100 Must-Read Works of Jewish Fiction
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While we at the Riot take some time off to rest and catch up on our reading, we’re re-running some of our favorite posts from the last several months. Enjoy our highlight reel, and we’ll be back with new stuff on Tuesday, January 3rd.
This post originally ran July 15, 2016.
“Jewish continuity has always hinged on uttered and written words….ours is not a bloodline but a textline,” say Fania Oz-Salzberger and Amos Oz in their beautiful book, Jews and Words. I am a returnee to the tradition–my great-grandparents left it; I converted back in after seminary. But I’ve always loved books, and, particularly, Jewish literature. The Ozes’ words thrilled through me the first time I read them; maybe that love was something inherent. In any case: reading through the diverse and ever-expanding Jewish literary canon is a natural way to work toward understanding a community that, while comparatively small, is incredibly diverse. This list draws Jewish voices in from all corners of the diaspora, from several continents as well as from Israel itself. The voices on it have different conceptions of what it means to be Jewish; some of these novels embrace the tradition self-consciously, some are more ambivalent about it, and some don’t mention religious traditions at all. If we’re to believe Oz and his daughter: that diversity itself is something of a mitzvah. “Jews,” they say, “display a deeply rooted belief in the power of words to create and re-create reality.” To seek truth, they say, in new ways. One hundred Jewish writers, or writers writing about Jews, on this list: that means at least, what?, 101 understandings of Jewish identity? There’s beauty here, and depth; reverence, and fun. With hope that you find something new–I certainly did, while reaching past my own shelves to find new titles, and with the help of my friend and literary guru, Ethan H.,–and with equal hope that you’ll add your own titles below: here are 100 works of Jewish fiction that, in this Jewish woman’s opinion, should not be passed up. 1. The History of Love, Nicole Krauss 2. The World to Come, Dara Horn 3. The Collected Stories, Grace Paley 4. American Pastoral, Philip Roth 5. The Invisible Bridge, Julie Orringer 6. A Room Where the Star-Spangled Banner Cannot Be Heard, Hideo Levy 7. The Autograph Man, Zadie Smith 8. The Golems of Gotham, Thane Rosenbaum 9. The Believers, Zoe Heller 10. Albina and the Dog-Men, Alejandro Jodorowsky 11. The Liars’ Gospel, Naomi Alderman 12. Isles of the Blind, Robert Rosenberg 13. The Red Book, Deborah Copaken Kogan 14. Septimania, Jonathan Levi 15. 36 Arguments for the Existence of God, Rebecca Newberger Goldstein 16. A Perfect Peace, Amos Oz 17. Adé, Rebecca Walker 18. My Name is Asher Lev, Chaim Potok 19. The Museum of Extraordinary Things, Alice Hoffman 20. The Far Euphrates, Aryeh Lev Stollman 21. Piece of Mind, Michelle Adelman 22. Herzog, Saul Bellow 23. The Messiah of Stockholm, Cynthia Ozick 24. Einstein’s Dreams, Alan Lightman 25. Are You There, God?, It’s Me, Margaret, Judy Blume 26. Yasmine, Eli Amir 27. In Her Shoes, Jennifer Weiner 28. The Sea Beach Line, Ben Nadler 29. Jacob’s Folly, Rebecca Miller 30. The Finkler Question, Howard Jacobson 31. No One Is Here Except All of Us, Ramona Ausubel 32. Super Sad True Love Story, Gary Shteyngart 33. Martha Quest, Doris Lessing 34. Pebble In The Sky, Isaac Asimov 35. The Lost Civilization of Suolucidir, Susan Daitch 36. The Biology of Luck, Jacob M. Appel 37. July’s People, Nadine Gordimer 38. A Blessing on the Moon, Joseph Skibell 39. After Abel, Michal Lemberger 40. These Things Happen, Richard Kramer 41. The Genizah At The House Of Shepher, Tamar Yellen 42. King of Yiddish, Curt Leviant 43. The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry, Gabrielle Zevin 44. The Blue Mountain, Meir Shalev 45. As