The Evelyn Rubenstein Jewish Community Center of Houston has announced its Community Read, a shared literary experience for book clubs and individual readers, for the 2024 Ann and Stephen Kaufman Jewish Book & Arts Festival Nov. 3-16.
Internationally acclaimed author Maya Arad will speak about her novel, “The Hebrew Teacher,” Tuesday, Oct. 29, at 7:30 p.m. Book clubs and individual readers are invited to join others in reading this special selection and attending the Community Read event.
A novella trilogy, “The Hebrew Teacher” tells the stories of three Israeli women whose lives are affected by immigration to the United States.
In the titular story, Ilana, a Hebrew teacher at a university in the Midwest, clashes with the new, Ivy League Israeli instructor hired to teach in her department.
The second novella tells the story of an Israeli grandmother, Miriam, who visits her son and his family in Silicon Valley where he moved years ago. She discovers things aren’t as she expected.
The third story follows Efrat, an Israeli mother living in California, who worries her ’tween-aged daughter doesn’t fit in, and the pressures of social media will only make things worse.
The stories are engaging, relatable and raw.
This year’s Community Read co-chairs, Monique Kaufman and Michelle Moses, are thrilled about the book. After reading dozens of possible choices, they were excited to find a book by an Israeli author exploring contemporary issues, relatable across generations.
“I was instantly drawn to the three women in the varying stages of their lives,” Kaufman said. “This beautifully written book made me take pause, reflect and look ahead in my own life.”
“We both loved how the author drew us in with her prose and managed to make all three stories captivating and relatable,” said Moses. “We come from immigrant families and were immediately drawn to the exploration of identity, family dynamics and how these may be affected by immigration.”
Both disturbing and beautiful, the stories are fun and quick to read, and the audiobook also was great, noted the co-chairs.
Books are on sale online at erjcchouston.org/tickets and in person for pick up at the J’s front desk.
For more information about the Community Read, go to erjcchouston.org/jewish-book-arts-festival. Use #JHOUBOOKFEST for more information on social media.
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