Fiction

The Netanyahus

The Netanyahus

  • Downloads：4346
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-06-17 10:16:07
  • Update Date：2025-09-23
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Joshua Cohen
  • ISBN：1681376075
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
  • Download

Summary

Corbin College， not-quite-upstate New York， winter 1959-1960: Ruben Blum， a Jewish historian - but not an historian of the Jews - is coopted 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 non-fiction， the campus novel with the lecture， THE NETANYAHUS is a wildly inventive， genre-bending comedy of blending， identity， and politics - 'An Account of A Minor and Ultimately Even Negligible Incident in the History of a Very Famous Family' that finds Joshua Cohen at the height of his powers。

Download

Reviews

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

Matthew ，

42nd book of 2021。 Artist for this review is photographer Jonathan Brand。4。5。 It's blowing a hooley outside tonight。 Over the last few years （this is unrelated to the hooley） I've mostly avoided reading new contemporary fiction， mostly because I never think it's any good。 This year I've been trying slightly harder， and with mixed results。 I've read some fairly mediocre novels like Real Life， Writers & Lovers， The Vegetarian， etc。 I mostly say unsavory things of new literary fiction， which never 42nd book of 2021。 Artist for this review is photographer Jonathan Brand。4。5。 It's blowing a hooley outside tonight。 Over the last few years （this is unrelated to the hooley） I've mostly avoided reading new contemporary fiction， mostly because I never think it's any good。 This year I've been trying slightly harder， and with mixed results。 I've read some fairly mediocre novels like Real Life， Writers & Lovers， The Vegetarian， etc。 I mostly say unsavory things of new literary fiction， which never seems to be very interesting or very original。 I'm probably reading the wrong things， in fact， I clearly am。 Anyway， the search is over and if literary fiction steers itself into Cohen's wry waters， then I would finally accept that the novel is bucking over some promising waves。 The Netanyahus is officially published tomorrow， 4th May。 It is described by the blurb as "mixing fiction with non-fiction， the campus novel with the lecture， The Netanyahus is a wildly inventive， genre-bending comedy of blending， identity， and politics。" At times， it felt almost like a Jewish Pnin to me。 Ruben Blum， a Jewish historian， but as he distinguishes， not "an historian of the Jews"， is on Corbin College's committee to review the application of an exiled Israeli scholar， Benzion Netanyahu。 1959-1960 New York， because they are both Jews， the College presumed it would be necessary， even obvious， that Blum help with deciding a fellow Jew's fate。 The expected sort of lines are used， "One of your kind"， so along such lines。 Netanyahu stays distant from the semi-abstract narrative at first。 Cohen breaks down Jewish life in New York。 Blum， his wife and his daughter try to live comfortable lives。 Judy， the daughter， despises her nose， which causes her to snore loudly and profusely drip snot。 There are several attempts （one very shocking） at changing the shape， reducing it， or simply damaging it beyond repair in an act of self-destruction， to lead to reconstruction。 Once Netanyahu and his family arrive however， the true narrative kicks off and the pages move faster。It is a comic novel， wildly dry and intelligent， wicked， almost。 Cohen's wit drips from every line of prose and carries the novel。 He's a fantastic writer， and I read that Granta named him one of America's greatest young writers of today。 I think it's a fair claim。 I recently read Bellow's Paris Review interview （Bellow， with Roth， being one of the writers who frequently appears in any discussion of Jewish literature） where he says， "He [a professor of Bellow's] said the subject was much too serious for fooling。 I felt that my fooling was fairly serious。" This struck me as oddly profound when I read it the other week and as I was reading Cohen's novel， it kept lingering: I felt as if Cohen's fooling here was fairly serious。 There are some wonderful lectures involved in the novel about Jewish history， about religion， about Europe。 At one point， in the interview itself: "I know the Jews are the chosen people， Dr。 Netanyahu， but why choose them for this？ What makes them the best vehicle， as you say， for such an undertaking？""Because of all the peoples in the world， none is less historical， or less historically minded。 Which is curious， given Judaism's antiquity。 As Dr。 