Reviews

The Netanyahus: An Account of a Minor and Ultimately Even Negligible Episode in the History of a Very Famous Family by Joshua Cohen

Only show reviews with written explanations

olga_vino's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional funny informative reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

siobhanward's review against another edition

Go to review page

reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

NYT Notable Books 2021: 15/100

With everything happening in the world this was a bit of a weird read. While it was very much not pro-Netanyahu (Cohen makes every single member of the family completely unlikeable, right to the end of the book), it was still weird to be reading a fictionalized account of this particular family. I don't know what words will get this review removed or blocked, so hopefully it's clear what I'm trying to say... Anyway, even if this book were about totally random people, it was still not a good book. For the most part it was boring and when it wasn't boring, it was deeply uncomfortable. I just didn't care about anyone, whether they were made out to be likeable or not and it felt very long for a short book.

jaclyncrupi's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

Last week Joshua Cohen went and won the @pulitzerprizes for fiction with a book I had not heard of. The last book of his I read was Book of Numbers. Anyway all that is to say this was surprising. The Pulitzer is probably my favourite prize. The Netanyahus tells the comic account of Harold Bloom, reborn here as Ruben Blum, hosting Benzion Netanyahu (father of Benjamin) as he interviews for a university academic position. Cohen had heard about this from Bloom himself and transformed it into inventive and bold fiction. So much about this book should not work and yet against all odds it does. There is so much here about Jewish identity and politics that I’m sure I missed some of it but feel like I still learnt a lot. Cohen is an unmatched prose stylist and I delighted in his stylistic acrobatics. This is not the kind of book you love, it’s the kind of book you admire and appreciate. Cohen’s intelligence is impressive and his ironic and droll reimagining of this moment in time is something to behold.