Lost Tribe: Jewish Fiction from the Edge

I saw this book next to The Best American Short Stories four years back, purchased it, and it took me another few years before I even noticed it in my collection. I wasn't sure what to expect, but considering the last two books I read were Portnoy's Complaint and the autobiography of Richard Lewis, I thought I was setting myself up for disappointment. The first couple stories I felt like that guy who goes to a comedy club and just sits there with his arms crossed, stone-faced, daring the comedian to make him laugh. Once I got through the first page or two, and realized that there was no hidden agenda to the book, I fell into just about every story I read. My favorite being The Argument by Rachel Kadish. I practically highlighted the whole story with dialogue, ideas and scenes I found fascinating.

I just finished Lost Tribe. I loved it. Without a doubt the best collection of short stories I have ever read. As a writer (still very small time) I found the book inspiring; I would someday like to achieve the quality of writing I found in LT.

"Lost Tribe" is one of my favorite books of short stories. I couldn't put it down and look forward to reading other material by these authors. I also like the personal touch of each author's comments at the end of his/her piece. Nicely organized.I do a lot of traveling and having a book of short stories is ideal for the plane. There's generally enough time to get through at least one with a sense of completion and this great assembly was so engaging, I kept hoping that the flights would last longer so I could move on to another story.

This book gives me hope for Jewish writing. The selection of stories is surprising and subtle, and together they add up to a portrait of modern Jewish life that's completely different from what one gathers from fretting Jewish newspapers and anxious studies about "intermarriage." But I don't just recommend Lost Tribe as a sociological corrective -- it's a brilliant work of editing, the themes of story responded to or carried forward by the next. I have my favorites, but I won't mention them -- get this book, read it with friends, and discuss.

This is a witty, sardonic, engrossing, and very funny collection of stories and I highly recommend it. The voices of these writers are young, fresh, and smart. Plus, it's a great book to read on the subway.This book, for me, was about finding a connection. These writers spoke to so many issues that I have with my own Judaism that my parents and grandparents don't have, or aren't comfortable discussing, such as dealing with the over-exposure of the Holocaust, being Jewish in a secular world and LIKING IT, and being Jewish in a world in which Israel has always existed in your life time. These are not stories about being Jewish and being a victim, these are stories about people who happen to be Jewish and how that happens to affect their lives - or not.