on Jews and Fantasy Literature
Once upon a time—in 2006 to be exact—the Israeli writer Shimon Adaf published a children’s fantasy titled Ha-lev ha-kavur (The Buried Heart). The book tells the story of two tweens, the boy Emir Mor-Tal and the girl Talia Pinto, who live in the sleepy development town of Mavo Yam in southern Israel. Emir’s terribly ordinary … Continue reading Shimon Adaf’s Postmodern Fantasy, pt. 2
The Israeli writer Shimon Adaf turned 50 this summer. If no longer a wunderkind—in his 20s he had already won recognition for his first books, wrote lyrics for major Israeli rock musicians, co-founded a literary journal, and became an editor at a prominent publishing house—he remains an academic favorite (and university lecturer himself), considered by … Continue reading Shimon Adaf’s Postmodern Fantasy, pt. 1
Two Jewish fantasy novels, one set in an Eastern Europe of demons and death, the other a time travel romance in which a Tel Aviv hipster falls for a 13th-century Crusader. Read the full review at the Jewish Review of Books.
To answer that question means confronting some hard truths not only about Jewish graphic novels in particular but about graphic novels in general. Read the full essay at Mosaic.
My fantasy reading this month included Jewish shape-shifters and "Pharisees," Michael Moorcock and Rudyard Kipling, and a new Israeli novel for young readers. Read the essay at the Jewish Review of Books.
And how it compares with a Jewish American anthology. Read the full review at Mosaic.
New books by Maya Arad and Galit Dahan Carlibach portray Israelis making their way as best they can in America and in life. Read the full essay at the Jewish Review of Books.
Two new novels offer angles of vision into Jewish experience in the (pre- or non-Israeli) parts of the modern Middle East. Read the full essay at Mosaic.
"Common themes exist among some if not all of these books: the fluidity of identity in our social media world, the nature of Israeli identity more specifically and whether it is something to be sought in the ancient past or the far future, escape from the body whether via technology or death, the power of … Continue reading Out-of-Body Experiences: Recent Israeli Science Fiction and Fantasy
Judas, the latest novel by Amos Oz, is ostensibly an allegory about both the state of Israel and the betrayal of Jesus. However, at its heart it seems to be about the literary reputation of Amos Oz. Read the full essay at Mosaic.
investigations and fantasies 