January 10 • 2019 5
jn

F

or readers of classic writing, 
may I offer some selections 
that will never make the best-
read list.

The Adventures of 
Hershel Finnstein 
by Shmuel Klemsky. 
The book is noted for 
its colorful descrip-
tion of people and 
places along the 
Muldow River. Set 
in a society after the 
Russian Revolution 
that had ceased to exist about 20 
years before the work was published, 
these adventures try to be a scathing 
satire on the proletariat. The pho-
netically written words to emulate a 
dialect may leave the reader puzzled.

The Great Katz Boy 
by F. Sam Fitzgorel. 
The story primarily concerns the 
young and mysterious millionaire Jay 
Katz and his passion and obsession for 
the beautiful former debutante Delores 
Buchman. It explores themes of deca-
dence, idealism, resistance to change, 
social upheaval and excess, creating a 
portrait of the Roaring ’
20s. Flappers 
abound but reality does not.

Sounding Furious 

by Wilhelm Fleckner. 
The tale is set in the Bronx, N.Y. It 
centers on the nouveau riche Cohen 
family, who are struggling to deal 
with the dissolution of their family 
and its reputation. Over the course of 
the 30 years or so related in the novel, 
the family falls into financial ruin, 
loses their religious faith and the 
respect of the town; many of them 
die tragically. Following their trials 
and tribulations is a trial in itself. The 
reader will sound furious if he per-
mits himself to finish the work.

Kotchke In The Rye 
by J.D. Mallinger. 
This cookbook shows a basic dis-
regard for ethnic cooking that any 
true cook would be wise not to put 
on his/her bookshelf. It seems to be 
written by an angst-ridden teen who 
has no knowledge of self, let alone 
the workings of a kitchen.

Kvetch 22 

by Yankel Meller. 
The novel is set during the 1940s. 
Most of the events in the book are 
in the form of a diary of an ill-tem-
pered enlistee in the Army. He has 
complaints about everything from 

his barracks mates to the lack of 
variety in the food. It is a decidedly 
dull attempt to make complaining an 
art form.

Counting On Crisco 
by Alexander Mumas. 
What starts out to be a helpful kitch-
en reference soon develops into a 
rather dull series of kitchen mishaps 
that fail to sustain either humor or 
interest.

Dr. Yankel and Mr. Fried 

by Robbie L. Steinson. 
In an attempt to portray the life of 
an immigrant who made good, the 
author succumbs to the overworked 
approach of showing a foreigner 
trod upon by the rest of society. He 
turns from aiding his fellow man to 
seeking revenge on those who would 
refuse his recognition as a contrib-
uting member of society. The only 
horror in this tale is that of the ama-
teurish writing.
Do not seek these in your local 
library or on the internet. To the 
best of my knowledge, they have 
been relegated to the publishers’
 
trash bins. (One can only hope.) ■

Sy Manello is an editorial assistant at the JN. 

continued on page 6

essay

If You
Write It …

letters

Contributions to Humanity
As a longtime Jewish News subscriber, 
I want to compliment you on the 
Jewish Contributions to Humanity 
series, which I read and enjoy weekly. 
Its world scope is deeply educational 
and enjoyable, and I compliment the 
Field family on its decision to create 
the series in such a learning form. I 
look forward to reading it each week 
and hope that it will continue for many 
more. 

Les Goldstein 

West Bloomfield 

Let’
s Not Take 
Israel for Granted
I want to applaud Peter M. Alter for 
his commentary “Do We Take Israel 
for Granted?” (Dec. 27, 2018, page 6). 
 
I share the same concerns and I was 
so happy to see Mr. Alter articulate 
it the way he did. It should alarm 
everyone when we read the amount 
our Federation dollars contributed to 
Israel went from $13.5 million to $8.7 
million — without taking inflation into 
account. 
 In addition, Eric Goldstein, chief 
executive of the UJA-Federation of New 
York, “is reported as stating that ‘
people 

who, up to three years ago, were the 
biggest supporters of Israel now say to 
us they want to throw up their hands 
— that all of their love and labor on 
behalf of Israel went down the drain.
” 
Goldstein went on to note, “… On 
top of the list of concerns affecting 
American Jewry are the support 
that Israel Prime Minister Benjamin 
Netanyahu shows U. S. President 
Donald Trump, who is generally 
loathed by American Jews and their 
communal leadership, as well as Israel’
s 
inability to reach a two-state settlement 
with the Palestinian Authority.
” 
Perhaps, I am more sensitive to this 
as a child of Holocaust survivors, but 

Sy Manello

views