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nwhyte's review against another edition
4.0
http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/2584699.html
It struck me on reading the stories that both Jewish historical experience and zombie stories tend to converge on urban environments. There's an obvious part-way cross-over with the golem, which one or two of the writers explicitly invoke. The one that particularly grabbed me was the final story, Adam Roberts' "Zayinim", about a young girl fighting off zombies while thinking about philosophy.
It struck me on reading the stories that both Jewish historical experience and zombie stories tend to converge on urban environments. There's an obvious part-way cross-over with the golem, which one or two of the writers explicitly invoke. The one that particularly grabbed me was the final story, Adam Roberts' "Zayinim", about a young girl fighting off zombies while thinking about philosophy.
midnarose's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
1.5
I rated this 1-2 stars
I really wanted to like this anthology, but overall there were to many stories i didn't really enjoy.
I liked the concept of this anthology but out of the stories I think I really enjoyed one , two were ok, two i barely got through because of the writing style and the rest just didn't have enough zombies for me.
I also found some of the stories you needed a previous understanding of Jewish culture, folklore and history to fully understand. This was fine for me but could be a hindrance for others.
I really wanted to like this anthology, but overall there were to many stories i didn't really enjoy.
I liked the concept of this anthology but out of the stories I think I really enjoyed one , two were ok, two i barely got through because of the writing style and the rest just didn't have enough zombies for me.
I also found some of the stories you needed a previous understanding of Jewish culture, folklore and history to fully understand. This was fine for me but could be a hindrance for others.
kukushka's review against another edition
5.0
This is a wonderfully "niche" anthology, for that handful of people interested both in Judaism and zombies. Only two of the stories are the kinds of zombie stories you might find in Best New Zombie Tales, though even those have a very particularly Jewish flavour to them. The rest more explicitly use the undead concept to explore philosophy and Jewish identity.
I found that most of this collection is way over my head, and many terms are used that I'm simply not familiar with. This was clearly not compiled with a gentile audience in mind. That doesn't mean that it isn't worth reading as a gentile, however - even when I don't feel like I really grasped a story, I still found something to enjoy in every single entry.
"Rise" by Rena Rossner
This story is essentially "12 Dancing Princesses," except that the princesses are yeshiva students, and their partners are the corpses of holy rebetzin. While they dance, the zombie partners teach the boys about theology and philosophy. The eroticism and physicality of the learning reminded me quite a bit of some mystic cults.
"The Scapegoat Factory" by Ofir Touche Gafla
The central joke of the story is that all things are temporary - even death. A group of scientists use this assumptions to bring a group of dead back to life as zombies. Only, these zombies can't simply return to their old lives, and they can't die either. At the same time, there's this whole other joke about a company called the "Scapegoat Factory" that supplies willing scapegoats for cold cases, to give the families a sense of closure. The story is very funny, but perhaps has a bit too much going on. The whole Scapegoat Factory bit could be written out entirely without affecting the story much (though, I suppose it would need a new title...).
"Like a Coin Entrusted in Faith" by Shimon Adaf
I think this one went a bit over my head. There are two stories: In one, a woman is chatting with an artificial intelligence when it "dies". Meanwhile, a midwife is delivering demon babies. These two stories are related through the letters that two characters write to each other. It's a bit odd, and I had a hard time separating what was reference and what was fiction.
"Ten for Sodom" by Daniel Polansky
The first real "zombie apocalypse" story in the collection, a lapsed Jew grapples with this faith as he faces the end of the world. While short and much more similar to the zombie stories I'm familiar with, this still offers an interesting and uniquely Jewish (albeit lapsed Jewish) perspective on the genre.
"The Friday People" by Sarah Lotz
The zombies are more ambiguous in this darkly amusing entry. The titular Friday People are the younger generation who meet briefly on their weekly visits to their older relatives - many doing so in the hopes of a future inheritance. Except that their relatives just won't die, no matter what.
Tractate Metim 28A by Benjamin Rosenbaum
A lot of this one went right over my head, but it was still extremely amusing. A group of rabbis argue over matters pertaining to the purity of the undead. I've seen similar types arguments on the internet, and they are just wonderful.
