Notes from Around the Web

by Erika Dreifus on
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Shabbat shalom!

The Wednesday Web Browser

by Erika Dreifus on
Disabled
  • The After Deadline blog deals with numbers in the news.
  • Tayari Jones shares the trauma and ultimate triumph of changing the title of her forthcoming novel.
  • Nova Ren Suma recalls six fateful paragraphs.
  • Book-reviewing advice from Sarah Weinman, Jane Litte, and another Sarah (last name not included).
  • Speaking of book reviewing, here’s my brief take on Mr. Rosenblum Dreams in English, a novel by Natasha Solomons.

    • The Practicing Writing blog is grateful for its readership! We’ll be taking a few days off for the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday. Warm wishes to all, and see you back here on Monday.

    Recommended Reading: Mr. Rosenblum Dreams in English, by Natasha Solomons

    by Erika Dreifus on
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    MR. ROSENBLUM DREAMS IN ENGLISH
    Natasha Solomons
    Reagan Arthur Books, 2010. 368 pp. $23.99
    ISBN: 978-0-316-07758-3
    Review by Erika Dreifus

    By now, we are familiar with literature penned by “2G”-ers, children of the second generation, whose Jewish parents survived Nazi persecution. With time’s passage, it was inevitable that we’d begin to see writings from the next generation: the grandchildren.

    British writer Natasha Solomons is one such grandchild. The “About the Author” section at this debut novel’s end reveals that Mr. Rosenblum Dreams in English is based “on her own grandparents’ experience.” The novel focuses on Jack (né Jakob) Rosenblum, who emigrates from Germany with his wife, Sadie, and their baby daughter in the summer of 1937. Upon arrival, Jack receives a “dusky blue pamphlet entitled While you are in England: Helpful Information and Friendly Guidance for every Refugee.” If Jack cherishes a Bible, this pamphlet is it: “He obeyed the list with more fervour than the most ardent Bar Mitzvah boy did the laws of Kashrut….” Over time, he expands and adds to the list based on his own observations.

    Sadie Rosenblum does not share her husband’s enthusiasm for throwing off their past (or for his “verdammt list”). She is haunted by the family left behind—and lost—in Germany. This domestic conflict underlies the novel. But the challenge that actively propels the plot is Jack’s quest to build a golf course in Dorset, which results from his being denied golf-club membership—the final list item, “the quintessential characteristic of the true English gentleman.”

    This is a gorgeous book, with setting, scenes, and dialogue all artfully managed (an aside: the cover art is equally lovely, although I can’t help wishing that this American edition had preserved the British title, Mr. Rosenblum’s List: Or Friendly Guidance for the Aspiring Englishman). It is no surprise to discover that Solomons is a screenwriter. Let us hope that she will soon script this story for film.

    (This review was published in Jewish Book World, Winter 5771/2010.)

    Quotation of the Week: Andrew Sanger

    by Erika Dreifus on
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    British author and travel writer Andrew Sanger tweeted this a few days ago:

    Good ideas are like dreams. If you don’t write them down at once, they slip away and cannot be found again.

    I think that there’s a great deal of truth to this. I’ve found that it is very important to try to capture worthy ideas (and notable dreams) as quickly as possible. I would add, however, that sometimes, very stubborn ideas do come back…during a jog, in the middle of another dream, or in a variety of unexpected contexts. So don’t despair if you think that you may have “lost” a promising thought. But do try to write it down as soon as you can!

    Yiddish Book Center Seeks Director of Communications & Visitor Services

    by Erika Dreifus on
    Disabled

    “The Yiddish Book Center is seeking a creative, energetic and experienced Director of Communications and Visitor Services (Director of Communications) to provide leadership and management for the direction, planning and execution of all communications strategies, publication, and web-based initiatives to expand the Book Center’s audience and membership and to enhance the institution’s national profile. The Director of Communications will create a strategic plan for communications, both print and online, to promote the values and mission of the Book Center. In addition, this individual will oversee and improve the visitor experience on-site. Reporting to the Executive Director and serving as an integral member of the senior management team, the Director of Communications will work to develop the Book Center’s identity and expand and engage new audiences. The Director of Communications supervises a Communications Associate and the docent program. In addition, the Director engages and supervises consultants in design, editing, and other areas. This individual must work closely with development, membership and education departments to design all collateral material and effectively promote all initiatives. The Director of Communications will be responsible for the redesign and ongoing oversight of the Book Center’s flagship magazine, Pakn Treger.”

    Source: JewishJobs.com. Go there for more information/to apply.