A review by littlemiao
This Is My God by Herman Wouk

informative reflective

3.0

There is a lot I like about this book as an overview of Judaism, and as a snapshot of American Jewry in the 1950s. Unfortunately, the language and attitudes are dated to the extent that it serves as a painful distraction. Ableism, homophobia, and pejorative references to “primitive” peoples abound. Wouk describes Egyptian religion as “a foul tangle of idolatry - the rites were obscene, the myths childish.” As the child of an Egyptologist I can say unequivocally that this is untrue, nor is it necessary to make these claims in order to show the context from which Jews emerged.

The book is dedicated to his grandfather, Rabbi Mendel Leib Levine. The reminiscences he shares of his grandfather’s instruction, attitudes, and experience are the most interesting part of the book, though they are merely side notes to the whole. The endnotes, two hours at the end of the book, were as or more interesting than the main text. In particular, I appreciated his brief critique of Wellhausen and the documentary hypothesis. “Literary analysis is not a scientific method.”

Nearly seventy years later, there is still relevance to Wouk’s call for parents to give their children a solid Jewish education: “Most people lose their Jewishness because they have never had a chance to get a grip on it.”

All in all, it isn’t a book I can recommend as a general overview of Judaism because it is so solidly set in the 1950s, and because of the offensive language. The audiobook narrator mispronounces words, which detracts from the reading experience. But as someone who appreciates Wouk’s novels, I did find this book to be a worthwhile read.