What better way to welcome the New Year (albeit belatedly), than with a list of best Jewish books of 2007? Here are Jewish-themed books that made it to best of 2007 lists in a variety of publications from the New York Times to the Economist, Slate, Salon and beyond. I've only read three (I starred them and commented briefly below) so for those of you out there who've read others, please share your thoughts and opinions about these books. I focused mainly on literary fiction but included some poetry and nonfiction titles that garnered significant attention (like Living Biblically, for example), and others that caught my eye (like Peter Ginz). It's possible I've included books here that aren't overtly Jewish, but then, the question of what is Jewish literature is up for debate so chime in, if you will.
And here's the list, in no particular order, except that Chabon's appeared most frequently on best of 2007 lists, and, according to my count, Aciman's came in second.
The Yiddish Policeman's Union (Michael Chabon)
Call Me By Your Name (Andre Aciman) *
(One of my favorite books of the year, Aciman's first novel s a beautifully written story about young love. Set against the backdrop of the Italian countryside, the story captures the angst, longing and desire of a young man in his encounter with another man, as he recalls it many years later. The story speaks to the temporality of passion and the memories that continue to haunt and inspire us, long after the moment is gone.)
Foreskin's Lament (Shalom Auslander)
How To Read The Bible (James Kugel)
The Zookeeper's Wife: A War Story (Diane Ackerman)
The September of Shiraz (Dalia Sofer)
The Ministry of Special Cases (Nathan Englander)
Exit Ghost (Phillip Roth)
House Lights (Leah Hagar Cohen)
A Year of Living Biblically (A.J. Jacobs)
Collected Stories (Leonard Michaels) *
(I came across Michaels at the suggestion of a Columbia professor, and spent jobless days at my local Barnes and Noble reading through this collection of brilliant short stories. Michaels writing is sharp, witty, often funny and always poignant. Somehow, he slipped out of the American literary canon, but this collection will surely change that.)
Fire in the Blood (Irene Nemirovsky)
The Diary of Peter Ginz (Trans: Chava Pressburger)
Paul Celan: Threadsuns (Trans: Pierre Joris)*
(After recently reading John Felstiner's critically acclaimed literary biography of Paul Celan (Paul Celan, Poet, Survivor, Jew), and reading his poetry in translation by Felstiner and Hamburger I'm convinced that Celan was one of the greatest Jewish literary geniuses of the last century. I'm writing a review of this translation so I won't go on about it here, but anything by Celan is worth reading.)
