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A review by lattelibrarian
Dinner at the Center of the Earth by Nathan Englander
5.0
This book surprised me in many ways. I picked this up in our galley section because I'd read some Jewish literature before, and I needed to read more, and I was just beginning to delve into the spy genre in all sorts of media. However, this was unlike any Jewish or spy lit I've ever read before.
Most of the Jewish lit that I've read discusses stereotypes as a result of WWII, but this took a more contemporary twist on those stereotypes as they pertain to Gaza (a subject I'm not totally knowledgeable about, so it was nice to see some insight!). Additionally, most of the spy lit that I've read typically has lots of on-the-run scenes and desperation before salvation. Not the case with this bit of spy literature, so you'll definitely be surprised! Hopefully in a good way--it certainly was for me.
The language of this book was so concise and flowed nicely--so nicely that I could understand it while taking the 5:30 AM subway to work! And, the chapters switched between different times and perspectives all the while being able to provide insight without being confusing! An impressive feat. Or maybe a normal one, and I'm just bad at keeping things straight? Either way, I really enjoyed this book, and would definitely recommend it to somebody who likes to read multicultural lit or spy lit.
Get the full review here!
Most of the Jewish lit that I've read discusses stereotypes as a result of WWII, but this took a more contemporary twist on those stereotypes as they pertain to Gaza (a subject I'm not totally knowledgeable about, so it was nice to see some insight!). Additionally, most of the spy lit that I've read typically has lots of on-the-run scenes and desperation before salvation. Not the case with this bit of spy literature, so you'll definitely be surprised! Hopefully in a good way--it certainly was for me.
The language of this book was so concise and flowed nicely--so nicely that I could understand it while taking the 5:30 AM subway to work! And, the chapters switched between different times and perspectives all the while being able to provide insight without being confusing! An impressive feat. Or maybe a normal one, and I'm just bad at keeping things straight? Either way, I really enjoyed this book, and would definitely recommend it to somebody who likes to read multicultural lit or spy lit.
Get the full review here!