Fiction

The Netanyahus

The Netanyahus

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  • Create Date：2021-07-12 02:30:57
  • Update Date：2025-09-24
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  • Author：Joshua Cohen
  • ISBN：1681376075
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Summary

Corbin College， not quite upstate New York， winter 1959–1960: Ruben Blum， a Jewish historian—but not an historian of the Jews—is co-opted onto a hiring committee to review the application of an exiled Israeli scholar specializing in the Spanish Inquisition。 When Benzion Netanyahu shows up for an interview， family unexpectedly in tow， Blum plays the reluctant host to guests who proceed to lay waste to his American complacencies。 Mixing fiction with nonfiction， the campus novel with the lecture， The Netanyahus is a wildly inventive， genre-bending comedy of blending， identity， and politics that finds Joshua Cohen at the height of his powers。

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Reviews

Ryan Allen ，

I'm never on here anymore， but I had to pop in to say that Cohen， at 40， is still maybe the best novelist under 40。 Save for Patricia Lockwood， there is absolutely no competition。 I'm never on here anymore， but I had to pop in to say that Cohen， at 40， is still maybe the best novelist under 40。 Save for Patricia Lockwood， there is absolutely no competition。 。。。more

James Schramm ，

The narrator， historian Ruben Blum who teaches at an upstate New York university ， is fictional。 Professor Ben-Zion Netanyahu， his wife and three sons are real。 The father taught for a period at Cornell University while his son Benjamin later became Prime Minister of Israel。 The story bounces around a bit between Blum' s staff and family and elder Netanyahu's letter to join the fictional university。 However， once the Netanyahu clan comes to town chaos begins。 The tale moves quickly and is someti The narrator， historian Ruben Blum who teaches at an upstate New York university ， is fictional。 Professor Ben-Zion Netanyahu， his wife and three sons are real。 The father taught for a period at Cornell University while his son Benjamin later became Prime Minister of Israel。 The story bounces around a bit between Blum' s staff and family and elder Netanyahu's letter to join the fictional university。 However， once the Netanyahu clan comes to town chaos begins。 The tale moves quickly and is sometimes hilarious。 Five star rating！！ 。。。more

Charlie ，

If you can map， perhaps lazily， Joshua Cohen's career as a tour through the canonical postmodernists of the 20th century （Book of Numbers is his DFW （also Attention， vis a vis the nonfictional DFW）， Witz his Pynchon， etc）， then The Netanyahus is Cohen's re-envisioning of Nabokov's academic novels as a tete a tete between Harold Bloom and Ben-Zion Netanyahu--Ruben Blum is the heir transparent to the hapless Pnin。 Of course， as with nearly all of Cohen's work， overlaid on the postmodern games is a If you can map， perhaps lazily， Joshua Cohen's career as a tour through the canonical postmodernists of the 20th century （Book of Numbers is his DFW （also Attention， vis a vis the nonfictional DFW）， Witz his Pynchon， etc）， then The Netanyahus is Cohen's re-envisioning of Nabokov's academic novels as a tete a tete between Harold Bloom and Ben-Zion Netanyahu--Ruben Blum is the heir transparent to the hapless Pnin。 Of course， as with nearly all of Cohen's work， overlaid on the postmodern games is a deliberation of modern Judaism-- something I am not qualified to speak on， but he captures arguments and deliberations on the nascent forms of Zionism in the middle twentieth century in captivating， appreciable ways。 Beyond all that， this is just an excellent comedy， the age-old story of a truly unpleasant set of visitors that overstay their welcome in increasingly ludicrous ways。 。。。more

Carol ，

Absolutely delightful， especially I would think for the Jewish reader。 Very smart， often funny， good and fascinating politics。 I actually kept Wikipedia open for consult while reading and needed to check the dictionary throughout for words I was unfamiliar with， my favorite kind of reading （I did the same with A BRIEF HISTORY OF SEVEN KILLINGS）。 Only a slight longeur in the middle and an occasional Shteyngartian “cleverness” kept this from being a 5 star review。 As it is， I give it 4。5， and look Absolutely delightful， especially I would think for the Jewish reader。 Very smart， often funny， good and fascinating politics。 I actually kept Wikipedia open for consult while reading and needed to check the dictionary throughout for words I was unfamiliar with， my favorite kind of reading （I did the same with A BRIEF HISTORY OF SEVEN KILLINGS）。 Only a slight longeur in the middle and an occasional Shteyngartian “cleverness” kept this from being a 5 star review。 As it is， I give it 4。5， and look forward to his next book。 。。。more

