Reviews tagging 'Antisemitism'

In Polen lag een sjtetl by Max Gross

9 reviews

libraryfrog's review against another edition

4.5

Very excellent story telling and insight. Dark and gritty, honest and doesn’t shy away from showing the problematic aspects of many aspects of society both Jewish and goyish. Definitely modern Sholem Aleichem vibes, I really appreciated the nods to Yiddish storytelling. Worth the read because it makes you think and tells a winding story you won’t forget. I read it in smaller chunks because it is heavy. 

(All the content warnings for this one, just all of them, including many uses of the G word for Romani people, which doesn't have a specific indicator here.) 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Genocide, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Antisemitism, Trafficking, Religious bigotry, and War

Minor: Drug abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, and Kidnapping

tlaynejones's review against another edition

slow-paced

4.0

I alternated between thinking this was an easy five star read, to thinking I’d resent even giving it a three star rating. Back and forth. There is a great story here, it just meandered too much at times. The author included a lot of side stories, recollections, and layers of perspective. These were all interesting, but when added together they slowed the pace and distracted. 
I also wasn’t thrilled with the portrayal of women. This is harder to critique because of the portrayal of a culture I don’t know much about, but it left me feeling frustrated. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Rape, Violence, Antisemitism, Trafficking, and Classism

sarah984's review against another edition

informative reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

The voice in this is super fun and parts of it were genuinely affecting (I loved the story about the "heroic" census taker, and the schism in the town between the two Rabbis who had heard the story of the Holocaust as children was devastating). The book was way too long, though, with a lot of wasted page time, a pointless ending, and terrible writing about women.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Misogyny, Forced institutionalization, and Antisemitism

Moderate: Ableism, Child abuse, Confinement, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Stalking

Minor: Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Rape, Islamophobia, Medical content, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail

rory1387's review against another edition

challenging emotional relaxing slow-paced

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

4.0

[Yankel] had a marvelous time ruinin' everything 
(Taylor Swift, "The last great American dynasty")

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Toxic relationship, and Antisemitism

Moderate: Sexual harassment

Minor: Hate crime and Sexual violence

naomihorn's review against another edition

dark emotional funny reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Violence, and Antisemitism

very vivid gas chamber scene

readingrainbot's review against another edition

challenging dark funny sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Antisemitism, Trafficking, and Grief

milosci's review against another edition

adventurous tense slow-paced

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

4.5

I love a good work of Jewish fiction, especially one like this that connects our real present to what-could-have-been. That being said, there were parts of this book where I had to backtrack thinking I missed a few pages, because sometimes it felt some pretty significant things were handwaved, and large chunks of time went unaccounted for to move the plot along a little faster. The ending blew me away, however, and I found it difficult to articulate to my non-Jewish friends just how much it slapped me in the heart. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Sexual content and Antisemitism

adriennne's review against another edition

funny lighthearted medium-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Genocide, and Antisemitism

Moderate: Trafficking

sarahwarr's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Antisemitism

Moderate: Domestic abuse and Sexual content