Single Jewish Male Seeking Soul Mate by Letty Cottin Pogrebin- 296 pages
Book Blurb:
Zach Levy, the left-leaning son of Holocaust survivors who promises his mother that he’ll marry within the tribe. But when Zach falls for Cleo, an African American activist grappling with her own inherited trauma, he must reconcile the family he loves with the woman who might be his soul mate. A New York love story complicated by the legacies and modern tension of Jewish American and African American history, SJM Seeking explores what happens when the heart runs into the reality of politics, history, and the weight of family promises.
My Review: 4.5 stars
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Single Jewish Male Seeking Soul Mate was an insightful and thought-provoking read. Don’t be misled by the title, this book truly deserves a better one.
The ultimate theme in this book is how to honor your past while creating your own future, with race and religion playing equally important roles. This author thankfully wrote in a way that educated the reader without preaching to them. Particulars of being Jewish vs. acting Jewish, parenting, romance, survival, guilt, loyalty, friendship, teaching tolerance and overcoming prejudices were all part of this wonderful novel.
Humor and moments of laugh out loud sarcasm were peppered throughout the story, which were necessary when reading about the Holocaust and its horrors. Minor characters such as M.J. and the Rabbi, were welcome additions, both bringing comfort in such different ways.
I highly recommend this book and believe it would make for a lively book club discussion!
Quotes I liked:
I already know my blessed savior. Shelly’s still waiting for his. But that’s okay because, like our Father in heaven, we celebrate difference. If G-d didn’t love and respect difference, why would He have created man in his infinite variety.
Nine-tenths of power is possession. What we own can’t hurt us.
Tell me again why it’s so important for you to marry a Jew even though it’s not important for you to live like a Jew?
Your ‘Never Again’ is my ‘Never Forget.
A father’s absence was a presence, like an erasure forever visible on a clean sheet of paper.
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