Mari ，

there is only one mr philip roth

Jill Meyer ，

Before you begin Joshua Cohen’s new novel， “The Netanyahus”， I’d suggest reading the Wiki entries for Cohen， Benzion Netanyahu， Benjamin Netanyahu， and Harold Bloom。 While reading this novel， you might come across other terms you’d like to know more about， so keep your Wikipedia near。Ok。 I honestly was not sure how many review stars to give this book。 I finally set it at 4 stars to begin the review but I may change it to anywhere between 1 star up to 5 as I write this review。 I wasn’t familiar w Before you begin Joshua Cohen’s new novel， “The Netanyahus”， I’d suggest reading the Wiki entries for Cohen， Benzion Netanyahu， Benjamin Netanyahu， and Harold Bloom。 While reading this novel， you might come across other terms you’d like to know more about， so keep your Wikipedia near。Ok。 I honestly was not sure how many review stars to give this book。 I finally set it at 4 stars to begin the review but I may change it to anywhere between 1 star up to 5 as I write this review。 I wasn’t familiar with the author Joshua Cohen before picking up this book。 I like weird authors up to a point， and particularly if they’re creating Jewish characters。 Certainly Tova Reich is an expert at giving the reader the most loathsome and vile characters in her novels。 See “My Holocaust”， for example。But the characters in “The Netanyahus” are real people。 In an afterword， Cohen states that all the characters are real though a few are disguised。 Disguised to protect the innocent， I guess， because Cohen sure doesn’t protect the guilty。The book， basically， is set in the early 1960s， at an upstate New York college， which could be Cornell or one of the state colleges of New York。 The school didn’t have any Jewish professors til they hired Ruben Blum to teach American History。 Blum， in turn， is asked to “vet” a possible hire， the Israel-American scholar， BenZion Netanyahu。 BenZion comes up to the college for an interview for a position in both the History and the Religious schools。 He arrives in a broken down beater he had borrowed， with his wife and three sons。 There’s a Yiddish （I think） word， “un-Tom”， which means wild， uncontrollable child。 The three Netanyahu boys are the perfect examples of the term。 The boys are Jonathan， Benjamin， and Iddo。 Benjamin was known as Bibi， even back then and Jonathan， later killed at Entebbe， was Yoni。 Iddo was Iddo。 The boys， and their mother， then proceed to ruin the Blum house。 Cohen’s book then goes into BenZion Netanyahu’s unique thesis， which is that the Spanish Inquisition was not sanctioned by the Church， but rather， those “Catholic monarchs” Ferdinand and Isabella， for political reasons。I know by now I’ve managed to confuse the readers of this review， making the review as confusing as the book。 But I didn’t mean to but rather to say that if you even begin understand my review， you’ll probably like Joshua Cohen’s novel。 And if you like this book， look into Tova Reich’s novels。 。。。more

Esmeralda Santiago ，

History as comedy。

Procrastireader ，

well holy shit

Sam McCarthy ，

New favorite book of the year。 The Netanyahus is incredibly erudite--often esoteric--but its sitcom-like humor and its level-headed and self-deprecating narrator ensure that the book never feels pretentious and inaccessible。 And Cohen makes it incredibly apparent why this history is relevant today， making the book’s obscure historical episodes feel vitally relevant。Likewise， the Netanyahus is both vehemently anti-Zionist but never dogmatic， holistic in its depiction of Zionism's origins in centu New favorite book of the year。 The Netanyahus is incredibly erudite--often esoteric--but its sitcom-like humor and its level-headed and self-deprecating narrator ensure that the book never feels pretentious and inaccessible。 And Cohen makes it incredibly apparent why this history is relevant today， making the book’s obscure historical episodes feel vitally relevant。Likewise， the Netanyahus is both vehemently anti-Zionist but never dogmatic， holistic in its depiction of Zionism's origins in centuries of violent anti-Semitic persecution and its tragic manifestation in an aggressive and paranoid State of Israel。 Joshua Cohen takes issue with Zionism for an oft-ignored reason in our climate of progressive anti-Zionism: the ideology's insistence on the erasure of Jewish life in the Diaspora。 At a moment in which some of the world’s most staunch Zionists live in the Diaspora--especially the U。S。--Cohen reminds us， by brilliant way of Bibi Netanyahu's father Ben-Zion， that Zionism is explicitly founded on a disgust for Diaspora Jewry。 （Which helps to explain， perhaps， why America’s most fervent Zionists are not Jews but right-wing Christian nationalists）。But， at its core， The Netanyahus is a family drama and a comedy of manners。 Cohen's ability to balance both the intellectual and emotional aspects of its narrative makes the Netanyahus one of the best books I've read on Israel， American-Jewish identity， and postwar America in general。 。。。more

