Scan barcode
A review by coreyarch9
People Love Dead Jews: Reports from a Haunted Present by Dara Horn
challenging
dark
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.0
"What was the point of carrying so much about how people died if one cared so little about how they lived?"
First off, I'm guilty. I was always fascinated by the Holocaust in school or the passover story in church. And not because I actually love dead jews, but because I'm guilty of being exactly who Horn was referring to when she wrote, "Like most people in the world, they had only encountered dead jews. People whose sole attribute was that they had been murdered. And whose murder served a clear purpose, which was to teach us something."
Now, I make a point to read and learn about other religions and cultures, to ask my friends about their experiences and beliefs. But I can not fathom the sheer exhaustion of having every well-known story of somebody who looked like me focusing on death. That mere survival is my greatest accomplishment.
Horn does a great job of laying out that exhaustion and sharing the importance of stories that highlight joy. And she does so with wit and morbid humor that I couldn't get enough of!
First off, I'm guilty. I was always fascinated by the Holocaust in school or the passover story in church. And not because I actually love dead jews, but because I'm guilty of being exactly who Horn was referring to when she wrote, "Like most people in the world, they had only encountered dead jews. People whose sole attribute was that they had been murdered. And whose murder served a clear purpose, which was to teach us something."
Now, I make a point to read and learn about other religions and cultures, to ask my friends about their experiences and beliefs. But I can not fathom the sheer exhaustion of having every well-known story of somebody who looked like me focusing on death. That mere survival is my greatest accomplishment.
Horn does a great job of laying out that exhaustion and sharing the importance of stories that highlight joy. And she does so with wit and morbid humor that I couldn't get enough of!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia, Antisemitism, and Genocide