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dooo's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
wwatts1734's review against another edition
4.0
I have always been a big fan of Herman Wouk, so when I came across this novel, I had to read it. It is a fantastic account of a young Jewish man growing up in 1920s Brooklyn, and then attending college and beginning his career in Radio in 1930s Manhattan. This is a semi-autobiographical novel of Wouk's life, although with some obvious differences. The scenes of growing up in New York are juxtaposed with the main character's later life in the White House of the 1970s, working under an un-named president who obviously represents Nixon.
The story is beautiful in that it takes faith, the family and the neighborhood seriously. Wouk does not whine and moan about growing up as a Jew in an ethnic neighborhood. He writes lovingly about the faith of his family and his childhood and implies that he never really gave it up, although he rebelled against it in his later youth. As he attended college and began his career, his life left the Jewish neighborhood and he started to live and work among gentiles and secular Jews. Wouk describes the struggles that go along with that beautifully. The name of the novel, "Inside Outside", refers to the life of a Jew, who has his "inside" life, with his traditions, the synagogue, his Jewish name, etc., and also his "outside" life, with his secular career, his gentile name and his secular education. Wouk describes how his characters balance the inside and the outside, how he had a romance with a gentile girl who never really got the inside part of the main character's life, to the point that when she realized how deep his Jewish roots really were, she realized that she could never really pursue a serious relationship with him. The characters in this novel, as they are in all of Wouk's novels, are deep and very real. You really feel as though you know them by the end of the novel.
The only drawback that I saw to this novel was the back and forth drawn between the childhood/young adult phases of the life and the 1970s. It is a bit confusing for the reader to finish a chapter about Yiddish in the Jewish school and then launch immediately into the Nixon White House in the next chapter. Perhaps Wouk wanted to draw out the contrast for the reader, but to me it was confusing. Wouk's description of the Yom Kippur War and the response of the Nixon Administration in supplying Israel is very compelling. We often forget that, despite his shortcomings, Nixon may have saved Israel in those days. Wouk obviously believes it.
I would highly recommend this novel to anyone who likes a good coming of age story or who would like to read a novel about a Jewish child growing up.
The story is beautiful in that it takes faith, the family and the neighborhood seriously. Wouk does not whine and moan about growing up as a Jew in an ethnic neighborhood. He writes lovingly about the faith of his family and his childhood and implies that he never really gave it up, although he rebelled against it in his later youth. As he attended college and began his career, his life left the Jewish neighborhood and he started to live and work among gentiles and secular Jews. Wouk describes the struggles that go along with that beautifully. The name of the novel, "Inside Outside", refers to the life of a Jew, who has his "inside" life, with his traditions, the synagogue, his Jewish name, etc., and also his "outside" life, with his secular career, his gentile name and his secular education. Wouk describes how his characters balance the inside and the outside, how he had a romance with a gentile girl who never really got the inside part of the main character's life, to the point that when she realized how deep his Jewish roots really were, she realized that she could never really pursue a serious relationship with him. The characters in this novel, as they are in all of Wouk's novels, are deep and very real. You really feel as though you know them by the end of the novel.
The only drawback that I saw to this novel was the back and forth drawn between the childhood/young adult phases of the life and the 1970s. It is a bit confusing for the reader to finish a chapter about Yiddish in the Jewish school and then launch immediately into the Nixon White House in the next chapter. Perhaps Wouk wanted to draw out the contrast for the reader, but to me it was confusing. Wouk's description of the Yom Kippur War and the response of the Nixon Administration in supplying Israel is very compelling. We often forget that, despite his shortcomings, Nixon may have saved Israel in those days. Wouk obviously believes it.
I would highly recommend this novel to anyone who likes a good coming of age story or who would like to read a novel about a Jewish child growing up.
auntieg0412's review against another edition
I'm a little bored with this book, but it could just be my mood. I'm putting it aside to try again later.
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