Blum can surely confirm for you， it's a common enough quip among contemporary American Jews that Jewish parents would rather their children become pediatricians or litigators than， say， the messiah。 But I would submit that even messianism， even false messianism， is more Jewish a discipline than history， whose allegiance to sublunary powers such as regents and facts was traditionally regarded by the rabbis as idolatry。"And Cohen balances the lecture， the seriousness （seriousness that still reads with this sly humour）， with scenes of great comic effect。 "Forget just in this weather， also in summer。 And you only know you left when you get to Allentown。 Wilkes something， like the man who shot Lincoln。""Wilkes-Barre，" I said。"No， that's not it。"Jonathan， sleeve-wiping cocoa beads from his sparse Puerto Rican moustache hairs， said， "Wilkes Booth。""Yes， Wilkes Booth。""Wilkes-Barre，" I said， "near Scranton。"Jonathan said， "The actor John Wilkes Booth shooted， shot President Avraham Lincoln， the sixteenth president of the United States who gave to the slaves their freedom in 1865 at the end of the American Civil War。"Really， I could type out whole portions of dialogue and whole scenes of humorous events。 The novel is very fairly serious in its fooling。 Anyway， bravo to Cohen。 This is probably the best "new" novel I've read in some time。 I want to discuss the back pages of the book to end。 The novel is dedicated， I noticed （surprised） on starting， to Harold Bloom。 I wondered why。 At the back of the novel is Cohen's "Credits and Extra Credit"; I read it with great interest and for the final punchline in this wonderful and strange novel。 It turns out， Cohen got to know the late Bloom in the last years of his life and would visit him。 Bloom would ask Cohen about what was being published in the world and if it was any good。 All the while， Cohen admitted to trying to steer the conversation onto Bloom's own views， which he wanted to hear from the horse's mouth。 He got some fantastic things from Bloom: a car crash he'd [Bloom] gotten into with Paul de Man， that he had argued with Anthony Burgess about limbo and purgatory （"as a lapsed Catholic， Burgess was going to hell， whereas I am still here and going nowhere"）， that Bloom played chess with Nabokov （"it astonished no one that I did not emerge the winner"）， that Cormac McCarthy would call Bloom on the telephone "while soaking like a cowboy in the bath"， and that Bloom thought W。G。 Sebald was "gentle， maybe too gentle。"。 I am including these purely because they are beautiful to know （I think） and want to record them。 But the point eventually comes down to the fact that Bloom told Cohen of a time he was asked to coordinate the campus visit of an obscure Israeli historian named Ben-Zion Netanyahu， who showed up for a job interview and lecture with his wife and three children in tow and proceeded to make a mess。 （This works as a fairly apt blurb to the novel， funnily enough。） Cohen says it was one of the last stories Bloom told him before his death in 2019; later， he went about writing it as a novel， with many inventions from his own imagination to fill in the gaps Bloom left out （quite a few， it seems）。 Long story short: Cohen tried to contact a certain somebody who "features" in the novel， to ask for their consent to being involved， though mostly "unrecognisable"。 No answer the first time so Cohen went ahead and wrote the novel anyway。 He then sent the finished draft to her for one final attempt and the book ends with her reply in verbatim。 Its inclusion to end the book feels like the last punchline， in a way， the last laugh at the hilarity of the world and his fairly serious fooling: Dear Joshua Cohen，I've just finished reading your 'book'， and I'm going to say it once and for all and that's it: Judaism is just another word for THE PATRIARCHY （and for PATRIARCIAL HEGEMONY）。 We're all one people， the Human People， with no differences between us。 The planet is ruined， the machines are taking over， and none of this Jewish crap still matters。 WAKE UP！！！！！！ No one reads books anymore and the Jews are either on the wrong side of history or just irrelevant。 IF YOU'RE HAVING AN IDENTITY CRISIS， I'm sorry， your only choice is to expand your consciousness and join the Human People in our common struggle against pollution and technology or spend the rest of your life crying for a past that let's be honest couldn't have been that great if this is where it leads。 Everything you believe in never existed， including your individual self， if you ever believed you could change that。 Admit it， even literacy is dying—and when the last old Jew of you is finally as dead as （（（God））） this proud nonbinary dyke YES DYKE IS GOING TO DANCE NAKED AS HELL ON HIS GRAVE。 。。。more

