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Fall Blog Tour for Jerusalem As A Second Language by Rochelle Distelheim

Release date: September 29, 2020

JERUSALEM AS A SECOND LANGUAGE (Aubade Publishing) is the last book written by Rochelle Distelheim, who passed away in June 2020 at the age of 92. Foreword Reviews calls the novel “absorbing” and describes the author as “incisive, funny, and poetic in approaching questions of religious practice and resistance.”

Synopsis: It is 1998. The old Soviet Union is dead, and the new Russia is awash in corruption and despair. Manya and Yuri Zalinikov, secular Jews — he, a gifted mathematician recently dismissed from the Academy; she, a talented concert pianist — sell black market electronics in a market stall, until threatened with a gun by a mafioso in search of protection money. Yuri sinks into a Chekhovian melancholy, emerging to announce that he wants to “live as a Jew” in Israel. Manya and their daughter, Galina, are desolate, asking, “How does one do that, and why?”

And thus begins their odyssey — part tragedy, part comedy, always surprising. Struggling against loneliness, language, and danger, in a place Manya calls “more cousin’s club than country,” Yuri finds a Talmudic teacher equally addicted to religion and luxury; Manya finds a job playing the piano at The White Nights supper club, owned by a wealthy, flamboyant Russian with a murky history, who offers lust disguised as love. Galina, enrolled at Hebrew University, finds dance clubs and pizza emporiums and a string of young men, one of whom Manya hopes will save her from the Israeli Army by marrying her.

Against a potpourri of marriage wigs, matchmaking television shows, disastrous investment schemes, and a suicide bombing, the Zalinikovs confront the thin line between religious faith and skepticism, as they try to answer: What does it mean to be fully human, what does it mean to be Jewish? And what role in all of this does the mazel gene play?

About the Author: Rochelle Distelheim, a Chicago native, earned numerous short story literary awards, including The Katherine Anne Porter Prize; Illinois Arts Council Literary Awards and Fellowships; The Ragdale Foundation Fellowships; The Faulkner Society Gold Medal in Novel-in-Progress; The Faulkner Society Gold Medal in Novel; The Gival Press 2017 Short Story Competition; Finalist, Glimmer Train’s Emerging Writers; and The Salamander Second Prize in Short Story. In addition, Rochelle’s short stories earned nominations for The Best American Short Stories and The Pushcart Prize.  Her stories have appeared in national magazines such as Glamour, Good Housekeeping, Ladies Home Journal, Woman’s Day, Woman’s World, Working Woman, Working Mother, and more.  Her first novel, Sadie in Love, was published in 2018 when she was 90 years old.  She lived in Highland Park, IL.

Praise for the Novel:

“Jerusalem as a Second Language tells a necessary story that I’m surprised hasn’t been told for American readers before. With wit and complexity, Rochelle Distelheim takes on two cultures whose differences are daunting and she manages to represent both with convincing detail and, most importantly, with sympathy. Her book builds a bridge over a deep chasm that her characters walk across with dignity and just enough mordant humor to convince us they’re real.” –Rosellen Brown, author of The Lake on Fire, Before and After, Tender Mercies, and Civil Wars

“Meet Manya, who grudgingly trades Russia for Israel. Shimmering with wit and bittersweet insights, Rochelle Distelheim’s Jerusalem as a Second Language is an emotional travelogue that begs the question, how does a secular Jew find her place in the world?” –Sally Koslow, author of Another Side of Paradise and the international bestseller, The Late, Lamented Molly Marx

“Quick on the heels of her smart, charming, and deeply humane novel Sadie in Love (2018), Rochelle Distelheim’s Jerusalem as a Second Language introduces her devoted readers to a whole new cast of displaced characters. As secular Jews who have fled to Jerusalem from an increasingly corrupt and dangerous Russia, the Zalinikov family struggles against displacement, loneliness, and danger in a country that is as strange to them as it is compelling. Simultaneously tender and steely-eyed, often funny, and occasionally sorrowful, Distelheim’s elegant prose plucks at the heart of what it means to be a family at odds with their new country, and with each other.” –Elizabeth Wetmore, author of Valentine

Blog Tour Schedule:

