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A review by katemdixon
The Beautiful Mrs. Seidenman by Andrzej Szczypiorski
medium-paced
4.0
Extremely timely read. I read this slower than I wanted to— I had lots of class readings I had to prioritize in between, so I didn’t get to spend much continuous time with this book, but I still found it deeply affecting, especially for this moment (February 2024).
In the final chapter:
“When Miriam saw for the first time a powerful man with one kick smashing a Palestinian door, it seemed to her that God himself was present at this and was nodding His head in consent. Miriam did not think about the frightened and helpless fedayeen, but about all of savage humanity, which one Jewish kick was finally calling to order… But for Miriam this was a deeply affecting scene, for she realized that she was participating in an absurdity, that *no kick dealt a Palestinian fedayeen will erase centuries of history or constitute reparation*” (271-272).
In the final chapter:
“When Miriam saw for the first time a powerful man with one kick smashing a Palestinian door, it seemed to her that God himself was present at this and was nodding His head in consent. Miriam did not think about the frightened and helpless fedayeen, but about all of savage humanity, which one Jewish kick was finally calling to order… But for Miriam this was a deeply affecting scene, for she realized that she was participating in an absurdity, that *no kick dealt a Palestinian fedayeen will erase centuries of history or constitute reparation*” (271-272).