In a Class by Themselves: A Jewish Fiction Reading List

A couple of years ago I decided to lead a group of adult learners in a class on Jewish fiction. The reason was that I wanted to share a few books I loved, and I also wanted an excuse to read some I’d never got around to. It was an amazing experience, both as a teacher and as a reader.

Re-reading some favorites – like Bruno Schulz, Primo Levi and Meir Shalev – only served to deepen my attachment to them. But the writers I’d wanted to get to know – like Clarice Lispector and Joseph Roth – were a revelation. Two or three really stand out in that category. Lispector for certain – nothing in literature is quite like her, and I urge you to read through twice before you judge. But it was Roman Gary who won my heart with his incomparable character Momo – the little Arab kid adopted by the Jewish Rosa – in a work that is simply perfection, there is no other word for it. As for sheer greatness, it has to be Yaakov Shabtai, whose 
Past Continuous
 is not only a virtuosic masterpiece, but deeply moving; also truly great is S.Y. Agnon’s Only Yesterday, which is remarkable for its breadth, its unflinching eye, and the beauty of its prose even in translation. Each one of the works I taught has a special place in my heart, and I believe you will also find them gratifying to read or re-read. Bruno Schultz is fundamental – in a class by himself. Dovid Bergelson’s short stories, only recently translated from the Yiddish, and are a mad joy. David Grossman needs no introduction, except I strongly recommend reading Schultz first.

One note. Late in the course, I included Paul Celan, the poet, whose work is soul-wrenching and beyond beautiful. Obviously he is not writing fiction, but I can think of nothing that reflects the transformative nature of the Jewish literary experience better. I recommend the German/English side-by-side edition by Michael Hamburger.

And if you ever want to chat about any of these, I’d be delighted.

Dovid Bergelson, 
The Shadows of Berlin

Bruno Schulz, 
The Street of Crocodiles

David Grossman, 
See Under: Love

Aharon Appelfeld, 
Badenheim 1939

Meir Shalev, 
The Pigeon and the Boy

Clarice Lispector, 
Hour of the Star

Roman Gary, 
The Life Before You (Madame Rosa)

Arnon Grunberg, 
Phantom Pain

Nathan Englander, The Ministry of Special Cases

Der Nister, The Family Mashber*

Yaakov Shabtai, 
Past Continuous

Moacyr Scliar, 
The Centaur in the Garden

Primo Levi, 
The Periodic Table

Italo Svevo, 
Zeno’s Conscience

S.Y Agnon, 
Only Yesterday

Joseph Roth, 
The Radetzky March

Sayed Kashua, Dancing Arabs *

Orly Castel-Bloom, 
Human Parts

Franz Kafka, 
The Complete Stories

Paul Celan, 
Poems of Paul Celan

*Sessions on these two works were led by Igael Gurin-Malous.