September 29th – Read with Me 702

September 30th – Grace J Reviewer Lady

October 1st – The Book Decoder

October 2nd – Jessica Belmont

October 5th – Suzy Approved Book Reviews

October 6th – Long and Short Reviews

October 7th – Storeybook Reviews

October 8th – Jennifer Tar Heel Reader

October 9th – Celtic Lady’s Reviews

October 12th – Collector of Book Boyfriends

October 13th – Beth’s Book Nook Blog

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: blog tour, fiction, Jerusalem As A Second Language, Jewish author, Jewish fiction, OTRPR, Over the River Public Relations, Religion, Rochelle Distelheim, women's fiction, women's interest

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The Astronaut’s Son by Tom Seigel

THE ASTRONAUT’S SON (Woodhall Press Hardcover) by Tom Segiel is a fast-paced mystery that was inspired by the true story of ex-Nazi scientists and engineers at NASA.  Read the well-deserved interviews and reviews for this debut thriller:

BookLoons -review

Oregon Jewish Life – included in a holiday roundup 

The Times of Israel – interview

The Book Decoder Blog – review

Jennifer Tar Heel Reader Blog – review

The Book’s The Thing Blog – review

Jewish Book Council – guest post

Locus Magazine Online – included in a roundup of new releases/

The Rap Sheet Blog – included in a roundup of new releases: 

Too Jewish Radio Show – interview

Tita Writes – review

Mystery Scene – review 

The Weston Forum/Han Network Newspapers – interview 

Mystery People – interview  

The Jewish Week (NYC) – included in Fall Arts Preview 9/13: 

ForeWord Reviews – review

Book Q&A With Deborah Kalb – interview 

Publishers Weekly – review

Detroit Jewish News – included in summer roundup: 

Reviews by Amos Lassen – review 

Filed Under: Books, Reviews & Features, Thrillers Tagged With: Debut novel, Debut novelist, Jewish author, Jewish Book Council, Jewish fiction, mystery, thriller novel, Tom Seigel, Woodhall Press

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My Mother’s Son by David Hirshberg

FigTree Books LLC, publisher of the best literature of the American Jewish experience, has published My Mother’s Son, a debut novel by David Hirshberg. 

The story is told by a radio raconteur revisiting his past in post-World War II Boston, the playground and battleground for two brothers whose lives are transformed by discoveries they never could have imagined. From the opening line of the book, “When you’re a kid, they don’t always tell you the truth,” the stage is set for this riveting coming-of-age story that plays out against the backdrop of the Korean War, the aftermath of the Holocaust, the polio epidemic, the relocation of a baseball team, and the shenanigans of politicians and businessmen. Hirshberg deftly weaves together events, characters, and clues and creates a rich tapestry of betrayal, persecution, death,loyalty, and unconditional love that resonates with today’s America.

My Mother’s Son has received impressive accolades, including:

  • Gold Medal, 2018 Independent Publisher Book Awards, RegionalFiction
  • Winner, 2018 National Indie Excellence Awards, Best RegionalFiction,
  • Winner, two New York City Big Book Awards:Historical Fiction and Debut Fiction.

It has also received strong review coverage including a starred review in both Booklist and Library Journal and:

The Jewish Book Council

The Jewish Advocate (Boston)

The Washington Jewish Week

The Reporter Group

Too Jewish Radio Podcast

Filed Under: Books, Fiction, Reviews & Features, Uncategorized Tagged With: Boston, David Hirshberg, fiction, Fig Tree Books, historical fiction, Jewish author, Jewish Book Council, Jewish fiction, Literary fiction, The Jewish Advocate, The Reporter Group, Too Jewish Radio, Washington Jewish Week

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Jay Neugeboren’s latest novel, MAX BAER AND THE STAR OF DAVID, debuts this week from Mandel Vilar Press

MaxBaer_CVR_FinalWhen Jay Neugeboren’s first novel, Big Man, was published, James Michener called it “as good a sports novel as has ever been written.” Now, nearly a half-century later, Neugeboren is publishing MAX BAER AND THE STAR OF DAVID (Mandel Vilar Press Trade Paperback Original; February 9, 2016), his 22nd book and a remarkable novel that is centered on the life of the world heavyweight champion, Max Baer.

