“A Short History of a Tall Jew” by Dennis Danziger is a not-so-short fictional book following a man searching for his second wife. A very funny book with a heart.
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Thoughts:
“A Short History of a Tall Jew” by Dennis Danziger is a hilarious and charming book. The book is a well written fictional account of a year in the life of Philip Lachman who simply craves for a normal life.
Seems like a normal life is a tall order in ostentatious, selfish Los-Angeles.
And as I drove on, I began to wonder. Was it me or was it Los Angeles? Was the town just brimming with sexy oddballs or was I a magnet for women who were intentionally not taking their meds?
The barrage of insane women Philip encounters will dissuade anyone from wanting to find a spouse. The author keeps the reader busy with plots and subplots, main characters which are interesting and secondary ones which still make you feel for them.
The book doesn’t concentrate only on Philip’s search for a spouse, but we also get a glimmer into his classroom, work and family life. While the story is often very funny, it is sometimes sad and tragic as well. The book makes many excellent observations about how people treat one another in a supposedly civilized society, the challenges of raising kids, what’s really important, what makes us happy and more. For a while I forgot I was reading a fictional book.
While the story is about a Jew, I believe anyone of any religion would enjoy this book. The narrative is seamless and the story gets carried along evoking many feelings along the way. Philip maintains that he is not a practicing Jew, but finishes (almost) every chapter with a nice, simple prayer.
I visited LA once and it was all right (I like New York City better), but the more I read, hear or see shows about LA the less I want to visit. Do people really act that way? Treat each other like dirt? And that’s OK with everybody?
So tell me, do you crave a normal life or do you look for adventures?
Philip Lachman, the titled Jew, gets beat down by life. He is a public high school English teacher who barley makes a living, is a doormat for his supervisors, his ex-wife, her lawyer, his lawyer and his kids which had had enough with being players in their parents’ messy divorce.
Philip decides to finds a wife who is not an actress and would put up with his teenage daughter, a communist son and a bitch of an ex. But does a poor, divorced public school teacher even has a shot in glitzy, materialistic LA?
Buy A Short History of a Tall Jew from Amazon.com*
More Books by Dennis Danziger*
Zohar – Man of la Book
Disclaimer: I got this book for free
*Amazon links point to an affiliate account, the money is usually spent on books
BOOK BLOGGERS – Have you read “A Short History of a Tall Jew”? If so link up your review below:
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haha...the quote itself is hilarious! Nice review!
This book sounds fabulous! I love the comic on the cover. Glad you recommend it!
Well done, I agree it is a fun and interesting book. There are certainly an immense amount of zany and yet oddly encumbered women in the story, makes you wonder if that is common for the area or just built in for the comedy relief.
Thanks for stopping by, It is fun to get your take on books for comparison.
Have a fabulous weekend and thanks for the tweet.