I’ve said before that I don’t really get Jewish-American literature, and Henry Roth’s Call It Sleep
The protagonist is David Schearl, a perpetually terrified boy who, after arriving as an infant in the prologue, is eight years old at the start of the first section and eleven at the end. He has a vivid imagination, usually for the worse, is afraid of everything, and engages in incoherent internal monologues whose style I imagine is ripped straight from Ulysses. (They were reminiscent of Döblin’s Berlin Alexanderplatz, which supposedly took the technique from Joyce’s novel.) His father is a violent man who can’t keep a job because he does things like attack co-workers with an axe. His mother coddles him and tries to protect him from his father. His aunt comes to live with them for a few months, runs her mouth (not without justification), and ends up feuding with David’s father.
I look for a consistent plot to carry me through any novel, but Call It Sleep offers the thinnest of threads. In the final 60-70 pages, Roth finally gives us a story, a question about David’s parentage and the true pasts of both of his parents, leading to a confrontation and an accident that may have had some deeper symbolic meaning, but again, it was lost on me. While we’re waiting for something to happen, we have chapter upon chapter of David’s time in Hebrew school, or hanging around the other Jewish kids in his neighborhood. As a slice of life in a short story, it would be interesting, but as a novel, it’s a weak foundation. It might be that my own life experiences are too far away from those of the protagonists in novels like Call It Sleep, Herzog
Next up: I’m halfway through Dave Eggers’ You Shall Know Our Velocity!
I feel the same way about Jewish-American lit, too. Well, partially. I didn’t care for _Portnoy’s Complaint_, and I didn’t get Joseph Heller’s _God Knows_, which was just too full of references to Jewish scripture for me to understand.
Phillip Roth’s _American Pastoral_, while also about a Jewish protagonist, was excellent, however, so perhaps you should check that out.
_You Shall Know Our Velocity!_ is decent, though nothing near as good as _A Heartbreaking Work_.
You have to know Jewish people intimately to understand their experience. Maybe a couple of Jewish friends would help — is that problematic for you? If you didn’t care for Portnoy’s complaint, you don’t get the Jewish culture. Again, make some friends.
Well, I grew up in New York, one of my closest friends from childhood (since the 4th grade) is Jewish, my wife worked at a JCC for a few years … I mean, this sounds like the “some of my best friends are (insert ethnicity)” defense, but I don’t think lack of Jewish friends or lack of knowledge of or respect for Jewish culture is a problem.
I read God Knows for leisure during college. I didn’t love it – it pales next to Catch-22 – but I appreciated much of the humor, not least the part where he calls Bathsheba a J.A.P.
Yeah, Keith. Didn’t you know that just by making a few more friends you’ll be able to understand an entire sub-genre of literature?
Not understand an entire subgenre of literature, Jose. Certainly, I wouldn’t call it a sub-genre. A little disparing on your part. Simply put, you need to be emersed in the Jewish culture to understand it. Having some Jewish friends is merely a suggestion if you wanted to begin to understand what it is to be “Jewish.” I guess you have to be Jewish or married to one to understand, or really have grown up in a Jewish neighborhood, enjoying the diversity, and not being anti-semitic.
Andy I think you meant the following: disparaging; immersed… and i think you are wrong on your claims
I feel the same way about female protagonists. I often struggle to identify with them and thus lose my interest in the book. I have plenty of female friends and have been in many close relationships with woman, but I simply don’t identify with the characters. The exception may be Hornby’s “How to Be Good”, but that was penned by a man and the protagonist was decidedly male-brained. This is not an indictment of female writers or female characters, just a personal preference. One of my favorite books/characters is “Song of Solomon” and Macon Dead, penned by a female, but one talented enough to create a character who was unique and distinct from her. Unfortunately, most lesser authors often end up writing semi-autobiographically, in my experience.
