Book Club

September 4

Gateway To The Moon by Mary Morris
A beautiful novel of shared history. The remarkable story of a remote New Mexican
town coming to grips with a dark history.

Reviewed by Molly Travis, PhD, Associate Professor of English at Tulane University

October 9

Famous Father Girl by Jamie Bernstein
Jamie Bernstein mines the emotional depths of her childhood and invites us into  the private world of her father, Leonard Bernstein, and her family. 

Reviewed by Debbie Pesses, former Jewish Enrichment Director at the Jewish Community Center

November 13

Shocking Paris: Soutine, Chagall and the Outsiders of Montparna by Stanley Meisler
Rich in period detail, this book explores the short, dramatic life of one of the most
influential artists of the twentieth century, Chaim Soutine.

Reviewed by Molly Travis, PhD, Associate Professor of English at Tulane University

December 11

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society by Mary Ann Shaffer, Annie Barrows
A remarkable tale of the island of Guernsey during the German Occupation, and of a society as extraordinary as its name.

Reviewed by Rabbi Deborah Silver, Shir Chadash Conservative Congregation

January 8

We Are Gathered by Jamie Weisman
Humor and sorrow join together in the story of an interfaith wedding from the
perspectives of its (adoring, envious, resentful) guests.

Reviewed by Lauren Gerber, a book lover with a B.A. in English and M.A. in English Education who looks forward to meeting some fellow bibliophiles in the Big Easy!

February 12

The Last Watchman of Old Cairo by Michael David Lukas
In this wonderfully rich novel, a young man [son of a Jewish mother and Muslim
father] journeys from California to Cairo to unravel centuries-old family secrets.

Reviewed by Sarah Allison, PhD. Assistant Professor of English at Loyola University

March 12

The Weight of Ink by Rachel Kadish*
This novel has been called beautiful, engrossing and engaging. The story takes
place in the 1660’s and in the 1990’s and will hold you in its grip from the first
page.

Reviewed by Rabbi Matthew Reimer, Temple Sinai

*Rachel Kadish will be speaking about this book at the JCC on April 2.

April 9

Asymmetry by Lisa Halliday
A brilliant and complex examination of power dynamics in love and war.

Reviewed by Rabbi Yonah Schiller, Tulane Hillel

May 14

Promised Land by Martin Fletcher
A sweeping saga of two brothers and the woman they love, a devastating love triangle set against the tumultuous founding of the state of Israel, Promised Land is the gripping tale of a struggling family and an epic novel about a struggling nation.

Reviewed by Judy Steinberg, Former JCC Nursery School Teacher