Bonnie ，

What a fascinating， entertaining， read。 Also very funny and very serious。

michal k-c ，

this feels like the book Cohen was meant to write。 a novel set in the past doggedly haunted by the present。 a real mitzvah

James Waddell ，

Absolute blast

Kevin Adams ，

Another outstanding output from truly one of our very best writers。 Taking an anecdote he once heard from Harold Bloom and turning it into a hilarious story。 Tons of great writing and a whole lot of fun。 As with all of his books， could’ve been longer。 More please！If you haven’t listened to his interview with the great Michael Silverblatt on Bookworm here’s a link。 Read first， listen second， discuss third…enjoy。https://www。kcrw。com/culture/shows/bo。。。 Another outstanding output from truly one of our very best writers。 Taking an anecdote he once heard from Harold Bloom and turning it into a hilarious story。 Tons of great writing and a whole lot of fun。 As with all of his books， could’ve been longer。 More please！If you haven’t listened to his interview with the great Michael Silverblatt on Bookworm here’s a link。 Read first， listen second， discuss third…enjoy。https://www。kcrw。com/culture/shows/bo。。。 。。。more

Robert Wechsler ，

I loved the long letters in this novel， especially the one from the Israeli professor， but the scenes with dialogue were too sitcomische for my taste， and I moved on after reading about 2/3 of the novel。 I much preferred Moving Kings。 I loved the long letters in this novel， especially the one from the Israeli professor， but the scenes with dialogue were too sitcomische for my taste， and I moved on after reading about 2/3 of the novel。 I much preferred Moving Kings。 。。。more

Dylan Groves ，

Maybe better split into a juicy piece of writer-party gossip and a couple of essays on the Jewish diaspora？

Joshua ，

Operation Shylock's precocious younger brother Operation Shylock's precocious younger brother 。。。more

Chris Roberts ，

I was many weeks Dissecting this fiction I came to a page Not yet touched by the whirl Made bloody my hand And printed boldly， "AUTHOR FAIL。"Mr。 Cohen， The struggle is unremembered by time。In the meantime:Humor used as a butcher's cleaver dulls quickly。Gimmickry is best perpetrated in a freshman writing class。 #poemChris Roberts， Patron Saint to the Silver People I was many weeks Dissecting this fiction I came to a page Not yet touched by the whirl Made bloody my hand And printed boldly， "AUTHOR FAIL。"Mr。 Cohen， The struggle is unremembered by time。In the meantime:Humor used as a butcher's cleaver dulls quickly。Gimmickry is best perpetrated in a freshman writing class。 #poemChris Roberts， Patron Saint to the Silver People 。。。more

Richard Bellamy ，

Incredibly well written， the product of considerable research， funny and horribly revealing about this horrendous family。

Lola ，

The Netanyahus was the first Joshua Cohen book that I've read - I was attracted by the familiarity （and mark of good quality） of the Fizcarraldo edition at Daunt Books， enough to take a chance on a book based on the back cover mention of Cohen's blending of fact and fiction， which had a Kiarostami ring to me。 I will now be reading everything he's published。 The Netanyahus is up there with Sophie's Choice in my list of revered books。 Cohen's writing is simply brilliant， and the reader who might n The Netanyahus was the first Joshua Cohen book that I've read - I was attracted by the familiarity （and mark of good quality） of the Fizcarraldo edition at Daunt Books， enough to take a chance on a book based on the back cover mention of Cohen's blending of fact and fiction， which had a Kiarostami ring to me。 I will now be reading everything he's published。 The Netanyahus is up there with Sophie's Choice in my list of revered books。 Cohen's writing is simply brilliant， and the reader who might not have the patience for looking up a new word here and there， or find it too 'rambling' （as I read in a review below）， will be rewarded in the second half of the book by scenes that are universally hilarious and beautifully based in truth。 You don't have to know or care about Benjamin Netanyahu or his father or Israel or Judaism to love this book。 。。。more

