Who We Are: On Being (and Not Being) a Jewish American Writer

The recent death of Saul Bellow casts an unintended perspective on this anthology. Bellow is the first writer in it, and younger writers, such as Jonathan Rosen, acknowledge their debt to him. Moreover, his sidestepping of the Jewish literary question with the semi-dismissive "I am a Jew, and I have written some books" becomes a touchstone for many of the other 28 authors to agree with or reject. The large cast, spanning several generations, creates a distinct layering effect: Philip Roth reflects on the virulent reaction against his early short stories; later, Binnie Kirshenbaum admits that Goodbye, Columbus was the first book that "got under my skin." The solemnity of the debate over identity is frequently lightened by humor. Max Apple splits his inner self into a squabbling duo, the assimilationist Max and the hyper-Yiddish Mottele, while Art Spiegelman contributes a two-page cartoon about being "just another baby-boom boy" overwhelmed by memory. Women are particularly well represented in the youngest generation, including Lara Vapnyar, Tova Mirvis and Yael Goldstein. As the argument over what constitutes authentic Jewish fiction continues to be revisited (most recently by Wendy Shalit in the New York Times Book Review ), these thoughtful essays take on added relevance. (June)