Fic­tion

The J‑Word

Andrew Sanger
  • Review
By – December 22, 2011

Every so often one comes across a book, movie, TV show, muse­um exhi­bi­tion or some­thing of the sort that inspires intro­spec­tion, even if it’s just for a few moments. Andrew Sanger’s nov­el The J‑Word will prob­a­bly have this effect on its read­ers. It’s the sto­ry of eighty-year-old Jack Sil­ver, an old Jew­ish grinch who takes unlim­it­ed pride in his Eng­lish­ness over his Jew­ish­ness. His life changes dra­mat­i­cal­ly when he moves to an assist­ed liv­ing facil­i­ty in Gold­ers Green, reluc­tant­ly takes watch over his pre­co­cious ten-year-old grand­son, Dan­ny, and tries to assist an elder­ly Jew being attacked by anti- Semi­tes. He ends up being beat­en him­self, and his bru­tal beat­ing sets Jack and Dan­ny off on a hunt to find the assailants and deliv­er them to justice. 

Their jour­ney takes them on a fas­ci­nat­ing ride through Jack’s mem­o­ries. Sanger’s method of alter­nat­ing voic­es pro­vides an added lay­er to the nar­ra­tive by which he explores Jack’s lost and for­got­ten Jew­ish iden­ti­ty. These instances cause vis­cer­al reac­tions. A read­er might then ask ques­tions like, What makes me Jew­ish?” What is my Jew­ish iden­ti­ty?” Do I have a choice in the mat­ter?” The J‑Word is a reminder that while we may act total­ly sec­u­lar, there is some­thing deeply ingrained in Jew­ish iden­ti­ty that con­nects us all.

Ethan A. Zim­man is a Pro­pos­al Writer for an IT Gov­ern­ment Con­trac­tor by day and free­lance writer by night in Arling­ton, VA.

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