Yona Zeldis McDonough
Author of Who Was Rosa Parks?
About the Author
Yona Zeldis McDonough is the author of The Barbie Chronicles: A Living Doll Turns Forty and The Four Temperaments, a novel
Series
Works by Yona Zeldis McDonough
Little Author in the Big Woods: A Biography of Laura Ingalls Wilder (Christy Ottaviano Books) (2014) 91 copies, 6 reviews
Frankly Feminist: Short Stories by Jewish Women from Lilith Magazine (HBI Series on Jewish Women) (2022) — Editor — 7 copies, 1 review
Who Was John F. Kennedy? 4 copies
Tying the Knot : A Couple's Guide to Emotional Well-Being from Engagement to the Wedding Day (1990) 4 copies
One of Them: A Powerful Post-WWII Story of Hidden Identity and the Price of Prejudice 2 copies, 1 review
Who Was Louid Armstrong? 1 copy
Associated Works
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Other names
- Zeldis, Kitty
- Birthdate
- 1957-06
- Gender
- female
- Education
- Vassar College
Columbia University - Occupations
- children's book author
novelist - Nationality
- Israel
USA - Places of residence
- Chadera, Israel
Brooklyn, New York, USA
Poughkeepsie, New York, USA - Associated Place (for map)
- New York, USA
Members
Reviews
Frankly Feminist: Short Stories by Jewish Women from Lilith Magazine (HBI Series on Jewish Women) by Susan Weidman Schneider
In a Nutshell: A varied and thought-provoking story collection with Jewish women as the central characters. The stories are from Lilith Magazine, published over the last four-odd decades. Worth a read.
“The official canon of Western literature had dismissed, overlooked, or simply ignored the existence of genius outside the narrow rubric of Western civilization: male, white, and European.”
When I read this in the foreword of this collection, I knew I had gotten my hands on something show more intelligent and candid. Indeed, the forty-four stories that are a part of this collection are brutally truthful in various ways. With each story having a Jewish woman protagonist, the tales focus on the various issues a Jewish woman might face and how she deals with it.
Where the anthology worked for me:
✔ The collection is organised by theme. While this didn’t offer me much advantage while reading the ARC, I would have certainly appreciated this factor more as a general reader. It becomes easier to pick stories up by mood. The themes aren’t typical but quite stimulating. For instance, the first theme—‘Transitions’—focusses on women instigating a change in their destiny. ‘Transgressions’ has stories connected to rebels, whether in major matters or in minor. ‘Intimacies’ might make you think of romance but the set deals with an astounding range of intimacies. My least favourite section was ‘War’, possibly because I read too much of historical fiction and hence all the stories seemed familiar. Luckily, there were only four stories with this theme.
✔ I loved the intelligence and unpredictability of most of the stories. The vocabulary level is a delight, and the range of Jewish stories contained (both in terms of countries and years) is impressive.
✔ While the focus is primarily on the Jewish experience, at least 80% of the stories deal with women’s experiences in general. I was a bit apprehensive at first about picking this up since I am not much aware of Jewish customs and beliefs. But in most of the stories, my lack of knowledge wasn’t a hurdle.
✔ The ‘feminism’ promised by the title isn’t as brash as I would have expected. We know that feminism comes in various shades, and this is exactly how it is depicted in the book. All the women protagonists are strong characters, but not necessarily so in a rebellious way. I loved the multifarious aspects of feminism depicted by the stories.
Where the anthology could have worked better for me:
⚠ Quite a few of the stories have Yiddish words, but most didn’t hamper my understanding. At the same time, a glossary would have been helpful.
⚠ The author bios and the year in which the story was first published are mentioned in a separate section at the end of the book. I would have preferred the contributor bios to be included at the end of their specific story, especially as the 44 stories have been selected from over two hundred that Lilith magazine has published over 45 years. Having an idea of when the story was first published would have given a better understanding of the trouble faced by the protagonist then.
