materialsLC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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I was expecting either more of a comedy act or more of a sociological survey of Jewish mothers, but this turned out to be more solipsistic and semi-memoir-ish with tidbits of perspective from the folks she interviewed. Once I got used to that, and beyond the fact that Gold's act is entirely reliant on the guilt, anxiety, and neuroses due to her relationship with her mother - the book became a bit more enjoyable. It was also became a bit more comfortable after understanding Gold's boundaries, principles, and relationship with her religion (she does have them all despite denying so).
While there were moments and anecdotes of amusement and some things I could relate to or am familiar with, the book was more poignant than funny. The more meaty questions were left for the middle and end of the interviews, and these were the more interesting answers and discussions. Questions of family, mixed marriage, spirituality and religious practice, the Holocaust, Israel, and how Jewish mothers approach perceive and are perceived in the world are all tackled.
Great questions, and I imagine the interviews were thoroughly interesting, enlightening, and entertaining. It's just a shame that the book turned out to be All About Judy And Her Mother rather than relating more of what these women had to say. ( )