Books Archives – Kveller

If you take a look at bookstore shelves and bestseller lists, it seems that readers continue to seek out stories about the Holocaust. This is in no way a bad thing — more people should learn about… the Holocaust, not less. Among recent buzzy Holocaust novels are Julie Orringer's The Flight Portfolio (May 2019), which tells the tale of Varian Fry, who helped thousands of Jews flee occupied Europe and became the first American to be named “Righteous Among the Nations” by Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust Museum. Georgia Hunter’s We Were the Lucky Ones… >> Read More

Books

This New Novel Portrays Illegal Abortions In an Incredibly Honest Way

Emily Burack

Author Myla Goldberg is back with Feast Your Eyes, a beautiful and compelling novel about a female photographer who grapples with being a mom and an artist. The novel is structured as catalogue… notes from an exhibition at New York's Museum of Modern Art. It's a retrospective focused on Lillian, a street photographer; the 118 notes describe the photograph and are written from the perspective of her daughter, interwoven with oral histories from Lillian's friends, lovers, and peers. Set in the 1950s through the early 1970s, Feast Your Eyes is,… >> Read More

Books

This Jewish Mom Is the Mastermind Behind OPI Nail Polish

Arielle Kaplan

Suzi Weiss-Fischmann, 62, used to aggressively bite her nails. It was a chronic, nervous tick, and it had to stop. After all, she was the co-founder and creative director of a global nail polish… company, and chewed up cuticles wasn’t a good look for the woman shaping the beauty industry. This is just one fascinating tidbit from I’m Not Really a Waitress, Weiss-Fischmann’s new book about how she went from a childhood in communist Hungary — where she secretly studied Hebrew with a rabbi — to becoming globally recognized… >> Read More

Books

What It’s Like Raising a Jewish-Indian Kid in Trump’s America

Emily Burack

"Terrifying," is the adjective writer Mira Jacob uses to describe raising a half Indian, half Jewish son in Trump's America in 2019. Her new memoir, Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations, is about… her experiences growing up the daughter of Indian immigrants in Albuquerque, about raising her son, and what happened when she discovered her Jewish in-laws were ardent supporters of Trump. The memoir — told in graphic form — is structured as conversations between Mira and her son, along with conversations between Mira and her family, husband,… >> Read More

Books

The Best New Books by Writers Named Rachel

Emily Burack

Rachel, as we all know, is an über-popular name, especially among Jews. Rachels are everywhere you look! Aside from your inbox — and ours — there's Rachel from Friends, Rachel Zane… from Suits (played by future Duchess Meghan Markle, whose first name is actually — you guessed it — Rachel), Rachel Berry on Glee, and so many more. There's actresses Rachel Bloom, Rachel Weisz, Rachel McAdams, Rachel Bilson... should we keep going? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCblzXcIxeA But there's one more place where we've recently noticed a lot of Rachels: our bookshelves. These… >> Read More

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