⚠ I don’t prefer anthologies with more than 20 stories as they get saturating after a while, and even makes progress a bit slow-going. This is a personal preference and not a shortcoming of the book per se.
As always, I gave the stories individual ratings, and most of them reached/crossed the 3 star mark. Mentioning all these would be too extensive a list, so here are my top favourites with 4.5-5 stars each.
All in all, the quality of the stories and the writing makes this a collection to be savoured over a period of time than to be gulped in a go. Definitely recommended to short fiction lovers, regardless of gender or culture.
3.7 stars, based on the average of my ratings for each story.
My thanks to Ms. Olivia McCoy for a complimentary copy of “Frankly Feminist: Short Stories by Jewish Women from Lilith Magazine”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.
———————————————
Connect with me through:
My Blog | The StoryGraph | Facebook | Twitter show less
“The official canon of Western literature had dismissed, overlooked, or simply ignored the existence of genius outside the narrow rubric of Western civilization: male, white, and European.”
When I read this in the foreword of this collection, I knew I had gotten my hands on something show more intelligent and candid. Indeed, the forty-four stories that are a part of this collection are brutally truthful in various ways. With each story having a Jewish woman protagonist, the tales focus on the various issues a Jewish woman might face and how she deals with it.
Where the anthology worked for me:
✔ The collection is organised by theme. While this didn’t offer me much advantage while reading the ARC, I would have certainly appreciated this factor more as a general reader. It becomes easier to pick stories up by mood. The themes aren’t typical but quite stimulating. For instance, the first theme—‘Transitions’—focusses on women instigating a change in their destiny. ‘Transgressions’ has stories connected to rebels, whether in major matters or in minor. ‘Intimacies’ might make you think of romance but the set deals with an astounding range of intimacies. My least favourite section was ‘War’, possibly because I read too much of historical fiction and hence all the stories seemed familiar. Luckily, there were only four stories with this theme.
✔ I loved the intelligence and unpredictability of most of the stories. The vocabulary level is a delight, and the range of Jewish stories contained (both in terms of countries and years) is impressive.
✔ While the focus is primarily on the Jewish experience, at least 80% of the stories deal with women’s experiences in general. I was a bit apprehensive at first about picking this up since I am not much aware of Jewish customs and beliefs. But in most of the stories, my lack of knowledge wasn’t a hurdle.
✔ The ‘feminism’ promised by the title isn’t as brash as I would have expected. We know that feminism comes in various shades, and this is exactly how it is depicted in the book. All the women protagonists are strong characters, but not necessarily so in a rebellious way. I loved the multifarious aspects of feminism depicted by the stories.
Where the anthology could have worked better for me:
⚠ Quite a few of the stories have Yiddish words, but most didn’t hamper my understanding. At the same time, a glossary would have been helpful.
⚠ The author bios and the year in which the story was first published are mentioned in a separate section at the end of the book. I would have preferred the contributor bios to be included at the end of their specific story, especially as the 44 stories have been selected from over two hundred that Lilith magazine has published over 45 years. Having an idea of when the story was first published would have given a better understanding of the trouble faced by the protagonist then.
⚠ I don’t prefer anthologies with more than 20 stories as they get saturating after a while, and even makes progress a bit slow-going. This is a personal preference and not a shortcoming of the book per se.
As always, I gave the stories individual ratings, and most of them reached/crossed the 3 star mark. Mentioning all these would be too extensive a list, so here are my top favourites with 4.5-5 stars each.
⭐ The New World - Esther Singer Kreitman: The very first story of the book, and it left me speechless!
⭐ A Wedding in Persia - Gina Barkhordar Nahai: One of the few truly happy stories of the book.
⭐ News to Turn the World - Katie Singer: The emotions in this one, wow!
⭐ My Daughter's Boyfriends - Penny Jackson: Loved the progressions and the ending.
(All the above are stories from the ‘Transitions’ section: it was my favourite section of the entire book, with each tale being impactful.)
