Product Description

A New York Times Notable Book, and a “chaotic, laugh riot”(San Francisco Chronicle) of a memoir— first time in trade paperback.

Shalom Auslander was raised with a terrified respect for God. Even as he grew up and was estranged from his community, his religion and its traditions, he could not find the path to a life where he didn’t struggle daily with the fear of God’s formidable wrath. Foreskin’s Lament reveals Auslander’s “painfully, cripplingly, incurably, miserably religious” youth in a strict, socially isolated Orthodox community, and recounts his rebellion and efforts to make a new life apart from it. His combination of unrelenting humor and anger renders a rich and fascinating portrait of a man grappling with his faith and family.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #61097 in Books
• Published on: 2008-10-07
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9781594483332
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Review
“Fierce, funny, and subversively heartfelt...With his middle finger pointed at the heavens and a hand held over his heart, Auslander gives us Foreskin’s Lament. Mazel tov to him. And God? Well, he’ll survive.”
—New York Times Book Review

“Auslander writes like Philip Roth’s angry nephew... a scathing theological rant, a funny, oddly moving coming-of-age memoir, and an irreverent meditation on family, marriage, and cultural identity. God may be a bit irritated by this book, but I loved it.”
—Tom Perrotta, author of Little Children and The Abstinence Teacher

“A laugh-out-loud quarrel with God.”
—Newsweek

“A terrific book I was sad I read in so few sittings, because I wanted more.”
—San Francisco Chronicle

“Hilarious, caustic, and surprisingly moving.”
—Philadelphia Inquirer

“Blasphemous and funny.”
— Newsweek

“A surprise and delight.”
—Boston Globe

“A fretful, self-effacing, bitter…hilarious story.”
—The Houston Chronicle

“Wryly comic.”
—New York Magazine

“Hilarious, caustic, and surprisingly moving.”
—Philadelphia Inquirer

“A very funny memoir.”
—GQ

“Lyrical, hysterical… funny and angry.”
—Cleveland Plain Dealer

“An audacious, poke-God-in-theeye memoir.”
—Miami Herald

About the Author
Shalom Auslander has written for The New Yorker, Esquire, and The New York Times Magazine, and is a regular contributor to NPR’s This American Life. His short story collection Beware of God was published in 2005.

Customer Reviews

Angry equals funny
This book is really funny. Obviously Auslander is an angry guy who has turned his anger into laughter. The reader benefits from his obvious paranoia in this well written view of his life growing up in a Jewish Orthodox home.

if ur a jew, you'll relate and laugh
I started laughing on the first page and didn't stop until the last page.
I read it in record time because it was like having a conversation with a Jewish family member. I only wish I had the strength SPOILER ALERT! to put down the book and back away from my family.

Bitter and Brilliant
I completely enjoyed every page of this book. Auslander's unique book takes belief in God one-logical-step-too-far into obsessive narcissism which is both heartbreaking and hilarious. While nothing is scacred enough to escape Auslander's razor sharp pen, ultimately, it is himself Auslander rips to shreds. If you like David Sedaris, you'll probably love this book.