Fabulous Small Jews - Stories

Fabulous Small Jews:  Stories by Joseph Epstein

Published:  2003 by Houghton Mifflin Company

Source:  Purchased

  After reading a few pages of the first story of this collection, I immediately thought of one of my favorite writers of all time:  Mordecai Richler.  Though writing about different eras for the most part, both he and Joseph Epstein have made older, grumpy Jewish men characters with whom we can all identify.

  Epstein's collection, Fabulous Small Jews, is comprised of eighteen stories that to me all had something to do with loneliness.  The main characters in the stories -- those grumpy old men -- have all led fairly successful and prosperous lives, but in their retirement it appears that they truly begin to understand what has been missing.  Not all of them are likeable, but they are relatable -  even though all of the men are Jewish, religion plays only a small part in any of the stories.

  My favorite story of the collection is "Don Juan Zimmerman", a story about rediscovering love at any age.

Recommended

Quarantine by Rahul Mehta

Quarantine:  Stories  by Rahul Mehta

Published:  2011 by Harper Perennial

Source:  Received from publisher for review

  I have to admit that I have not read a lot of short stories and I don't know why.  The logical side of me thinks that having a book of short stories around would be ideal when I want to read but don't have enough time or inclination for something longer.  In addition, the curiosity seeker in me should be more inclined to short stories that allow me smaller glimpses into topics that spark my interest.

  This short story collection by Rahul Mehta, Quarantine, attracted me initially because of the fact the author is Indian-American and I am drawn to literature of the Indian diaspora (have I ever mentioned that I have eclectic tastes?).  This collection was made even more interesting (and curious) to me when I saw that it was about gay Indian-American men and I wanted to look into that life.

  My expectations of the stories were that they would be about families' shame and embarassment with having a homosexual in the family, but I was pleasantly surprised to see that this was not in any of the stories.  My pre-conceived notion of Indian families being rigidly conservative and not willing to accept anything outside of their traditional view of family life was definitely removed.  Though all of the stories have gay men as their main characters, the themes of the stories -- family loyalties, romantic relationships, cultural differences -- are ones that we all can relate to.  My favorite story of the collection is "The Cure", a story about a man who compulsively burns cash; to him, money does not change anything. 

  The stories might not be for everyone, as there are some explicit scenes, but they were for me a fascinating and eye-opening window into this community.  And I hope to find some more story collections to do the same.

  Recommended.