⭐ The Wedding Photographer's Assistant - Ilana Stanger-Ross: Absolutely did not go in the direction I thought it would.
⭐ Probabilities - Elizabeth Edelglass: Enjoyed the relationship conundrum in this one.
⭐ Lot's Wife - Michal Lemberger: A twist on the Biblical tale. Lot’s wife gets her due in this tale!
⭐ Zhid - Yona Zeldis McDonough: Quite extensive and layered for a short work.
⭐ Ironing - Sarah Seltzer: Ah, the problems of teenage life and first crushes. Not a sweet story though!
⭐ Flight - Phyllis Carol Agins: Poignant!
All in all, the quality of the stories and the writing makes this a collection to be savoured over a period of time than to be gulped in a go. Definitely recommended to short fiction lovers, regardless of gender or culture.
3.7 stars, based on the average of my ratings for each story.
My thanks to Ms. Olivia McCoy for a complimentary copy of “Frankly Feminist: Short Stories by Jewish Women from Lilith Magazine”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.
———————————————
Connect with me through:
My Blog | The StoryGraph | Facebook | Twitter show less
In 1946, Anne Bishop is enrolled in Vassar and is eager to be accepted by her peers. She is wary of Virginia Worthington, the ringleader of a group who is quick to find fault with others, especially Jews, whom she disparages as "devious." Virginia takes special delights in badmouthing a Jewish undergraduate, Delia Goldhush, who fled with her father from France to escape the Nazis. Delia appears to be indifferent to the fact that she is shunned by most of her classmates. Anne is torn, because show more she has kept the fact that she is Jewish a secret. Although she would like to befriend Delia, who is stylish, intelligent, and self-possessed, Anne does not have the courage to endanger her own social standing.
"One of Them," by Kitty Zeldis has some fine descriptive writing and features two likeable heroines. Delia and Anne, in separate chapters, movingly reveal their anguish, regrets, and hopes for the future. Aside from these plusses, this is a somewhat cliched novel in which most of the secondary characters lack nuance. Virginia is a one-dimensional snob. Anne's father, now deceased, was a wonderful man whom she misses daily. Delia's parents, Simon and Sophie are, for the most part, self-centered and immature. When Delia and Simon flee to America, Sophie does not join them. She disappears and her husband and daughter have no idea if she is alive and, if so, where she has gone.
Zeldis's prose and dialogue are, at times, heavy-handed, and the story is riddled with melodramatic elements. There are eventful sojourns in Paris and Palestine, and efforts at healing old relationships and at embarking on new ones. "One of Them" deals with religious prejudice, personal growth, and the reluctance of some individuals to forgive those who have wronged them. Although this work of historical fiction holds our interest, it would have been more compelling had the writing style been more polished and subtle. show less
"One of Them," by Kitty Zeldis has some fine descriptive writing and features two likeable heroines. Delia and Anne, in separate chapters, movingly reveal their anguish, regrets, and hopes for the future. Aside from these plusses, this is a somewhat cliched novel in which most of the secondary characters lack nuance. Virginia is a one-dimensional snob. Anne's father, now deceased, was a wonderful man whom she misses daily. Delia's parents, Simon and Sophie are, for the most part, self-centered and immature. When Delia and Simon flee to America, Sophie does not join them. She disappears and her husband and daughter have no idea if she is alive and, if so, where she has gone.
Zeldis's prose and dialogue are, at times, heavy-handed, and the story is riddled with melodramatic elements. There are eventful sojourns in Paris and Palestine, and efforts at healing old relationships and at embarking on new ones. "One of Them" deals with religious prejudice, personal growth, and the reluctance of some individuals to forgive those who have wronged them. Although this work of historical fiction holds our interest, it would have been more compelling had the writing style been more polished and subtle. show less
A really lovely story about three women and how families are created. Catherine, a young wife who desperately wants a child, finds her path intertwining with Bea, a retired madam turned businesswoman, and Alice, a talented seamstress. I particularly loved the character of Bea, who manages to make the best of each downturn in her life, and possesses a graciousness worth aspiring to. Overall, this novel makes for a satisfying story with conclusion that provides the characters with their own show more sort of happiness. show less
One morning in 1947, Eleanor Moskowitz is on her way to a job interview when two taxicabs collide on a Manhattan street. Eleanor, riding in one, suffers a mild injury, though she’s more upset at missing her interview. But the passenger in the other taxi, Patricia Bellamy, insists on bringing Eleanor to her Park Avenue home and tending to her.
