My Suburban Shtetl: A Novel about Life in a Twentieth-Century Jewish-American Village
(Part of the Library of Modern Jewish Literature Series)
"Grandpa's been arrested for hitting a Nazi with a salami!" So begins Robert Rand's engaging novel of growing up in Skokie, Illinois, home to one of America's largest communities of Jewish Holocaust survivors and to Rand's alter ego, Bobby Bakalchuk. In 1977 Skokie made news as Nazis sought to march down its main street. The enraged citizens ignited a storm over the First Amendment, spurring Bobby's Grandpa Abe Yellin to the front line armed with an all-beef 100% kosher projectile. Under Bobby's keen eye, the 1960s and 1970s are resurrected via the characters and curiosities that shape his young life-from the Cuban Missile Crisis to radioactive Ping Pong balls; from a prayer shawl abandoned in Auschwitz to the racial divide. This utterly American story describes an immigrant community grappling with the same cultural issues and moral choices faced by previous and subsequent newcomers. Perceived as different, Skokie's Jews and their offspring struggle to comprehend--and fit into--the political, racial, and cultural stew that is the United States. With characteristic wit and insight, Rand explores their plight. In so doing he sheds light on the complexity and consequence of intolerance, and the meaning of ethnicity--and home.
Format:Hardcover
Language:English
ISBN:0815607210
ISBN13:9780815607212
Release Date:January 2001
Publisher:Syracuse University Press
Length:171 Pages
Weight:0.86 lbs.
Dimensions:0.8" x 6.0" x 8.9"
Customer Reviews
1 rating
Skokie, IL The Best Place To Grow Up
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 23 years ago
I was thrilled when I found out about this book. Not only was it about my hometown but it was also about being a Jew. Having been a Jew in Skokie during the 60's, 70, & 80'sI was sheltered from the world around me until the Nazi's decided to march in 1977. This book covers not only the nazi's, but the community of Holocaust survivors as well as a mini history of the suburb.I thought I was the only one who thought Aunt Jemima was the real deal. An excellent read all around.
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