W。D。 Clarke ，

Update: Interview w author in Paris Review 2021-06-23:https://www。theparisreview。org/blog/2。。。 A gem。 I just loved every sentence。 As I said in an update， this reader was entranced by the reined-in but evident erudition， but most of all by a similar sense of how the author is in complete control of an artistry that always feels like it could burst out of the strictures he chooses to impose upon himself。 May not read Witz， but will definitely go on to more Cohen。 Update: Interview w author in Paris Review 2021-06-23:https://www。theparisreview。org/blog/2。。。 A gem。 I just loved every sentence。 As I said in an update， this reader was entranced by the reined-in but evident erudition， but most of all by a similar sense of how the author is in complete control of an artistry that always feels like it could burst out of the strictures he chooses to impose upon himself。 May not read Witz， but will definitely go on to more Cohen。 。。。more

Barry Pierce ，

this is so much fun

Jack Lawrence ，

Every time I try to write about Cohen it inevitably slips into praise of his incredible writing ability， because according to this 22 year old， he's the best contemporary capital W Writer working。 The way he gives voice to his characters and creates memorable set pieces seems effortless， be they esoteric lectures on Medieval Spain， tense arguments between warring relatives or the slapstick of guests turning up with 3 havok-wreaking children unexpectedly in tow。It is the wit and humour throughout Every time I try to write about Cohen it inevitably slips into praise of his incredible writing ability， because according to this 22 year old， he's the best contemporary capital W Writer working。 The way he gives voice to his characters and creates memorable set pieces seems effortless， be they esoteric lectures on Medieval Spain， tense arguments between warring relatives or the slapstick of guests turning up with 3 havok-wreaking children unexpectedly in tow。It is the wit and humour throughout that makes that makes the more poignant meditations on Jewish identity shine that much brighter。 。。。more

Bridget Bonaparte ，

It’s a smart and well written book， no surprise there。 This is not a pro-Israel book to be clear， more like an extended anecdote about a strange encounter with this family。 Quiet funny at times， while also being pretty dark as it shows the multi generational Zionism fomenting steadily。

George ，

Review to come

Yonit ，

This book was so clever， in all the meanings of the word。 It covered what it means to be Jewish， how we view history and a satirical look at academia。 It was funny， on every page was a word I had to look up， and best of all， it made fun of the Netanyahu family- the Yahus！

Barry ，

I didn't know this is what I was waiting for from Cohen。 I loved Book of Numbers， but was rather underwhelmed by Moving Kings。The first section of this novel， on academic politics and funding， was laugh out loud funny。 Then the correspondence section was a wry and deeply-considered reflection of Zionism。 Finally， the slapstick of the Netanyahu family （yes， that family） arriving at the university was a masterpiece; the closing account of the conversations with the real-life Bloom （whose recollect I didn't know this is what I was waiting for from Cohen。 I loved Book of Numbers， but was rather underwhelmed by Moving Kings。The first section of this novel， on academic politics and funding， was laugh out loud funny。 Then the correspondence section was a wry and deeply-considered reflection of Zionism。 Finally， the slapstick of the Netanyahu family （yes， that family） arriving at the university was a masterpiece; the closing account of the conversations with the real-life Bloom （whose recollections this is based on）， closing with correspondence from Judy， have to be considered an integral part of the novel。 Incredible writing。 。。。more

Neil ，

The Netanyahus is a very clever book。 It is clever in the words it uses （I had to look up several words as I read）。 But it is also clever in the conflicts it brings about， including in the reader’s head。Our narrator is Ruben Blum。 In an afterword， Cohen explains that the book is based on an anecdote told to him by Harold Bloom， the literary critic who died in 2019 and who called Cohen’s Book of Numbers one of the four best books by a Jewish-American novelist （I have no idea what the other 3 book The Netanyahus is a very clever book。 It is clever in the words it uses （I had to look up several words as I read）。 But it is also clever in the conflicts it brings about， including in the reader’s head。Our narrator is Ruben Blum。 In an afterword， Cohen explains that the book is based on an anecdote told to him by Harold Bloom， the literary critic who died in 2019 and who called Cohen’s Book of Numbers one of the four best books by a Jewish-American novelist （I have no idea what the other 3 books are！）。 The similarity between Blum and Bloom is probably deliberate although Blum is not， I don’t think， supposed to actually be Bloom。 From what I have read， however， it seems Cohen has stuck pretty much to the facts as he was told them for the rest of the story。As the story begins， Ruben Blum and his family （wife Edith and daughter Judith） are living in upper New York state and trying fairly hard to fit themselves into the gentile culture around them。 Judith hates her nose （and ends up taking fairly drastic action to do something about it）。 Ruben is asked to be part of the panel interviewing a candidate for a professorship at the college he works in。 That candidate is Benzion Netanyahu and Ruben’s conflict in the book is that he has been asked to take part because he is Jewish。 It’s a Catch-22 situation: if he recommends Netanyahu for the post it will be seen as Jewish favouritism， but， if he does not recommend him， it will be seen as trying to avoid the appearance of Jewish favouritism。When Netanyahu arrives （unexpectedly bringing his family with him）， a second conflict is set up。 Benzion Netanyahu is a real historical figure known as a hardline Revisionist Zionist。 His time with Ruben （attempting to fit in with the society around him by， effectively， hiding his Jewishness） is bound to bring tensions。And once the Netanyahu family arrives， chaos comes with them。 Several reviews refer to the book as “laugh out loud funny”， but there’s a discomfort to the comedy because the conflict set up for the reader is whether or not they should actually be laughing at this。 I have to admit that I didn’t actually laugh out loud。 Except when Ruben says “It’s not holy， it’s just a nice rug” which really did make me laugh。 The book’s portrayal of the Netanyahu family as a walking disaster area feels awkward to read， but I imagine this is exactly what the author intended as he raises questions about how much a Jewish historian should be a representative of Jewish history （I borrowed that phrase from a review in the Financial Times）。I have mixed feelings at the end of the book。 It is very well written but the farce elements were， for me， a bit off-putting。 I did like the way the different conflicts were set up and explored in the book， though， so I find myself in favour of it overall。 。。。more