As it happens, Patricia’s thirteen-year-old daughter, Margaux, needs a tutor, and Eleanor has teaching experience and a Vassar degree. More show more importantly, Margaux takes to her instantly, as she has to no other person besides her parents and her mother’s brother, her Uncle Tom. As an angry, whiny child suffering a disability — she had polio and walks with a cane — she normally dislikes everyone on sight, so the connection to Eleanor means something to Patricia.
Trouble is, Eleanor’s Jewish, and Patricia’s an anti-Semite — the genteel sort, to be sure, but her husband, Wynn, is louder and more pointed about it. In fact, he’s louder and more pointed about everything, a drunken boor with roving eyes and hands. But the Bellamys hire Eleanor anyway, because Margaux likes her, and they’re desperate for someone to get through to their daughter.
But Eleanor has her doubts too. As her mother says, these prospective employers are “not our kind,” and the newly hired tutor feels intimidated by their wealth, apparent ease, and, well, perfection, observable even in the building where they live, only three blocks from her own.
Zeldis has New York down — the clothing styles, social mores, scenery, and, most germane, workplace anti-Semitism. The author has a gift for the unexpected, the essence of tension, so that even when the plot seems predictable, events don’t turn out quite the way you think. I also like Zeldis’s knack for getting tremendous mileage out of a simple situation that’s actually very complicated, especially once Patricia’s charming, individualist brother happens on the scene and hits it off with Eleanor right away.
The Bellamys’ prejudice lurks behind every interaction, as if the elephant in the room were trumpeting loudly, except they try not to hear it. It’s the problem that simply won’t go away, and Zeldis resists any temptation at easy fixes. For the most part, until the last quarter of the novel, the plot unfolds naturally, with no apparent guiding hand.
Where Not Our Kind falls short, I think, lies in the characters, especially the men. Wynn is a cartoon; Zeldis belatedly announces his merits, trying to mitigate his villainy, but you don’t see them. Likewise, though Tom’s charming, he’s elusive, and though I can see Eleanor admire his ease and wish she had it, and that she soaks up his kindness and sensitivity, that’s different from love. I like Patricia and her daughter, who seem real, and Eleanor’s mother, Irina, who can observe that she’s unhappy about decisions Eleanor has made, but that unhappiness isn’t fatal.
The heroine’s another story. I sympathize with Eleanor, but once I finished the book, I tried to remember her flaws and couldn’t. She’s unsure of herself and a little envious, but those hardly count, and she seems remarkably self-possessed, seldom at a loss for the words she needs to stick up for herself. She grows toward feminism without using the term, a worthy theme and apt for the time, but I find Patricia more rounded.
Further, Eleanor’s Jewishness is entirely cultural, and though many novelists draw such characters, I often suspect that they do so merely for the inconvenience that observance causes in the workaday world, or because they’re not confident they can do otherwise. Zeldis plainly can; late in the book, Eleanor recoils inwardly at pork on a plate. She could have, should have done that throughout the narrative—not necessarily as strongly, just to acknowledge her difference, her otherness, which she notes in many other ways.
