"Liberal hypocrisy is furiously implicated in Israeli writer Agur Schiff’s 'Professor Schiff’s Guilt' . . . He also portrays a more concrete inheritance of racism, mostly in the presence of undocumented African workers in Israel . . . This shrewd masquerade has real bite."—The Wall Street Journal
"A daring post-colonial satire about a professor who inadvertently gets wrapped up in human trafficking in modern-day Tel Aviv . . . The author takes a clear-eyed view of the horrors of slavery and its present-day consequences . . . It’s a blistering skewering, and as sharp as it is funny."
—Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)
"A writer contends with slavery's legacy, and his own link to it . . . Daring in both scope and imagination."
—The New York Times
"In this very funny, wise, and rueful novel, the cranky hero thrashes around in the coils of guilt, atonement, desire, and shame once he learns that a distant relative was a slave trader. (There's other bad stuff, not nearly so distant.) But really, he's no more culpable than we all are—and no less."
—James Traub, author of Judah Benjamin: Counselor to the Confederacy and Foreign Policy magazine columnist
"This provocative novel raises urgent questions about family legacy, human trafficking, atonement and memory. Full of unexpected twists and humor, the story of an Israeli professor whose ancestor was a slave trader in Africa is told in narratives that alternate between his home in Tel Aviv and a fictional country in Africa where he is being put on trial for his ancestor's sins."—Hadassah Magazine
"An aging Israeli academic reckons with his family's crimes—and his own . . . with how—and if—the people of the present can atone for the unresolved horrors of the past . . . Professor Schiff's Guilt is an incisive novel in which deep-seated prejudices lurk behind good intentions and pleasant words."—Foreword Reviews
"In prize-winning Israeli novelist/filmmaker Schiff's insightful commentary on postcolonial responsibility . . . the professor is met by his accusers, who finally point out that 'when a white European author writes about Africa, he is unwittingly reenacting an exploitative act.' This might damn the author himself, but he is to be praised for taking the risk as he hones important questions with razor-sharp intensity."—Library Journal
"Professor Schiff's Guilt skewers the exoticizing western gaze that homogenizes the Global South . . . Quite entertaining . . . This snidely funny novel suggests that even the most well-meaning, educated people are prone to showing their inner colonizer."—Jewish Book Council
"Such a good book . . . Very funny . . . Entertaining and instructive."—The Avid Reader
"This well-written and compelling satirical novel makes us question how our colonial ancestors related to the African continent and how Israelis today relate to the migrant workers we employ in minimum-wage menial jobs on the streets of Tel Aviv."—The Times of Israel
"Deftly raises important contemporary issues—including how accountable should we be for the sins of our ancestors—without losing sight of the comedy that lies at the heart of tragedy."
—Wayne Grady, author of Emancipation Day and Up From Freedom
"Not only a hilarious satirical novel full of self-deprecation, but also a topical and very relevant book, which cleverly ridicules the self-righteous and should finally place its author alongside the most prominent writers."
—Haaretz
"One of the most thrilling and thought-provoking novels I’ve read in the past year . . . Schiff writes with simplicity, full of charm and humor."
—Israel Hayom
"A wonderful and brilliant book . . . a very entertaining book, rich with imagination and literary innovations."
—Walla
06/16/2023
In prize-winning Israeli novelist/filmmaker Schiff's insightful commentary on postcolonial responsibility (his first novel to be translated to English), an Israeli professor learns that a merchant ship belonging to his grandfather's grandfather's grandfather has been discovered off the coast of an imaginary West African nation, so he travels there, hoping to reclaim his property and write a book. Never mind his proclaimed liberal stance, Professor Schiff is naively, reprehensibly blithe about his ancestor's having traded in enslaved people. (He was also horrified when a friend offered him his African maid in lieu of moneys owed but captivated enough by her to accept.) Once in West Africa, the professor is arrested under the fictitious country's Law for Adjudicating Slave Traders and Their Accomplices, Heirs, and Beneficiaries and makes things worse by unfolding his family's history, acknowledging that his ancestor was a criminal—"at least by today's standards"—but arguing for his noble intentions in striving to return to Africa families of the formerly enslaved, whom he's persuaded (forced?) to convert to Judaism. VERDICT Stumbling through his lawsuit while recalling troubles back home, the professor is met firmly by his accusers, who finally point out that "when a white European author writes about Africa, he is unwittingly reenacting an exploitative act." This might damn the author himself, but he is to be praised for taking the risk as he hones important questions with razor-sharp intensity.—Barbara Hoffert
