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A review by aneides
Beware of God: Stories by Shalom Auslander
4.0
3.5
You don't have to be a lapsed Orthodox Jew to understand and appreciate this book, but I'd imagine it helps. Even the "mostly secular Jew" thing I have going on helps a bit.
I first encountered the work of S. Auslander on This American Life, mostly enjoying his autobiographical stuff, but also (I believe) the story about God being a chicken that appears in this petite volume. Maybe also the one about the hamsters.
This book is much smaller than I had expected, literally: as tall as a mass market paperback, about as wide as a trade, with the larger typeface and margins of a trade. That is to say- it is a very short book. The book comprises fourteen very short stories, many of which read like fables. Or parables. Not a lot of hidden depth there, it's all out in the open. Each story is a hit-and-run, leaving the reader both amused and uncomfortable, but knowing exactly what the discomfort is about. No need to ruminate too much. It's a quick read.
You don't have to be a lapsed Orthodox Jew to understand and appreciate this book, but I'd imagine it helps. Even the "mostly secular Jew" thing I have going on helps a bit.
I first encountered the work of S. Auslander on This American Life, mostly enjoying his autobiographical stuff, but also (I believe) the story about God being a chicken that appears in this petite volume. Maybe also the one about the hamsters.
This book is much smaller than I had expected, literally: as tall as a mass market paperback, about as wide as a trade, with the larger typeface and margins of a trade. That is to say- it is a very short book. The book comprises fourteen very short stories, many of which read like fables. Or parables. Not a lot of hidden depth there, it's all out in the open. Each story is a hit-and-run, leaving the reader both amused and uncomfortable, but knowing exactly what the discomfort is about. No need to ruminate too much. It's a quick read.