Wiseman's Terror Tales by Anna Tambour
A young man wants to design rockets, but seems destined to design bras instead. The zombies (again, somewhat ambiguous zombies, who seem far more explicitly metaphorical than they usually are) try to persuade him to choose a career. I enjoyed elements of this story, but something about it just didn't grip me. Perhaps because the imagery, that would have worked better as a subtle pattern in a novel-length story, was too condensed, too thrown together. The final reveal went a long way to endear me to the story as a whole, though!
Zayinim by Adam Roberts
The collection ends with another 'typical' zombie story - this time we have some alternate history where Hitler wins WWII and gives everyone except the Jews an immortality drug. When the immortals' minds degrade and they become zombies, the only true humans left are Jews. It's an interesting consent, and a novel spin on an old idea. It didn't hurt that the characters were fairly interesting as well.
I found that most of this collection is way over my head, and many terms are used that I'm simply not familiar with. This was clearly not compiled with a gentile audience in mind. That doesn't mean that it isn't worth reading as a gentile, however - even when I don't feel like I really grasped a story, I still found something to enjoy in every single entry.
"Rise" by Rena Rossner
This story is essentially "12 Dancing Princesses," except that the princesses are yeshiva students, and their partners are the corpses of holy rebetzin. While they dance, the zombie partners teach the boys about theology and philosophy. The eroticism and physicality of the learning reminded me quite a bit of some mystic cults.
"The Scapegoat Factory" by Ofir Touche Gafla
The central joke of the story is that all things are temporary - even death. A group of scientists use this assumptions to bring a group of dead back to life as zombies. Only, these zombies can't simply return to their old lives, and they can't die either. At the same time, there's this whole other joke about a company called the "Scapegoat Factory" that supplies willing scapegoats for cold cases, to give the families a sense of closure. The story is very funny, but perhaps has a bit too much going on. The whole Scapegoat Factory bit could be written out entirely without affecting the story much (though, I suppose it would need a new title...).
"Like a Coin Entrusted in Faith" by Shimon Adaf
I think this one went a bit over my head. There are two stories: In one, a woman is chatting with an artificial intelligence when it "dies". Meanwhile, a midwife is delivering demon babies. These two stories are related through the letters that two characters write to each other. It's a bit odd, and I had a hard time separating what was reference and what was fiction.
"Ten for Sodom" by Daniel Polansky
The first real "zombie apocalypse" story in the collection, a lapsed Jew grapples with this faith as he faces the end of the world. While short and much more similar to the zombie stories I'm familiar with, this still offers an interesting and uniquely Jewish (albeit lapsed Jewish) perspective on the genre.
"The Friday People" by Sarah Lotz
The zombies are more ambiguous in this darkly amusing entry. The titular Friday People are the younger generation who meet briefly on their weekly visits to their older relatives - many doing so in the hopes of a future inheritance. Except that their relatives just won't die, no matter what.
Tractate Metim 28A by Benjamin Rosenbaum
A lot of this one went right over my head, but it was still extremely amusing. A group of rabbis argue over matters pertaining to the purity of the undead. I've seen similar types arguments on the internet, and they are just wonderful.
Wiseman's Terror Tales by Anna Tambour
A young man wants to design rockets, but seems destined to design bras instead. The zombies (again, somewhat ambiguous zombies, who seem far more explicitly metaphorical than they usually are) try to persuade him to choose a career. I enjoyed elements of this story, but something about it just didn't grip me. Perhaps because the imagery, that would have worked better as a subtle pattern in a novel-length story, was too condensed, too thrown together. The final reveal went a long way to endear me to the story as a whole, though!
Zayinim by Adam Roberts
The collection ends with another 'typical' zombie story - this time we have some alternate history where Hitler wins WWII and gives everyone except the Jews an immortality drug. When the immortals' minds degrade and they become zombies, the only true humans left are Jews. It's an interesting consent, and a novel spin on an old idea. It didn't hurt that the characters were fairly interesting as well.
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