I wrote that at 12 at night after bailing water out of a flooded basement. No need to be snippy Francis, get a LIFE and I don’t need a spelling lesson from someone who makes a job of writing on this blog!!!!!!!!Maybe you should stop criticisng others and look inward. That will help unless you are as shallow as you seem. I thought I would enjoy this, NOT
Andy, I think it is you need to look inward. Please review your line ” is that problematic for you.” Seems like you were picking a fight, not offering constructive criticism. And I agreed with Francis that you are wrong on your claims. Keith gave his honest thoughts on a book. There have been several books he has not liked. There is a big difference between a polite disagreement and what you are doing. And how are we supposed to know you were bailing water out of a flooded basement?
Andy, it also seemed a little like you were accusing Keith of anti-Semitism (“I guess you have to be Jewish or married to one to understand, or really have grown up in a Jewish neighborhood, enjoying the diversity, and not being anti-semitic.”
As a Jew, I can tell you there are few things that bother me more than other Jews making baseless or wide-sweeping claims of anti-Semitism. If that’s not what you were going for, okay, but next time, you need to be more clear in how you say things. If you were implying anti-Semitism, I’d say that’s entirely inappropriate and in light of Keith’s words, completely baseless.
Well, I’m sorry for offending you Andy. However I think you made a couple more baseless claims in your last post: you claim I was snippy, however my intention and tone implied nothing of the sort. I was just being helpful to elucidate your post for myself and others. Second, You claim I need a life… hardly, I have a wonderful wife, a nice family, plenty of friends, and a life spent largely studying and doing what I love (I’m a PhD candidate in Ancient Judaism) combined with traveling to exotic locales for personal enrichment. Third, you claim I make a job of writing on this blog. It’s difficult to make that argument based on anything outside of fantasy. I do write a comment here or there, but haven’t in a while. Further I have only posted under my nickname (Fran) previously, so there is no way you could tell if I was a constant contributor here or not. Fourth, you claim you don’t need a spelling lesson from anyone, I think you proved you do with your post above. Lastly, I constantly criticize myself as well as others on shallow as well as deep subjects, which leads me to believe I am not superficial. However your judgment based on my brief post is a great example of irony.
I’m calling for an immediate cease-fire. Let’s get back to a discussion of Call It Sleep or other books in the genre.
I did like that Bathsheba line.
I think maybe the Catch-22 comparisons might ultimately be what did it in. It’s hard to compare. That’s why I didn’t read Closing Time. I’d heard it was nothing compared to the original.
Oh well, some authors are just one-hit wonders.
Keith, I’m still waiting to hear what you thought of ‘The Last Lecture’
As a Roth fan, although I am two generations younger, I can appreciate and understand the themes. You don’t need to know anyone Jewish or be married to anyone Jewish, all you need is a sense of Jewish history. As with Bellow, the themes aren’t always Jewish themes, but often simply immigrant or class themes. Bellow’s Augie March is a good example of this. To see the focus on class, Goodbye Columbus stands out.
Keith, if you are ever want to give Roth another chance, avoid Operation Shylock at all costs. It is excellent, but after reading your review above you will hate it. I would look at American Pastoral, or perhaps The Plot Against America.
Keith, I am curious what you think of Woody Allen films. If you like Annie Hall, Manhattan, Hannah…you should give P. Roth another chance.
Andrew: No answer for you. Haven’t read it or seen it, don’t really plan to.
Would one really characterize Woody Allen films as “Jewish Cinema”? His films, especially the ones you listed, seem to have a wider appeal and breadth of subject matter.
Anyway, The Yiddish Policeman’s Union offered a lot more of interest to me then any of Roth’s books. Very funny.
I’m not sure how more Jewish friends would help you understand Lit, but I can assure you that befriending a few more NYC Jews will help your foodieism. We know the best when we see it and we will let you know it.
Every book from Chabon seems to disenfranchise me more. So I guess I run into the same problem with his work that Keith ran into with Call It Sleep. Roth is a gifted writer but I find myself disinterested midway through most of his books. His male protagonists are almost entirely unlikeable.
Speaking of Jewish foodieism, Keith, what is (was) your favorite bagel shop on Long Island? I’m a partisan of Bagel Boss; I make sure to stock up every time I’m back on the Island.