"Cleareyed, courageous." — Kirkus
“This smart, lyrical novel explores the complexity of keeping promises to those who came before us, even as we may be buoyed or bruised by life. Pogrebin has created an indelible protagonist and with bracing humor and political savvy, asks some of the most penetrating questions of our day.” —Dani Shapiro, best-selling author of Devotion
“From its stunning first paragraph to its poignant last sentence, Single Jewish Male Seeking Soul Mate manages to illuminate and educate, all while doing a novel's most important job—telling a terrific story.” —Ayelet Waldman, author of Love and Treasure
"Pogrebin is a writer of great depth and soulfulness, and with this book she catapults herself into the ranks of novelistic royalty. Her lovely prose gets to the very heart of what the heart wants, while also mining the legacies and commitments that define the rich history of African Americans and American Jews." —Thane Rosenbaum, author of Second Hand Smoke and How Sweet It Is!
“This bittersweet novel captures the struggle to honor one's ancestors and fulfill one's promises while recognizing the power, beauty, and burden of history as it shapes our lives and our choices about love.” —Marcia Ann Gillespie, former editor in chief of Ms. and Essence
“A beautifully written and heartwarming masterpiece. Letty Cottin Pogrebin sensitively captures dilemmas confronted by many children of Holocaust survivors while reminding us that respecting the legitimacy of ‘the other’ is as important as remaining true to one's own past.” —Menachem Z. Rosensaft, founding chair of the International Network of Children of Jewish Holocaust Survivors and editor of God, Faith & Identity from the Ashes
“Pogrebin masterfully explores issues of race, gender, ethnicity, and religion through her characters who struggle with conflicting moral imperatives in a sea of clashing cultures. Her exceptional intelligence shines on every page.” —Helen Fremont, author of After Long Silence
“ Single Jewish Male Seeking Soul Mate unflinchingly confronts the issue of Jewish continuity in a diverse and changing America. Most of all, though, it is a love story, delicious and sweet, and a book to be read with pleasure and savored long after the last page has been read.” —Anne Roiphe, author and journalist
"Compelling, passionate, brave." —Janet Dewart Bell, founder of the Derrick Bell Lecture Series on Race in American Society
2015-03-17
The son of Holocaust survivors has a hard time keeping his promises to his parents. "By the time he went to bed that Friday night before his bar mitzvah day, Zach Levy had made four promises to his parents: that he would grow up to be a mensch, marry a Jew, raise Jewish children, and tithe 10 percent of his earnings to help keep Israel safe so it would always be there if a Jew needed it." Pogrebin (Three Daughters, 2002, etc.) shows us how difficult it can be to honor these pledges, as her protagonist's difficulties in finding a nice Jewish girl not only prevent him from raising Jewish children, but also lead him into some fairly unmensch-y behavior. The story begins in the Bronx, where 6-year-old Zach finds an old photo album with a picture of a beautiful woman and a baby. He is stunned to learn that it's his mother—now a miserable, pale, "voiceless wraith adrift in a sea of half-done chores"—and his long-dead brother. Zach spends years trying to ferret out the details of his family's tragic history, finally revealed by his father the day after his bar mitzvah. Both parents are dead by the time Zach meets Bonnie Bertelsman outside his office at the ACLU, where she's accosting passersby to sign a petition. They marry and have a child—but at that point things veer off track: the marriage ends early, and his daughter is raised in Australia. He's on the hunt for wife No. 2 when he meets the lovely, outspoken radio host Cleo Scott at the founding meeting of the Black-Jewish Coalition of New York. This somewhat programmatic novel comes to life as it dramatizes the dilemmas Zach faces by loving a black woman. A cleareyed, courageous presentation of Jewish issues, and not a bad story either.
