JOIN US!
The East Side Jews Book Club is a bi-weekly reading and discussion group. We are focused on learning with the head and the heart, and building relationships to create a community that we are excited to be a part of! This group is as committed to exploring complex stories and challenging narratives, as it is to having a damn good time together.
If you’re coming mostly for the laughs, the deep listening, or to take part in passionate discussion, you’re welcome here!
Suggested Reading:
Whether you’ve attended every session or this will be your first one, all are welcome to attend. We’ll be focusing conversation on the last stand-alone story in the book:
“The Day the Beast Got Thirsty” (Pg.111-172)
from Gaza Blues: Different Stories
by Etgar Keret & Samir El-Youssef
After finishing off “The Rabbi Who Prayed With Fire” by Rachel Sharona Lewis, we are excited to dive into another thoughtful work of fiction. For more on our next read “Gaza Blues: Different Stories” - check out the info below.
This new group is molded by the folks who show up. If you want to partake but these dates or times aren’t great for you, write EastSideJews@sijcc.net to let us know.
CLICK HERE TO RSVP
MORE INFO ON OUR READ…
by Etgar Keret & Samir El-Youssef
Two writers, Israeli Etgar Keret and Palestinian Samir El-youssef, have engaged in a challenging and provocative artistic collaboration, producing a book of short stories and a novella exploring different aspects of a fraught and complex situation. Their darkly humorous tales reflect the dreams and nightmares of living in Israel today and during the first Intifada.
Review: “'Gaza Blues: Different Stories' provides surrealist snapshot of conflict" - Electronic Intifada
Review: "Gaza Blues: Different Stories" - Sydney Morning Herald
Etgar Keret, born in Tel-Aviv in 1967 is a popular author amongst Israeli youth who see him as expressing their world.. all his books have been bestsellers and he has been translated world-wide. He lectures at the Tel Aviv University Film School. His film Skin Deep won an Israeli Oscar. This is the first time he has been published by a UK publisher
Samir El-Youssef was born in the Lebanon in 1965 now living in London. He is an essayist, short story writer and reviewer. He is a regular contributor to major Arab periodicals and to London-based Arabic news services. His first collection of stories 'Domestic Affairs' was published in Beirut in 1994.
Please have your copy of the book by July 14th. If book costs are a stretch for you - just email us at eastsidejews@sijcc.net for support!