Book Reviews

Colin Shindler: What Do Zionists Believe?
Granta Books pb pp116 £6.99

Robert Rietti. 
A Rose for Reuben: stories of hope from the Holocaust.
Canterbury Press. 2006. Paperback. pp143. £9.99

A Dictionary of Christian Jewish relations.

Edited by Edward Kessler & Neil Wenborn
Cambridge University Press (2005)  £120
ISBN-13 978 051 82692-1
ISBN-10   0-521-82692-6
Ever wondered what ‘Nostra Aetate’ was but were afraid to ask?  It’s all in this accessible volume – along with a huge range of other entries from Aaron to Zola, with entries ranging through Feminism, Postmodernism  and Supersessionism in between.  Five and a half columns are devoted to ‘God’; one has to feel sympathy for Peter Ochs who was asked to write the copy for that entry. 
This is not a book for the casual reader, as the price indicates.  Although the amount of space available for each entry means that there is little that can be provided in the way of depth, over 50 distinguished contributors are skilled in providing some basic aspects of each topic of relevance for Jewish and Christian interests.
Including maps  and useful bibliography section, as a reference book, especially for colleges and libraries, the Dictionary provides an invaluable resource. 

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas.

John Boyne

Paperback. pp216.  2007. £6.99.  Definitions. Random House Children’s Books     

A compelling novel that deserves to be on the bookshelves of every school library.  The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas would fit well in the English curriculum of the lower key stages in the secondary school.

A book with a surprising if not shocking ending, Boyle takes us into the world of powerful adults in Germany in 1943 as seen through the eyes of a 9 year old boy. There are the usual brother- older sister antagonisms, love of grandparents, a boys love of adventure and a friendship that ends up hugely touching and poignant.  The setting is Auschwitz but pronounced Out-With by the main character, Bruno and this mispronunciation serves as a “veil” throughout the book distancing the atrocities going on inside the camp with the “normality” immediately outside.   Whether young readers will discern many of the moral nuances and references unaided by teacher/adult, is a moot point but there is certainly plenty in this book for excellent discussion and confrontation of the many ethical issues surrounding the Holocaust.

Why not send a copy to an English Teacher you know?
return to top of page