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Books About the Dreyfus Affair

by Erika Dreifus on
1

I think I may have come up with a new (albeit irregular) feature for this blog, one that holds cross-over appeal for my other blog (on writing and publishing). And it’s this: Every so often, I should come up with a short list of books that I’ve read and would recommend on a given literary-historical topic. (And as far as this blog is concerned, if it’s a Jewish-literary-historical topic, so much the better!)

Let us begin with books about the Dreyfus Affair (named for its ill-fated victim, Captain Alfred Dreyfus). And that’s because ever since I found out (via Josh Lambert) that a new novel connected with this major episode in world/French/Jewish history will be on shelves soon–Susan Daitch’s Paper Conspiracies–I’ve been recalling other books that I’ve read and remember that are also embedded in this material.

A bit of background: While earning my Ph.D. in Modern French history, I prepared a “special field” for my general examinations in French literature, and within that area, I focused on political literature. It was during that period in my studies that I dove into the literature surrounding the Dreyfus Affair, among other événements. I was lucky to work with some wonderful faculty on this project, including the brilliant Susan Suleiman, whose article “The Literary Significance of the Dreyfus Affair” (in Norman L. Kleeblatt, ed., The Dreyfus Affair: Art, Truth and Justice, [Berkeley: University of California Press, 1987], pp. 117-139) is a must-read for anyone interested in this subject.

I will add, too, that whenever I am in France and need to introduce myself, and my listeners appear to have trouble understanding me (my spoken French is not up to the level anyone might hope or expect), I say, “Dreifus, comme le capitaine.” That usually does the trick.

So here are a few titles to which I remain attached. (more…)

Jewish Book Carnival: June Edition

by Erika Dreifus on
Disabled

My Machberet is proud to serve as June host for the Jewish Book Carnival, “a monthly event where bloggers who blog about Jewish books can meet, read, and comment on each others’ posts. The posts are hosted on one of the participant’s sites on the 15th of each month.”

Herewith, this month’s Carnival posts:

(more…)

Notes from Around the Web: Literary Links for Shabbat

by Erika Dreifus on
Disabled
  • I was lucky enough to attend the Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature awards ceremony last week, so I heard Deborah Lipstadt’s speech when it was delivered. But thanks to the Jewish Book Council, you can now read the text of Lipdstadt’s remarks, too.
  • A.B. Yehoshua praises Haifa and reminds me that I want to spend more time there.
  • Novelist Emily Barton writes about The Jazz Singer.
  • The Boston Bibliophile reviews and recommends The Last Brother, a novel by Nathacha Appanah (trans. Geoffrey Strachan). My own review was filed a couple of weeks ago; when it’s published, you’ll see that I’m 100 percent in agreement.
  • From the Reform movement’s Religious Action Center: ideas for social-justice book clubs.
  • Hurry up and read David Bezmozgis’s novel, The Free World, before next week’s Twitter Book Club session for it.
  • You may have heard that Edith Pearlman is the latest recipient of the PEN/Malamud Award for short fiction. I’ve admired Pearlman’s work for a long time–I’m eager to read her newest book, Binocular Vision–and I was thrilled to see my own book discussed alongside hers (and Laura Furman’s) in this review by Rabbi Rachel Esserman.

    • Shabbat shalom!

    Thursday’s Post-Publication Post: Self-Interview Re: The Jewish Book NETWORK & Meet the Author Programs

    by Erika Dreifus on
    2

    Q. Erika, what is the Jewish Book NETWORK?

    A. Well, Erika, according to the Jewish Book Council’s website, “The Jewish Book NETWORK is a membership organization of close to 100 participating sites, JCCs, synagogues, Hillels, Jewish Federations and other related organizations that host Jewish book programs. Through this NETWORK, the Jewish Book Council is able to provide extensive resources to the program coordinators, including introduction to authors interested in touring Jewish book festivals, advice from experts on topics that affect a book program, and a chance to learn from the experiences of others in the field. “

    Q. And what is “Meet the Author”?

    A. Again, right from the source: “Each year the Jewish Book Council sponsors a conference for all Jewish Book NETWORK members and their lay leaders in conjunction with the annual BookExpo America. This conference begins the new season of book festival planning. In addition to workshops and networking among the NETWORK members, the annual conference includes a program called Meet the Author. Through this event, authors are invited to speak to the members of the Jewish Book NETWORK in the hopes of touring and visiting with the Jewish book programs that are represented.”

    Q. So what does this have to do with you? Your book? (more…)

    TBR: Forthcoming Books by Jewish Book NETWORK Authors

    by Erika Dreifus on
    6

    One of the best parts of participating in the Jewish Book NETWORK‘s Meet the Author Program as one of the 2011-12 authors is the opportunity I had on Sunday evening to meet some fellow NETWORK authors whom I’ve admired for a long time. For example, I was able to tell Melissa Fay Greene how much I learned from The Temple Bombing; I finally met Joan Leegant; and, thanks to the privileges of alphabetical order, I sat right next to David Bezmozgis (whose novel, The Free World, I’m just starting to read on my Kindle).

    Many of the authors I had the good fortune to meet on Sunday–and others who may have shown up for one of the other sessions (this program is so large that not all of the authors can be accommodated in one evening)–are promoting books that have not yet been published.

    Here are just ten forthcoming titles that were discussed on Sunday and/or are featured in this year’s Jewish Book NETWORK guide that I’m especially eager to read. (And if you’re a book reviewer looking for summer/fall titles to review, maybe you’ll find some here to interest you as well.)

  • Ellen Feldman, Next to Love (Spiegel & Grau, July)
  • Martin Fletcher, The List (St. Martin’s, October)
  • Pam Jenoff, The Things We Cherished (Doubleday, July)
  • Jodi Kantor, The Obamas (Little, Brown, November)
  • Peter Orner, Love and Shame and Love (Little, Brown, November)
  • Alyson Richman, The Lost Wife (Berkley/Penguin, September)
  • Rebecca Rosenblum, The Big Dream (Biblioasis, September)
  • Philip Schultz, My Dyslexia (Norton, September)
  • Anna Solomon, The Little Bride (Riverhead, September)
  • Evelyn Toynton, The Oriental Wife (Other Press, July)

    • Two more things: Evan Fallenberg’s novel, When We Danced on Water, was released just last week. So, technically, it’s no longer “forthcoming.” But I wanted to give it (and Evan, an author I’d heard about but hadn’t met before Sunday) a shout-out here, anyway. I also have to mention Randy Susan Meyers’s The Murderer’s Daughters. Randy was there on Sunday to promote the paperback, and I told her very honestly that a copy is atop the stack on my nightstand right now.

    Reactions? Thoughts?