Lampert Library

Available in the Shomrei Library: “The Netanyahus” Winner of the Pulitzer Prize

by Aileen Grossberg

On Monday, the prestigious Pulitzer Prize winners were announced. The satiric, laugh -out-loud, The Netanyahus: An Account of a Minor and Ultimately Even Negligible Episode in the History of a Very Famous Family  has been awarded the 2022 prize for fiction.

Set in a liberal arts college, the story looks at academia, campus politics, and Zionism with a harsh but humorous eye.

The minor event,  visit by Benzion Netanyahu to Cornell University  actually happened. ..sort of. Netanyahu, the former Israel prime minister’s father, did spend four years in the early 1970s as a visiting professor in Judaic studies. This visit in  the early 1960s is imagined.

The Netanyahus also won the Jewish Book Council’s fiction award for 2021. Additional accolades include: finalist for the 2021 National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction; one of the 10 Best Books of 2021 (The Wall Street Journal); 100 Notable Books of 2021 (The New York Times); Best Fiction Books of the Year, (Kirkus); 15 Best Books of 2021 (The A.V. Club); 24 Best Fiction Books of 2021 (The Times); Best Fiction Books of 2021 (The Telegraph); 20 Best Books of theYear (The New Statesman).

  • Aileen Grossberg

    Aileen Grossberg, a professional librarian, is a long-time congregant and serves as volunteer librarian for Shomrei's Lampert Library. The library, one of the best-kept secrets at Shomrei is used by the Rabbi, congregants, students and teachers of the JLC (Hebrew School) and Preschool. It's a tremendous resource completely supported by your donations and gifts. Aileen also heads the Shomrei Caterers, the in-house food preparation group. Can there be any better combination…good food and good books!

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