a Driven Leaf, Milton Steinberg 46. Some Day, Shemi Zarhin 47. Dolly City, Orly Castel-Bloom 48. Motherless Brooklyn, Jonathan Lethem 49. The Luminous Heart of Jonah S.., Gina B. Nahai 50. Enemies, A Love Story, Isaac Bashevis Singer 51. Like A Bride and Like A Mother, Rosa Nissán 52. The Liberated Bride, A. B. Yehoshua 53. Khirbet Khizeh, S. Yizhar 54. Suddenly, A Knock on the Door, Etgar Kerat 55. The Weight of Temptation, Ana María Shua 56. The Ministry of Special Cases, Nathan Englander 57. Gentleman’s Agreement, Laura Hobson 58. To The End of the Land, David Grossman 59. The Red Tent, Anita Diamant 60. The Planets, Sergio Chejfec 61. Let It Be Morning, Sayed Kashua 62. A Guest for the Night, S. Y. Agnon 63. The Seventh Beggar, Pearl Abraham 64. The Journey, H. G. Adler 65. A Scrap of Time, Ida Fink 66. Fatelessness, Imre Kertesz 67. Apples From the Desert, Savyon Liebrecht 68. The Complete Stories, Clarice Lispector 69. Kaaterskill Falls, Allegra Goodman 70. The Yiddish Policemen’s Union, Michael Chabon 71. The Pillar of Salt, Albert Memmi 72. Tevye the Dairyman and Motl the Cantor’s Son, Shalom Aleichem 73. Last Train to Istanbul, Ayse Kulin 74. Contact, Carl Sagan 75. Diary of the Fall, Michel Laub 76. Melisande! What Are Dreams?, Hillel Halkin 77. Thereafter Johnnie, Carolivia Herron 78. The Man in My Basement, Walter Mosley 79. The UnAmericans, Molly Antopol 80. Marjorie Morningstar, Herman Wouk 81. A Trumpet in the Wadi, Sami Michael 82. The Monkey’s Wrench, Primo Levi 83.My Holocaust, Tova Reich 84. The Conversion, Aharon Appelfeld 85. Even in Darkness, Barbara Stark-Nemon 86. The Natural, Bernard Malamud 87. Beyond the Pale, Elana Dykewomon 88. Sophie’s Choice, William Styron 89. The Storyteller, Jodi Picoult 90. Exodus, Leon Uris 91. The Secret Chord, Geraldine Brooks 92. Bitter Bronx, Jerome Charyn 93. The Good Lord Bird, James McBride 94. The Best Place on Earth, Ayelet Tsabari 95. The Painted Bird, Jerzy Kosinski 96. Love and Treasure, Ayelet Waldman 97. Here I Am, Jonathan Safran Foer 98. The Forgotten, Elie Wiesel 99. The End of Days, Jenny Erpenbeck 100. Hungry Hearts, Anzia Yezierska
“Jewish continuity has always hinged on uttered and written words….ours is not a bloodline but a textline,” say Fania Oz-Salzberger and Amos Oz in their beautiful book, Jews and Words. I am a returnee to the tradition–my great-grandparents left it; I converted back in after seminary. But I’ve always loved books, and, particularly, Jewish literature. The Ozes’ words thrilled through me the first time I read them; maybe that love was something inherent. In any case: reading through the diverse and ever-expanding Jewish literary canon is a natural way to work toward understanding a community that, while comparatively small, is incredibly diverse. This list draws Jewish voices in from all corners of the diaspora, from several continents as well as from Israel itself. The voices on it have different conceptions of what it means to be Jewish; some of these novels embrace the tradition self-consciously, some are more ambivalent about it, and some don’t mention religious traditions at all. If we’re to believe Oz and his daughter: that diversity itself is something of a mitzvah. “Jews,” they say, “display a deeply rooted belief in the power of words to create and re-create reality.” To seek truth, they say, in new ways. One hundred Jewish writers, or writers writing about Jews, on this list: that means at least, what?, 101 understandings of Jewish identity? There’s beauty here, and depth; reverence, and fun. With hope that you find something new–I certainly did, while reaching past my own shelves to find new titles, and with the help of my friend and literary guru, Ethan H.,–and with equal hope that you’ll add your own titles below: here are 100 works of Jewish fiction that, in this Jewish woman’s opinion, should not be passed up. 1. The History of Love, Nicole Krauss 2. The World to Come, Dara Horn 3. The Collected Stories, Grace Paley 4. American Pastoral, Philip Roth 5. The Invisible Bridge, Julie Orringer 6. A Room Where the Star-Spangled Banner Cannot Be Heard, Hideo Levy 7. The Autograph Man, Zadie Smith 8. The Golems of Gotham, Thane Rosenbaum 9. The Believers, Zoe Heller 10. Albina and the Dog-Men, Alejandro Jodorowsky 11. The Liars’ Gospel, Naomi Alderman 12. Isles of the Blind, Robert Rosenberg 13. The Red Book, Deborah Copaken Kogan 14. Septimania, Jonathan Levi 15. 