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laural444's review against another edition
3.0
It was interesting, and at times sad, but not very memorable for me. The Wig was probably my favorite of the bunch.
beaniebookbagel's review against another edition
4.0
Felt very different from What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank, but both are awesome. I'd love to discuss these in a group or writing class. The endings always leave me wanting some sort of round table.
letyanai's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.75
aksyring's review against another edition
4.0
Much of my appreciation for this book was on the meticulously well-constructed stories. I had to take a step back from the characters, even at times the setting, because they are all - save one, really - set in an Orthodox Jewish lifestyle I cannot pretend to understand. However, the author really did take this foreign lifestyle and make it accesible through storytelling. An average reader should read it in front of an open Google window, and despite this maybe difficult reading, it is worth it in the end.
My favorites were the book's title story, "The Wig", "Reb Kringle", and "In This Way We Are Wise".
In "For the Relief of Unbearable Urges", a husband is desperate to connect (reconnect?) with his distant wife. He goes to his rabbi many times, and he gives advice, but it doesn't work. At the last meeting, the rabbi tells him he must ignore his wife and she will come back to him; but the man says he cannot, because of his "unbearable urges". So, the rabbi gives him a dispensation to see a prostitute. The man does, and, for some reason I cannot fathom, does not use a condom! He tells the prostitute, before intercourse, that it is a sin to spill seed in vain. Well, yes. And it's also a sin to cheat on your wife, even if you get a dispensation, so let's just rack up those sins and go home! Anyway, he gets an STD, and when his wife does return to him, he cannot be with her because of this; he'll have to see a doctor, which means admitting his guilt.
I liked this story a great deal because it makes you think so much. Was the rabbi right? Was the husband right to do it? What about the wife - does she get any blame in this, for turning from her husband? Is God punishing the husband for his sin by giving him and STD? All interesting questions, which could probably be argued many ways.
"The Wig" is one of those stories that is unrelatable, I think, to just about every reader, but still so interesting. It's about a wigmaker who is really depressed - until she sees a delivery man driving down the street and chases after him, offering to buy his hair. She pays $4000 for it, and makes herself a wig, ignoring all her other responsibilities. The man, however, continues coming after her for more and more money, even following her down the street, screaming that she stole his hair. She has to take the wig off and hide it in her purse while she runs from him! The images are just so amazing, vividly ludicrous! I love it.
"Reb Kringle" is about a Jewish man who looks like Santa. His wife makes him dress up as Santa at a department store in order to make more money. He hates this, wants to quit, but she won't let him. On the first day of this season, right before lunch, he gets a boy who asks for toys, but seems like he wants something more. After being prodded, he admits he wants a menorah because his "new dad" won't let him celebrate Hannukah. The Jewish Santa gets so angry he starts screaming, demanding to see the mother. This made me really think about the perversion of religion; Christians (or "Christians"?) put so much into Christmas, but isn't it a little ridiculous? What must other religions think of us? Even, maybe, more devout/orthodox Christians? It's really interesting...
And the last, "In This Way We Are Wise". I liked this one the best because it was the only one I felt close to. The others were so entrenched in an Orthodox space that I felt like, while I enjoyed the writing and creativity, they couldn't mean too much to me, I had too much distance. But this one is about an American Jew, definitely not Orthodox, living in Jerusalem. He knows a great deal about Israel's history, but only the old history. Once there, he experiences the new: bombings. One even gets close to him, outside of his favorite cafe. The author wrote this before 9/11, but it has a resonance to it that is applicable: life goes on for those who survive. You pick up, and you live your days, as close to schedule as you did before. You become world-weary, and maybe in this "after" world, that isn't such a bad thing. This story is also written more accessibly, in first person present, and much of the text is more lyrical, free flowing. I just really enjoyed it.
My favorites were the book's title story, "The Wig", "Reb Kringle", and "In This Way We Are Wise".
