| Author: | Daniel M Jaffe | ISBN: | 9781452439853 |
| Publisher: | Lethe Press | Publication: | October 31, 2011 |
| Imprint: | Smashwords Edition | Language: | English |
| Author: | Daniel M Jaffe |
| ISBN: | 9781452439853 |
| Publisher: | Lethe Press |
| Publication: | October 31, 2011 |
| Imprint: | Smashwords Edition |
| Language: | English |
"We know the territory that Jaffe writes in—lush, stark, unexpected, a Jordan flowing through it with Real on one bank and Dream on the other. Jaffe is not afraid to write about violence, or blasphemy, sometimes comically and sometimes horrifically...you are holding in your hands this new book of his. Where fractured novel and story collection are Velcroed to the music he composes, his Torah of the moment, the stories of our gay queer Jewish lives, seen and reseen, heard and reheard, with a lush orchestra of lived experience playing in the background. A collection of stories that could be a novel, the sections of a novel shuffled like a deck of cards. A lush Jewish gamelan for queer ears, queer hearts, queer minds. And otherwise.”— from Andrew Ramer’s Introduction.
In Jewish Gentle and Other Stories of Gay-Jewish Living, Daniel M. Jaffe explores various aspects of gay-Jewish life: coming out to self and family; (re)defining one’s relationship to tradition and faith; surviving child abuse and teenage sexual identity angst; experiencing the adult joys and heartbreaks of dating, of forming relationships, and of losing them; coping with HIV/AIDS; considering parenting; and dealing with old age.
Mirroring the diversity within contemporary American Jewish life, the main characters in these twenty-four stories are Jewish, but in various ways—some wrestle with religion, others with their place in tradition and community. Yet for other characters here, Jewish identity is not at issue in the pursuit of happiness, love, and inner peace; rather, Jewishness is a cornerstone given, a foundational lens through which these characters see and examine the world and self.
"Addressing issues such as coming out to one's self and family, tradition and faith, child abuse, teenage sexual identity angst, dating and relationships, HIV/AIDS, parenting, and old age, the tales of love, yearning, desire, confusion, loss, and finding oneself are heartwarm-ing and heartbreaking. They all draw readers into situa-tions anyone might encounter. In one story, a respected spiritual leader takes advantage of a young boy, and community ostracizes the boy’s family rather than supporting them. In another, one of a newly-wed couple explains he identifies as trans. Jaffe's intimate stories show his sensitivity." - GLBT Roundtable of the American Library Association
"We know the territory that Jaffe writes in—lush, stark, unexpected, a Jordan flowing through it with Real on one bank and Dream on the other. Jaffe is not afraid to write about violence, or blasphemy, sometimes comically and sometimes horrifically...you are holding in your hands this new book of his. Where fractured novel and story collection are Velcroed to the music he composes, his Torah of the moment, the stories of our gay queer Jewish lives, seen and reseen, heard and reheard, with a lush orchestra of lived experience playing in the background. A collection of stories that could be a novel, the sections of a novel shuffled like a deck of cards. A lush Jewish gamelan for queer ears, queer hearts, queer minds. And otherwise.”— from Andrew Ramer’s Introduction.
In Jewish Gentle and Other Stories of Gay-Jewish Living, Daniel M. Jaffe explores various aspects of gay-Jewish life: coming out to self and family; (re)defining one’s relationship to tradition and faith; surviving child abuse and teenage sexual identity angst; experiencing the adult joys and heartbreaks of dating, of forming relationships, and of losing them; coping with HIV/AIDS; considering parenting; and dealing with old age.
Mirroring the diversity within contemporary American Jewish life, the main characters in these twenty-four stories are Jewish, but in various ways—some wrestle with religion, others with their place in tradition and community. Yet for other characters here, Jewish identity is not at issue in the pursuit of happiness, love, and inner peace; rather, Jewishness is a cornerstone given, a foundational lens through which these characters see and examine the world and self.
"Addressing issues such as coming out to one's self and family, tradition and faith, child abuse, teenage sexual identity angst, dating and relationships, HIV/AIDS, parenting, and old age, the tales of love, yearning, desire, confusion, loss, and finding oneself are heartwarm-ing and heartbreaking. They all draw readers into situa-tions anyone might encounter. In one story, a respected spiritual leader takes advantage of a young boy, and community ostracizes the boy’s family rather than supporting them. In another, one of a newly-wed couple explains he identifies as trans. Jaffe's intimate stories show his sensitivity." - GLBT Roundtable of the American Library Association