The novel has received wonderful advanced praise from several critically acclaimed authors, including:

“Neugeboren has never been better than in this lush, joyful novel—as erotic and mysterious as The Song of Songs, and as clear as a heavyweight champion’s punch in the gut. I loved it.”

—ROBERT LIPSYTE, author of An Accidental Sportswriter

“Max Baer and the Star of David is a strange and strangely beautiful tale that conjures up a golden era of boxing in the way A. J. Liebling did in The Sweet Science. I was enchanted from start to finish, and when I closed the book I thought ‘Damn, this dude can write!’”

       —GARY SHTEYNGART, author of Little Failure: A Memoir 

“This lively, high-spirited novel is an irresistible tribute to the sweet science, and a thrillingly jaunty evocation of an almost forgotten era.  Neugeboren has, as always, the gift of creating vivid characters and the imagination to put them through delicious travails.”

—PHILLIP LOPATE, author of Portrait Inside My Head

And here are links to some of the coverage running this week:

Blunderbuss Magazine

Boxing.com

NewPages.com

Reviews by Amos Lassen

Visit Jay Neugeboren’s website and Mandel Vilar Press for more information.

Filed Under: Books, Fiction Tagged With: fiction, Jay Neugeboren, Jewish fiction, Mandel Vilar Press, Max Baer, Over the River Public Relations, Sports fiction

By otrpr 1 Comment

Miami Beach Selects Thane Rosenbaum’s How Sweet It Is! For Its One Book, One City Initiative

The City of Miami Beach has announced that in recognition of its Centennial celebration, it will launch a citywide book club reading experience titled, One Book, One City. Its very first selection will be Thane Rosenbaum’s latest novel, HOW SWEET IT IS!, a literary, comedic tale set in Miami Beach in the summer of 1972. A novelist, essayist and law professor living in New York, Rosenbaum was raised in Miami Beach and is arguably the city’s most critically acclaimed author/native son.

How-Sweet-It-Is-cover-final-683x1024

Mandel Vilar Press will create a special and elegant paperback edition of HOW SWEET IT IS! just for Miami Beach’s Centennial, which will be available by the end of September. Readers will have plenty of time to read the novel and prepare for all of the fun events that will be taking place in November around the novel.

Citywide programming includes:

  • 11/4 – Kick-off event with Thane Rosenbaum at the Jewish Museum, 7pm.
  • 11/7 – Miami Beach Library Branch Read-A-Thon, 2-4pm in the auditorium
  • 11/15 – Book reading at the Betsy Hotel with Thane Rosenbaum, 7:30-8:30pm.
  • 11/17 – Miami Beach Library Branch Book Discussion with Thane Rosenbaum, 6:30pm – 7:30pm.
  • 11/18 – South Shore Library Book Group Discussion, 6:30pm – 7:30pm.
  • 11/25 – Miami Beach Bandshell, Food Truck Rally, appearance with Thane Rosenbaum and locals from the 1970s, 7:30 – 8:30pm.

Thane Rosenbaum will also discuss and sign copies of HOW SWEET IT IS! at the Miami Book Fair International on either the 21st or the 22nd of November.

Set during the historic and tumultuous year of 1972, HOW SWEET IT IS! follows the Posner family—two Holocaust survivors, Sophie and Jacob and their son, Adam—doing everything they can to avoid one another in a city with an infinite supply of colorful diversions. The book covers the antiwar movement, Watergate, sports (Super Bowl winning season, the Munich Olympics, and Muhammad Ali’s return to championship form), the rise of the counterculture, the desegregation of the south, the fading of the Jewish Mafia, the Rat Pack, and the wacky, poignant and hilarious gestalt of Miami in the 70s.

A Reader’s Guide for HOW SWEET IT IS! is available here .

Filed Under: Books, Fiction, News & Announcements Tagged With: fiction, How Sweet It Is!, Jewish fiction, Mandel Vilar Press, Miami Beach, Miami Beach Centennial, One Book One City, OTRPR, Over the River Public Relations, Reader's Guide, Thane Rosenbaum

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