Paul Fulcher ，

Joshua Cohen’s latest novel， The Nethanyahus is subtitled “An Account of A Minor and Ultimately Even Negligible Episode in the History of a Very Famous Family。”It is an odd - and to me uneasy - mixture of campus novel， non-fictional exposition and a rather odd attack on famous real-life family by creating a fictional version of them to ridicule。The author explains in the afterword it is inspired by a true story told to him by the critic Harold Bloom from his time at Cornell。 In the novel， the na Joshua Cohen’s latest novel， The Nethanyahus is subtitled “An Account of A Minor and Ultimately Even Negligible Episode in the History of a Very Famous Family。”It is an odd - and to me uneasy - mixture of campus novel， non-fictional exposition and a rather odd attack on famous real-life family by creating a fictional version of them to ridicule。The author explains in the afterword it is inspired by a true story told to him by the critic Harold Bloom from his time at Cornell。 In the novel， the narrator is Ruben Blum， a professor in the history of taxation at the fictitious University of Corbindale in upstate New York。 Although he is keen to emphasise that Blum - who by his own admission is the "dread-fuelled embodiment of the under-coordinated overintellectualizing self-depreciating male Jewish stereotype" of Woody Allen and Philip Roth's work - is not intended as a portrayal of Bloom。Blum's account begins:My name is Ruben Blum and I’m an， yes， an historian。 Soon enough， though， I guess I’ll be historical。 By which I mean I’ll die and become history myself， in a rare type of transformation traditionally reserved for the purer scholars。 Lawyers die and don’t become the law， doctors die and don’t turn into medicine， but biology and chemistry professors pass away and decompose into biology and chemistry， they mineralize into geology， they disperse into their science， just as surely as mathematicians become statistics。 The same process holds true for us historians—in my experience， we’re the only ones in the humanities for whom this holds true—the only ones who become what we study; we age， we yellow， we go wrinkled and brittle along with our materials until our lives subside into the past， to become the very substance of time。 Or maybe that’s just the Jew in me talking。。。 Goys believe in the Word becoming Flesh， but Jews believe in the Flesh becoming Word， a more natural， rational incarnation…By way of further introduction， I will now quote a remark made to me by the who-shall-remain-nameless then-president of the American Historical Association， when I met him at a symposium back in my student days just after the Second World War: “Ah，” he said， limply pressing my hand， “Blum， did you say？ A Jewish historian？”Though the man surely intended this remark to wound me， it merely succeeded in bringing delight， and even now I find I can smile at the description。 I appreciate its accidental imprecision， and the way the double entendre can function as a type of psychological test:“‘A Jewish historian’—when you hear that， what do you think？ What image springs to mind？” The point is， the epithet as applied is both correct and incorrect。 I am a Jewish historian， but I am not an historian of the Jews—or I’ve never been one， professionally。This last a key point to the plot - as the University is recruiting and Blum is asked to vet one the frontrunning candidate， a specialist in the Spanish Inquisition， one Benzion Nethanyahu， largely on the grounds that they are both Jewish。And ‘Benzion Nethanyahu’， by contrast to Blum， is very much meant to be a portrayal of the real-life figure of the same name: academically author of the 1，400 page The Origins of the Inquisition in Fifteenth Century Spain （which， to simplify it to a few words， argues the Iberian Inquisition was driven not by a desire to root out heresy but rather by racial anti-Semitism， tracing a direct path to the Holocaust）， politically a leading Revisionist Zionist and close ally of Ze'ev Jabotinsky， and biologically the father of the current Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu （who features in the book as a child）。To be fair the novel allows Benzion Nethanyahu to express his views， even if one strongly suspects the author strongly disagrees with them。 But it counterbalances this by making him， his wife and their three children figures of fun， Benzion something of a crackpot， his wife rude and presumptive and the children wild - Blum calls them the 'Yahus。' For example when we first meet the family， the 7 year old Iddo is still wearing a nappy， when it is removed the 10 year-old Benjamin toys with Iddo's genitals， and the 13 year old Jonathan （who in real-life was later the sole Israeli casualty of Operation Entebbe） has sex with the Blum's daughter。The novel has had rave reviews in the UK press in both the FT （https://www。ft。com/content/873e1070-d。。。） and The Times （https://www。thetimes。co。uk/article/49。。。）。 They describe the review as “very funny” and “laugh-out-loud funny”， whereas I can’t say I found any amusement in the pages at all。Disappointing - 1。5 stars rounded to 2。 。。。more

Lisa of Hopewell ，

I learned of this book via this post: https://alifeinbooks。co。uk/2021/04/bo。。。 I learned of this book via this post: https://alifeinbooks。co。uk/2021/04/bo。。。 。。。more

Blair ，

I never feel properly equipped to talk about Cohen’s writing; his intelligence and wit are so powerful they kind of terrify me。 This is simply a masterfully written novel。 Involving， surprising and very funny。 （May write more later。）I received an advance review copy of The Netanyahus from the publisher， Fitzcarraldo Editions。TinyLetter | Linktree I never feel properly equipped to talk about Cohen’s writing; his intelligence and wit are so powerful they kind of terrify me。 This is simply a masterfully written novel。 Involving， surprising and very funny。 （May write more later。）I received an advance review copy of The Netanyahus from the publisher， Fitzcarraldo Editions。TinyLetter | Linktree 。。。more

Rachel ，

The beginning seemed promising but I quickly lost interest - too cerebral; too much rambling。

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