36 Arguments for the Existence of God, Rebecca Newberger Goldstein 16. A Perfect Peace, Amos Oz 17. Adé, Rebecca Walker 18. My Name is Asher Lev, Chaim Potok 19. The Museum of Extraordinary Things, Alice Hoffman 20. The Far Euphrates, Aryeh Lev Stollman 21. Piece of Mind, Michelle Adelman 22. Herzog, Saul Bellow 23. The Messiah of Stockholm, Cynthia Ozick 24. Einstein’s Dreams, Alan Lightman 25. Are You There, God?, It’s Me, Margaret, Judy Blume 26. Yasmine, Eli Amir 27. In Her Shoes, Jennifer Weiner 28. The Sea Beach Line, Ben Nadler 29. Jacob’s Folly, Rebecca Miller 30. The Finkler Question, Howard Jacobson 31. No One Is Here Except All of Us, Ramona Ausubel 32. Super Sad True Love Story, Gary Shteyngart 33. Martha Quest, Doris Lessing 34. Pebble In The Sky, Isaac Asimov 35. The Lost Civilization of Suolucidir, Susan Daitch 36. The Biology of Luck, Jacob M. Appel 37. July’s People, Nadine Gordimer 38. A Blessing on the Moon, Joseph Skibell 39. After Abel, Michal Lemberger 40. These Things Happen, Richard Kramer 41. The Genizah At The House Of Shepher, Tamar Yellen 42. King of Yiddish, Curt Leviant 43. The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry, Gabrielle Zevin 44. The Blue Mountain, Meir Shalev 45. As a Driven Leaf, Milton Steinberg 46. Some Day, Shemi Zarhin 47. Dolly City, Orly Castel-Bloom 48. Motherless Brooklyn, Jonathan Lethem 49. The Luminous Heart of Jonah S.., Gina B. Nahai 50. Enemies, A Love Story, Isaac Bashevis Singer 51. Like A Bride and Like A Mother, Rosa Nissán 52. The Liberated Bride, A. B. Yehoshua 53. Khirbet Khizeh, S. Yizhar 54. Suddenly, A Knock on the Door, Etgar Kerat 55. The Weight of Temptation, Ana María Shua 56. The Ministry of Special Cases, Nathan Englander 57. Gentleman’s Agreement, Laura Hobson 58. To The End of the Land, David Grossman 59. The Red Tent, Anita Diamant 60. The Planets, Sergio Chejfec 61. Let It Be Morning, Sayed Kashua 62. A Guest for the Night, S. Y. Agnon 63. The Seventh Beggar, Pearl Abraham 64. The Journey, H. G. Adler 65. A Scrap of Time, Ida Fink 66. Fatelessness, Imre Kertesz 67. Apples From the Desert, Savyon Liebrecht 68. The Complete Stories, Clarice Lispector 69. Kaaterskill Falls, Allegra Goodman 70. The Yiddish Policemen’s Union, Michael Chabon 71. The Pillar of Salt, Albert Memmi 72. Tevye the Dairyman and Motl the Cantor’s Son, Shalom Aleichem 73. Last Train to Istanbul, Ayse Kulin 74. Contact, Carl Sagan 75. Diary of the Fall, Michel Laub 76. Melisande! What Are Dreams?, Hillel Halkin 77. Thereafter Johnnie, Carolivia Herron 78. The Man in My Basement, Walter Mosley 79. The UnAmericans, Molly Antopol 80. Marjorie Morningstar, Herman Wouk 81. A Trumpet in the Wadi, Sami Michael 82. The Monkey’s Wrench, Primo Levi 83.My Holocaust, Tova Reich 84. The Conversion, Aharon Appelfeld 85. Even in Darkness, Barbara Stark-Nemon 86. The Natural, Bernard Malamud 87. Beyond the Pale, Elana Dykewomon 88. Sophie’s Choice, William Styron 89. The Storyteller, Jodi Picoult 90. Exodus, Leon Uris 91. The Secret Chord, Geraldine Brooks 92. Bitter Bronx, Jerome Charyn 93. The Good Lord Bird, James McBride 94. The Best Place on Earth, Ayelet Tsabari 95. The Painted Bird, Jerzy Kosinski 96. Love and Treasure, Ayelet Waldman 97. Here I Am, Jonathan Safran Foer 98. The Forgotten, Elie Wiesel 99. The End of Days, Jenny Erpenbeck 100. Hungry Hearts, Anzia Yezierska
