The Netanyahus By Joshua Cohen

 

The Netanyahus

By Joshua Cohen

 After The Netanyahus won the Pulitzer this year I was keen to read it to find out if I thought it was worthy. Spoiler alert: I did!

Ruben Blum is a history professor at Corbin College in western New York state, a recent transplant from New York City with his wife and daughter. Ruben is the only Jew in town that he knows of, and certainly the only Jew at Corbin. As such, it seems, he is asked to host a prospective employee arriving soon to be interviewed to teach another history course (like Ruben). The interviewee is another Jew, Ben Zion Netanyahu. Ruben delves into any information he can find on this interviewee and receives letters both for and against Netanyahu.

Beforehand, we learn about Ruben's home life and his anxieties about his job. He is uneasy in both realms; his wife and daughter are adjusting to life outside of the city and visits from both Ruben's and his wife's parents comically bring everyone's feelings about it to light. His daughter, who is embarrassed by her looks schemes to get a nose job, his wife shirks his attempts at affection.

When Netanyahu arrives he is not alone. He has brought along his wife, Tzila, and his three sons, Jonathan, Benjamin, and Iddo, who all make a ruckus of Ruben's house before Ruben escorts Netanyahu on his series of tasks, guest lecturing, interviewing, and socializing. Chaos then ensues and Ruben kicks the Netanyahus out.

This book is all about what it's like to be a Jew in America during the 1950s in particular, and also in Israel. It explores the idea of Jews finding a homeland and becoming no longer mythologized but actualized. It is a fictionalized account of a true story written in both a comedic and serious interplay style. It has a repartee about it that was fun for me to read. I thought it was smart and compelling, with a great pace and compelling dialogue. I can totally understand why it won the Pulitzer.

For me it was an easy 4 stars. The only thing that let it down for me was the last chapter, which I thought was a little too whacky and maybe not necessary. Maybe a different scene would have saved it. But all in all, an excellent book.