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Loading... Jew Boy: A Memoirby Alan Kaufman
   None No current Talk conversations about this book. 1   BookAddict | Apr 1, 2006 |  no reviews | add a review
Jew Boy is Alan Kaufman's riveting memoir of being raised by a Jewish mother who survived the Holocaust. This pioneering masterpiece, the very first memoir of its kind by a member of the Second Generation is Kaufman's coming-of-age account, by turns hilarious and terrifying, written with irreverent humor and poetic introspection. Throughout the course of his memoir, Kaufman touches on the pain, guilt, and confusion that shape the lives and characters of American-born children of Holocaust survivors. Kaufman struggles to comprehend what it means to be Jewish as he deals with the demons haunting his mother and attempts to escape his wretched home life by devoting himself to high school football. He eventually hitchhikes across the country, coming face-to-face with the phantoms he fled. Taking us from the streets of the Bronx to the highways of America, the kibbutzim and Israeli army to personal rebirth in San Francisco, and finally to a final reckoning in Germany, Jew Boy shines with the universal humanity of a brilliant writer embracing the gift of life. Kaufman's fierce passion will leave no reader untouched. No library descriptions found. |
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 Google Books — Loading...GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)811.54Literature English (North America) American poetry 20th Century 1945-1999LC ClassificationRatingAverage: (3.5)
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Wikipedia in English (1)
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The Audition: A sad story of physical and emotional abuse at his mother's hands. A poor family and a mother tormented by her past terror as a survivor of the Holocaust.
The Purple Jew: A funny account of the author's attempt at writing a comic strip called The Purple Jew and his attempt to collect rare comics to one day make him wealthy. Funny and sad at the same time. His angry mother foiled his attempts when she destroyed his comic collection.
Asthma: A recollection of beatings, fantasies, asthma, and the day he was given an injection of adrenaline.
The Death of JFK: A hilarious look at the mind of children during this historical event contrasted by the adult's sorrow and shock.
Dry Goods: The author's mother in debt to the dry goods salesman and his attempt to protect her from embarassment.
Scum: A hilarious account of the author's first sexual self-satisfaction episodes and wet dreams. I learned a lot in this chapter about what it's like for a boy to feel these things and how that evolves.
Bar Mitzvah: The study for Bar Mitzvah, the unhappy shopping trip for a suit, the let down once again of not having a *special* day that other kids take for granted. His realization that he loves his family despite their faults, and there are many of those.
Part 1 was a *can't put it down* book but I wasn't impressed by the following chapters. It was too drawn out and poorly edited. There didn't seem to be really any point to it other than thanking his friend who helped him stop drinking eventually.
Part 1 was sad, funny, frightening, surprising, descriptive, and more. The author had a wonderful way of making the events come alive as though you were there.
I wanted to give Alan Kaufman a hug :)