Let my Nation-book series

mushroom caps

Sun, Apr 26 2015, 11:49 pm

Does anyone have these books? Can you tell me how they read? Are they light/ interesting/ heavy historical/ full of facts. Would you recommend them for someone who hates reading Jewish books because she finds them too corny/cheesy/ or boring/not enough drama to keep her attention?
Id like to buy them for a friend but she hates bad writing and boring plots..
can anyone tell me how these books read?
More like a novel or more like history books?

zaq

Mon, Apr 27 2015, 12:35 am

I have one of them that I stopped reading after a couple of chapters, which is a fairly good indication that I'm not liking it. The problem is that the book can't decide whether it wants to be a historical novel or an English-language sefer. The footnotes, which are much of the "sefer" part, sometimes take up more space on the page than the narrative, or "novel" part. The author feels it is very important to justify every word he writes, to prove that it has a basis in the mesorah and he is not just making things up, hence the footnotes. But this is not scholarly enough for someone who really wants to study the sources and most distracting for someone who just wants to read the story.

If your friend objects to most frum books, she will not like this series. My ds found me reading the book and asked me if I was feeling ok because I seemed to be in pain. There's something about the whole tone of the writing that's "off." Frum writers tend to be very stiff, and sound awkward and self-conscious when they use big words. This writer is no exception. He tries to be a novelist but can't help being a preacher. He goes into heavy detail, trying to give equal time to all the sources. A novelist does not say "some suggest that Moses did this, but other suggest that Moses did that." That belongs in a drasha or Chumash lesson, not a novel.

The basic idea of presenting Biblical history with midrashic interpretations in the form of a novel was a good one, but as presented in this series, it does not work. I'm sure people who actually like frum books will disagree.

Iymnok

Mon, Apr 27 2015, 5:16 am

It gives a clearer understanding of the topic being discussed. But since he wants to include as much as possible, presumably trying to get as close to what actually happened as possible, it's a lot of conflicting ideas. Disturbing a smooth read.
I feel that it's a lazy excuse for me to actually learn the Sefer. As in read Let my Nation Go instead of opening a Sefer Shemos Mikraos Gedolos.
If you are specifically looking for a detailed overview of the area the book covers, it's good.
It does not match up to my criteria of a well written novel.
I'd describe it more as a compilation of commentaries on the Chumash in story form.

LisaS

Mon, Apr 27 2015, 5:32 am

I personally found Let My Nation Live more interesting than Let My Nation Go. Let My Nation Live filled in a lot of midrashim for people already knowledgeable about the Purim story, but would be information overload for someone learning the basics.

If you are looking for good Jewish reading, I'd stick with non-fiction. Try Escape from India.