First ‘Jewish Review of Books’ Drops
A new literary quarterly
February 23, 2010
The Jewish Review of Books just published its inaugural issue, and the new quarterly journal looks to be worth bookmarking. In name, content, and even look, its clear inspiration is the New York Review of Books; like that venerable publication, it consists of extended essays on books and ideas by leading intellectual lights. Only, you know, it’s all Jewish.
Some notable pieces from the Spring 2010 number:
• Tablet Magazine book critic Adam Kirsch reviews 36 Arguments for the Existence of God, a new novel from Rebecca Newberger Goldstein, who is also the author of Nextbook Press’s Betraying Spinoza (got all that?).
• Hillel Halkin—author of Nextbook Press’s brand-spankin’-new biography of Yehuda Halevi—considers a new American Orthodox siddur.
• Ron Rosenbaum discusses Bob Dylan as an explicitly Jewish figure.
• Michael Weingrad interrogates why, amid a sea of Christian allegories, there are few if any good Jewish-inspired fantasy novels.
• Harvey Pekar and Tara Seibel offer a graphic review of comic artist R. Crumb’s Book of Genesis.
Marc Tracy is a staff writer at The New Republic, and was previously a staff writer at Tablet. He tweets @marcatracy.
#36 Arguments for the Existence of God
#Adam Kirsch
#Betraying Spinoza
#Bob Dylan
#Genesis
#Harvey Pekar
#Hillel Halkin
#Jewish Review of Books
#Michael Weingrad
#Narnia
#New York Review of Books
#Nextbook Press
#R. Crumb
#Rebecca Newberger Goldstein
#Ron Rosenbaum
#Tablet Magazine
#Tara Seibel
#Tolkien
#Yehuda Halevi