Finally, Not Our Kind, despite its marvelous descriptions of clothing or architecture, doesn’t feel like 1947. There’s no sense of relief after a war, or even that there was a war, though we’re told that Wynn didn’t fight, and that Patricia lost a brother. There’s nothing about popular culture, politics (as in anti-Communist hysteria, whose roots lay in anti-Semitism), or other goings-on — surprising, given that Gentleman’s Agreement, a movie about covert anti-Semitism, came out that year. show less
As it happens, Patricia’s thirteen-year-old daughter, Margaux, needs a tutor, and Eleanor has teaching experience and a Vassar degree. More show more importantly, Margaux takes to her instantly, as she has to no other person besides her parents and her mother’s brother, her Uncle Tom. As an angry, whiny child suffering a disability — she had polio and walks with a cane — she normally dislikes everyone on sight, so the connection to Eleanor means something to Patricia.
Trouble is, Eleanor’s Jewish, and Patricia’s an anti-Semite — the genteel sort, to be sure, but her husband, Wynn, is louder and more pointed about it. In fact, he’s louder and more pointed about everything, a drunken boor with roving eyes and hands. But the Bellamys hire Eleanor anyway, because Margaux likes her, and they’re desperate for someone to get through to their daughter.
But Eleanor has her doubts too. As her mother says, these prospective employers are “not our kind,” and the newly hired tutor feels intimidated by their wealth, apparent ease, and, well, perfection, observable even in the building where they live, only three blocks from her own.
Zeldis has New York down — the clothing styles, social mores, scenery, and, most germane, workplace anti-Semitism. The author has a gift for the unexpected, the essence of tension, so that even when the plot seems predictable, events don’t turn out quite the way you think. I also like Zeldis’s knack for getting tremendous mileage out of a simple situation that’s actually very complicated, especially once Patricia’s charming, individualist brother happens on the scene and hits it off with Eleanor right away.
The Bellamys’ prejudice lurks behind every interaction, as if the elephant in the room were trumpeting loudly, except they try not to hear it. It’s the problem that simply won’t go away, and Zeldis resists any temptation at easy fixes. For the most part, until the last quarter of the novel, the plot unfolds naturally, with no apparent guiding hand.
Where Not Our Kind falls short, I think, lies in the characters, especially the men. Wynn is a cartoon; Zeldis belatedly announces his merits, trying to mitigate his villainy, but you don’t see them. Likewise, though Tom’s charming, he’s elusive, and though I can see Eleanor admire his ease and wish she had it, and that she soaks up his kindness and sensitivity, that’s different from love. I like Patricia and her daughter, who seem real, and Eleanor’s mother, Irina, who can observe that she’s unhappy about decisions Eleanor has made, but that unhappiness isn’t fatal.
The heroine’s another story. I sympathize with Eleanor, but once I finished the book, I tried to remember her flaws and couldn’t. She’s unsure of herself and a little envious, but those hardly count, and she seems remarkably self-possessed, seldom at a loss for the words she needs to stick up for herself. She grows toward feminism without using the term, a worthy theme and apt for the time, but I find Patricia more rounded.
Further, Eleanor’s Jewishness is entirely cultural, and though many novelists draw such characters, I often suspect that they do so merely for the inconvenience that observance causes in the workaday world, or because they’re not confident they can do otherwise. Zeldis plainly can; late in the book, Eleanor recoils inwardly at pork on a plate. She could have, should have done that throughout the narrative—not necessarily as strongly, just to acknowledge her difference, her otherness, which she notes in many other ways.
Finally, Not Our Kind, despite its marvelous descriptions of clothing or architecture, doesn’t feel like 1947. There’s no sense of relief after a war, or even that there was a war, though we’re told that Wynn didn’t fight, and that Patricia lost a brother. There’s nothing about popular culture, politics (as in anti-Communist hysteria, whose roots lay in anti-Semitism), or other goings-on — surprising, given that Gentleman’s Agreement, a movie about covert anti-Semitism, came out that year. show less
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Statistics
- Works
- 54
- Also by
- 2
- Members
- 12,596
- Popularity
- #1,855
- Rating
- 3.9
- Reviews
- 199
- ISBNs
- 275
- Languages
- 8
- Favorited
- 4