Alan Kaufman (1) (1952–)

Alan Kaufman has a very dramatic way of telling his own story. He begins by recalling life with his Holocaust-survivor mother and post office night shift worker father, his project to collect comic books to get rich, his episode of being beaten up by a neighborhood bully, and his bout with a frightening asthma exacerbation. This was all in the Bronx New York of his childhood. Each chapter then continues as a story unto itself and quite the self-examination of the most memorable experiences show more of Kaufman’s life.

Kaufman’s a good writer. His narrative is detailed and gritty, and he gives a fairly detailed picture about what it felt like to be in his shoes at some tougher times of his life.

The chapter about Kaufman’s time incarcerated in Nebraska, I found particularly terrifying. Maybe it’s a reflection of the current political climate I find myself in, but reading about this young Jewish man as a prisoner after traveling lightheartedly and then being exposed to undeserved psychological terror was disconcerting to read.

This book, more than anything else, spoke to me about the author’s relationship with Judaism and how it always has been a battle for him. He described the psychological battles his mother, a traumatized Holocaust survivor, showered him with, and yet still, as a young adult, he felt the need to identify as a Jew as well as to defend Jews.

By the end of this book, I was deeply moved and completely captivated by Kaufman’s reflections of what it means to be a Jew. Truly this part of his writing brought me to tears as being a Jew is as wonderful as it is fraught.

The book ends with a powerful poem as this book’s author is also a poet.

I had read his novel [Matches] a long while ago. I liked that book very much although it was a disturbing read. I’d very much like to read more of Kaufman’s work. show less

This is one of those books about which I made a mental u-turn halfway through. About a 100 pages in and I HATED this guy - Kaufman. Really despised him, had no respect for him as a writer or a human being. I almost quit this book, but I gutted it out until "Part Two", and I GOT IT. Kaufman despised HIMSELF in the first half of the book, and, why not? He was a miserable drunk, user of women and friends, and a walking waste of potential. As he considers recovery, I was sold - sold on Kaufman's show more talent as a writer and humbled by his willingness to bare his personal rock bottom in such a way that his own self-loathing becomes visceral to the reader. This memoir is just REAL. To quote the cover blurb from Dave Eggers, "He's not neat, he's not careful...But there's more passion here than you see in twenty other books combined." show less

The book chronicles Kaufman’s headlong plunge into the piratical life of a literary drunk, and takes us shamelessly through nourish alleyways of S&M sensuality, forbidden pleasures and pitfalls of adultery, the thrilling horrors of war, plus raging poetry nights, mental illness, homelessness, literary struggle and his strange, magnificent rise into a sobriety of personal triumph as crazily improbable as the famous and notorious figures he meets along the way.

Whether the addiction is booze, show more women, violence, writing or fame, Kaufman honors us with an explicit honesty that only a writer of enormous power and artistic greatness can attain, and his life, as Drunken Angel poignantly shows, is a profoundly meaningful quest for truth and spiritual values.

As engrossing, moving and honest a literary memoir as one will ever read, Drunken Angel is that rare combination of aching beauty and haunting truth, all made vivid and alive with a poetry that is both turbulent and profoundly wise. Alan Kaufman takes his readers on a Jewish Huck Finn journey of addiction, regret, and rage. With his immense literary gifts as a storyteller, he turns the jagged, jaded tale of his life into a true work of art, and along way finds the reconciliation and peace that made this memoir possible, and for that, we should all be grateful. show less

What must it be like? This is a question I’ve asked myself many times when I think of the soldiers in the IDF (Israel Defense Forces). I’ve never been in a war or have even been a soldier. I read books about war and books about soldiers. However, until this book, no book I’ve read has touched upon the soul of the “situation” in Israel in which there is an ever-present war that is “not quite” a war.

IDF troops serve reserve duty yearly even after they finish their mandatory tour show more of duty following high school. Their duties as soldiers are so different from their joyous and carefree lives as civilians. This book takes a look at that darker side of their lives. It’s a side, even with all my trips to Israel, I haven’t entered before.

Nathan Falk, the narrator of this story, is an American member of the IDF. He is assigned to various operations along the perimeter of Israel and across the “Green Line” (pre-1967 Israel borders) in order to prevent terrorists from gaining entrance into Israel proper and to avenge deaths already caused to Israeli civilians by terrorists. There is a disclaimer at the front of this book emphasizing that this is a work of fiction. However, the events that happen just jump off of the pages and make them seem all too real. Along with human suffering are two events of animal suffering which had me squirming with unease.

Not quite a novel because of its divisions and subdivisions and not quite a book of short stories because there is a common thread throughout all of the chapters, I’m not sure how to classify this book. Never mind this, though, as the detailed and precise writing of this talented author flows well. Subsequent to reading this story, I’ve learned that the author is also a poet and was impressed by his poetry as well.

This is not an easy read, but the author is amazing at how he brings his main character to life. I highly recommend this book for its look at the personal life of one IDF soldier as he tries to faithfully serve his adopted country. show less