JG ，

A wild， borderline insane ride of ‘revisionist’ fiction which has the voice， wit and intelligence of a potential classic。

MJ Nicholls ，

When Cohen published the pathologically unreadable 800-page monolith Witz in 2010 with Dalkey Archive， a flabbergasting slurry of manic logorrhoea intermittently brilliant and excruciating， there was no indication as to how Cohen might harness his astonishing stamina for further high-voltage literary wowness。 The answer was Book of Numbers， a violently readable novel that shirked thickets of opaque wtf in favour of turbulent meta-antics， formal play and punnilingual wizardry， and established him When Cohen published the pathologically unreadable 800-page monolith Witz in 2010 with Dalkey Archive， a flabbergasting slurry of manic logorrhoea intermittently brilliant and excruciating， there was no indication as to how Cohen might harness his astonishing stamina for further high-voltage literary wowness。 The answer was Book of Numbers， a violently readable novel that shirked thickets of opaque wtf in favour of turbulent meta-antics， formal play and punnilingual wizardry， and established him as the heir apparent to David Foster Wallace。Continuing the downsizing present in his last novel Moving Kings， Cohen serves up a compellingly odd campus tale taken from an anecdotal story as relayed to the author by critic Harold Bloom。 In the late 1950s， Hebrew scholar Ben-Zion Netanyahu （father of Israeli President Benjamin） visits the college of Corbindale to hold a polemical lecture on the Iberian Inquisition。 Something of an affectionate tribute to Bloom， who is recast as the mild-mannered Ruben， outgunned by a chiding wife and a rebellious daughter， the novel serves up a stylish evocation of the period。 The humour is occasionally reliant on pratfalls and overly long passages of domestic repartee， though on a prose level， The Netanyahus is as sublimely written a novel as anything you’re likely to read this year。 。。。more

Graham Sillars ，

Firstly I would like to thank the lovely folk at Fitzcarraldo Editions for sending me a copy of this glorious book with the request for an open and honest review。The Netanyahus by Joshua Cohen is a very well written and hilariously funny novel。 After an initial struggle to fully get into it the story hits its stride and it really flows。Told from the point of view of a Jewish Historian， （but not an historian of the Jews。） Ruben Blum， who’s remembering a certain period from his life when as a youn Firstly I would like to thank the lovely folk at Fitzcarraldo Editions for sending me a copy of this glorious book with the request for an open and honest review。The Netanyahus by Joshua Cohen is a very well written and hilariously funny novel。 After an initial struggle to fully get into it the story hits its stride and it really flows。Told from the point of view of a Jewish Historian， （but not an historian of the Jews。） Ruben Blum， who’s remembering a certain period from his life when as a young teacher he is also involved in a hiring committee。。。 it’s in this capacity that he meets a young man named Benzion Netanyahu and the rest his family who have also shown up alongside him。 What follows is a deliciously comic and intelligent narrative that also has its fair share of serious and thought provoking moments。 There are extremely funny scenes along the way and writing that pulls really you into the book。 A fun and thought provoking novel that I would highly recommend to anybody who enjoys a well written book full of sharp wit， comedy and a dash of melancholy。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Netanyahus

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Netanyahus&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Netanyahus&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0