In "For the Relief of Unbearable Urges", a husband is desperate to connect (reconnect?) with his distant wife. He goes to his rabbi many times, and he gives advice, but it doesn't work. At the last meeting, the rabbi tells him he must ignore his wife and she will come back to him; but the man says he cannot, because of his "unbearable urges". So, the rabbi gives him a dispensation to see a prostitute. The man does, and, for some reason I cannot fathom, does not use a condom! He tells the prostitute, before intercourse, that it is a sin to spill seed in vain. Well, yes. And it's also a sin to cheat on your wife, even if you get a dispensation, so let's just rack up those sins and go home! Anyway, he gets an STD, and when his wife does return to him, he cannot be with her because of this; he'll have to see a doctor, which means admitting his guilt.
I liked this story a great deal because it makes you think so much. Was the rabbi right? Was the husband right to do it? What about the wife - does she get any blame in this, for turning from her husband? Is God punishing the husband for his sin by giving him and STD? All interesting questions, which could probably be argued many ways.
"The Wig" is one of those stories that is unrelatable, I think, to just about every reader, but still so interesting. It's about a wigmaker who is really depressed - until she sees a delivery man driving down the street and chases after him, offering to buy his hair. She pays $4000 for it, and makes herself a wig, ignoring all her other responsibilities. The man, however, continues coming after her for more and more money, even following her down the street, screaming that she stole his hair. She has to take the wig off and hide it in her purse while she runs from him! The images are just so amazing, vividly ludicrous! I love it.
"Reb Kringle" is about a Jewish man who looks like Santa. His wife makes him dress up as Santa at a department store in order to make more money. He hates this, wants to quit, but she won't let him. On the first day of this season, right before lunch, he gets a boy who asks for toys, but seems like he wants something more. After being prodded, he admits he wants a menorah because his "new dad" won't let him celebrate Hannukah. The Jewish Santa gets so angry he starts screaming, demanding to see the mother. This made me really think about the perversion of religion; Christians (or "Christians"?) put so much into Christmas, but isn't it a little ridiculous? What must other religions think of us? Even, maybe, more devout/orthodox Christians? It's really interesting...
And the last, "In This Way We Are Wise". I liked this one the best because it was the only one I felt close to. The others were so entrenched in an Orthodox space that I felt like, while I enjoyed the writing and creativity, they couldn't mean too much to me, I had too much distance. But this one is about an American Jew, definitely not Orthodox, living in Jerusalem. He knows a great deal about Israel's history, but only the old history. Once there, he experiences the new: bombings. One even gets close to him, outside of his favorite cafe. The author wrote this before 9/11, but it has a resonance to it that is applicable: life goes on for those who survive. You pick up, and you live your days, as close to schedule as you did before. You become world-weary, and maybe in this "after" world, that isn't such a bad thing. This story is also written more accessibly, in first person present, and much of the text is more lyrical, free flowing. I just really enjoyed it.
steveno's review against another edition
4.0
I'm not a fiction person but the short stories are all solid. Even the last story, which is more first-person, slice-of-life than pure fiction, is well-done.
jnassi16's review against another edition
4.0
This book covers a wide range of experiences, from daily life and relationships to bigger events such as war. All of the stories center around Orthodox Judaism/Chassidim. I found the writing engaging. Some stories I enjoyed more than others, but that is the fun part about reading a collection of short stories.
ronanmjdoyle's review against another edition
4.0
Great at its peak, absurdist yarns with a great balance of pith and pathos. Felt a few stories slightly outstayed the welcome, though never much held me up from moving quickly through the book as a whole. Jewish culture and character works really well as the common thread of an otherwise disparate batch.
roulettegirl's review against another edition
3.0
I wasn't quite prepared for this book. I thought it was a collection of humorous short stories (like Dave Sedaris, but more fictional) and that's not it at all. Even the "hilarious" title story is just sad. All these stories are about people grieving, people watching the world change without them, people feeling the constraints of strict religion on their lives. Also, that should be mentioned - every character is Jewish. Which is interesting, and a good theme to wrap a series of stories around. But if you're expecting humor reading about Jewish authors being murdered under Stalin's regime can be a rough surprise.