Inside, Outside

I’ve read numerous works by Herman Wouk and generally been well pleased. On occasion, I’ve encountered what I consider to be masterpieces (Caine Mutiny for example) and this book belongs in that category. Told from the viewpoint of a very religious and educated Jewish advisor to Richard Nixon during the Watergate crisis, this novel examines the advisor’s current life and his background through the use of flashbacks. Both story lines are extremely compelling and the examinations of his early years through anecdotes involving his immigrant Jewish family members (from Minsk and Lithuania) are spellbinding.
I’ve read numerous other novels (some by Wouk) focusing on Jewish characters that were much more difficult to read, due to the show more extensive reference to Jewish culture and Yiddish terminology. That is not the case with this novel. Where cultural disconnects are possible, Wouk goes to great pains to explain them. As a gentile, I found this book remarkably easy to read and understand, even in the deepest recesses of Old World Jewish enclaves.
The title of the book refers to the authors dual life, both “inside” the confines of his religious cocoon and “outside”, in the secular world where his advanced intelligence and education have allowed him to rise to the top of his profession (tax attorney) and into a role in the Nixon administration (despite his Democratic politics). The internal tensions involved in both of these dichotomies are fascinating as they play out through the novel.
Of additional interest are the historical events which provide the backdrops for the novel. The aforementioned Watergate crisis is a constant factor in the author’s “current” life, as is the 1973 Yom Kippur War between Israel and the surrounding Arab states. The Great Depression is a looming force in the flashbacks to his past. All in all, an outstanding novel and one that I highly recommend. show less

My parents have been trying to get me to read this book for years. Each time the book came up I would be told of how they first read it: the copy my dad was reading was falling apart and as he was done with chapters he would hand the pages to my mother as they read before bed. So, after listening to my parents praise the book for so long I finally picked it up. And while I don't like to acknowledge when my parents are right- like most kids, I'm sure!- I loved this novel! Wouk's insight into growing up Jewish in America is right on. While I am not a daughter of immigrant Orthodox parents, I could clearly identify with the main character, David. I enjoyed following David as he grew up and tried to balance the Jewish traditions of his show more family in a non-Jewish society. I also liked how Wouk showed us a guy who was involved with a woman in a difficult relationship- I feel too often books about guys never show the hero in a submissive role in a relationship, while female heroes always seem to land themselves in this position. I also liked how there were memories David had that no one else seemed to remember- or at least not in the same way David did. I liked that bit of reality. Honestly, I could go on and on about this book. Basically, just go out and read it. You will not be disappointed!

FAVORITE QUOTE(S): Lee thrives on her grudges; I guess they generate adrenaline, which is good for her arthritis, and it's free, unlike cortisone, which costs like the devil. // "We're home." Those are perhaps the sweetest words in human speech after "I love you." // Jake was Jewish. He had to be, he an accent like my father's. Anyway, he felt Jewish. I don't know how else to put it. // My public library card, I should explain, was the joy of my life. I had long since read through all the fairy tales and boys' books, and lately had been taking out the fattest books I could find- I guess, to impress the librarians. // A young man traveling with money in his pocket collects girls as a blue serge suit picks up lint. show less

i usually like books about israel and up to this point i've liked books by herman wouk. but this one is a disaster from beginning almost until the end. i hated reading this book, and i hated that it was as long as it was (with type as small as it was) when i was so uninterested. i haven't considered stopping a book before finishing this seriously in a long while. it was a good 450 pages or so before i was even remotely interested in the story, and only remotely at that. i really didn't like the way this was written *at all*, to the point where it ruined the story for me. i'm not sure i would have cared anyway, but this made it a major slog for me.

the story goes between the past and the present, which is 1973, where this jewish democrat show more finds himself working in the nixon administration. so it covers a bit about watergate and the yom kippur war in israel. but most of it (thankfully) is in the past, about 40 years before, as we read the book the narrator is writing about his life, mostly around the time he was in college and after in the mid to late 30's. this is the more interesting part, but really, it's still not anything i cared to read about.

"I am not a describer." he says this on page 445, and i (agree, the narrator wasn't good at it at all) but what in the world is he writing this book for then?? what's a book if not a description of events, of emotions, of life? but it sums up nicely why this book doesn't work at all for me. show less

One of the funniest books I have ever read, a warm family-based insight into Jewish life. Some of the Israel sections I found impenetrable, so not quite a five-star for me, but thoroughly enjoyable nonetheless

I have enjoyed reading many of Herman Wouk's other novels over the course of my lifetime, so I don't understand, when I began reading this specific novel back in 2012, why it bored me to tears by the time I had completed the second chapter.

For reasons I cannot fathom, I found it pedantic, plodding and dull and without even bothering to finish the book I wrote up a harshly judgmental review that could have been interpreted as anti-Semitic. For that I apologize deeply.

Therefore I've decided, thanks to someone who was concerned enough by my 2012 review to reply to it, that I'm going to immediately place a hold on this novel at my local library and reread it again, because this novel deserves a much better review than the one I posted show more originally show less

Fictional account of Jewish immigrants in New York

Good condition. Dust jacket has some creasing and wear along edges and a small tear on front repaired with tape. Some minor discoloration along edges. Pages clean. Binding tight.