Ellen in Wonderland – Day 1

imageIt doesn’t get much better than this.  Having arrived in New York midday, I set out to explore Chelsea and the Flatiron imageDistrict, the neighborhoods around my hotel. Timing being everything, Madisonimage Square is having a monthlong festival Mad. Sq. Eats bringing a pop-up food truck and cafe area to the vibrancy of Madison Square Park.  Add that to the amazing art installation for a terrific afternoon.  There was even time for knitting in the park.

Just across the street is Eataly, the enormous new Italian market/food hall/ destination. image Everywhere you look there is another amazing counter.  Me, I am always partial to a beautiful produce or fish display.  I certainly wasn’t disappointed.

My evening plans were extra-special.  Over the last few years I’ve had several opportunities to reconnect with childhood friends and fellow New Rochelle High School classmates.  Tonight three of us had a dinner/theatre evening.  Thanks to my daughter, Miriam, we snagged tickets for Hand to God, a provocative and very well-acted play.  Meri, Debbie and I had a blast.image  And I had the chance to introduce my daughter to these lovely women – priceless!

Tomorrow starts the main event – Book Expo America.  And I can’t wait!

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History, One Character at a Time: Nonfiction

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Flyover commemorating the 70th anniversary of VE Day, May 8, 2015. View from the grounds of the Washington Monument.

Seventy years ago on May 8, 1945, the European portion of World War II finally came to an end. By the time I was in a high school history class, twenty-five years later, the presentation of this period was relegated to a series of alliances and dates. That the fathers of classmates were genuine heroes was never mentioned – they moved on to start careers and build families.  Others’ parents, grandparents and relatives had fled Europe as the Nazis rose.  Some came to the US after the war, bearing emotional and physical scars.  That, too, remained unspoken for the most part except possibly in whispers outside the earshot of the children.

So I admit with some embarrassment that it has taken me decades to develop a richer understanding of this period, with all its complexities. The lengthy enumeration of dates and battles that marks many a history tome was a real turn off. It’s the explosion of character-driven historical narratives and well-researched historical fiction that have piqued my curiosity. Continue reading History, One Character at a Time: Nonfiction

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Book Review: Assaf Gavron paints a big picture from The Hilltop

The single tree bent by the wind on an arid field is the perfect cover for Assaf Gavron’s 2013 novel, published here in 2014 with Steven Cohen’s English Screen Shot 2015-03-05 at 12.29.34 PMtranslation. On the face of it, brothers Gabi and Roni Kupper are the  main characters. On every page Israel’s land, politics, and people – Jewish and Palestinian, settlers and kibbutzniks, religious and secular – share equal billing.

After several years with little contact, Roni arrives at Gabi’s dilapidated trailer in a tiny West Bank settlement having escaped his fast track New York life wearing a Hugo Boss suit, with empty pockets and no plan. Roni barely recognizes his brother, Gabi, who has crafted a new life as a religious ascetic and changed his name. A follower of the teachings of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, Gabi organizes his life around daily prayers and learning, and turning a small shed on the edge of the settlement into a home. Seemingly gone are the traumas that shaped his life as a child and young adult.

Mixing flashbacks and the present day, Gavron presents two different worlds: daily life in Ma’aleh Hermesh C and the difficult childhood that helped bring Gabi and Roni there.   Continue reading Book Review: Assaf Gavron paints a big picture from The Hilltop

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Foreign Policy in My Own Backyard

It’s more than just a saying that all politics are local. Not even five months ago Alan Gross was released from Cuba after years of protests, negotiations and pleadings to and from his family and the U.S. government. Justimages-2 a month later, Warren Weinstein was killed in a U.S. drone attack on al Queda targets in Pakistan after more than 3 years as their hostage. Unexpectedly, both these men became pawns in a never-ending international chess game, businessmen-soldiers in a world economy where the dangers of going to work may be far greater than bad drivers or airplane tragedies.

So, how is that local? The Gross family lives in Rockville, the Weinsteins as well. We likely shop in many of the same stores, go to the same movie theaters, and dealt with the very same Pepco power outages. While we are not friends, we are neighbors. Both men were doing their jobs when captured. Alan Gross was working on a USAID project expanding internet access in Cuba, contrary to the wishes of the regime. Warren Weinstein had been working for several years on economic development projects in Pakistani tribal areas. When these men took their jobs they were well into their careers.  Whether the draw for the assignments was the challenge, the money, the exotic locale or a decision to try to make the world a better place, each left his family to do a job.

And their families are all too similar to mine. Elaine Weinstein and Judy Gross are both mothers of two daughters, like me. And they are both members of our local Hadassah chapter, just like me. And while Dan’s efforts to make our corner of the world a better place take him just around the Beltway, their husbands were drawn to projects around the globe where the American belief that access to information and education will improve society are not necessarily shared.

Tonight as we sit at our table celebrating the end of the work week and the special peace of the Sabbath, I will think of the Weinstein and Gross families. May they continue to receive the support they need to deal with their suffering and may they find a measure of peace.

 

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A look at “The People of Forever Are Not Afraid”

13330594There was a buzz when Shani Boianjiu’s debut novel, The People of Forever Are Not Afraid, was published in September, 2012. Israeli born and raised, Boianjiu completed high school at Exeter Academy and attended Harvard after serving her Israel Defense Forces (IDF) commitment. Written in English, the book was quickly translated into 22 languages. What is it about the story that created such international interest? Continue reading A look at “The People of Forever Are Not Afraid”

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