Dancing on Tisha B'av

by Lev Raphael

Whether bearing witness to the Holocaust and its aftermath, dealing with conflicts between being gay and traditional Judaism, or confronting anti-Semitism and homophobia, these passionate stories by a prize-winning author break new ground in contemporary fiction.

Genres: Jewish, LGBT, Fiction, Short Stories, Judaism, Gay, Queer

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

I've wanted to be an author since I was in second grade and fell in love with "The Three Musketeers", which I read to pieces. It hasn't been a swashbuckling life exactly, but one full of surprises, including recently selling my literary papers to Michigan State University's Libraries.

Since second grade, I've loved all sorts of books and have ended up writing nineteen books in many genres: memoir, mystery, short story collections, a children's book, and more. I've been an academic, a radio DJ, had my own talk show, and currently have three terrific giugs.

I write a monthly column for Bibliobuffet.com called Book Brunch. I blog at Huffington Post (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lev-rap...). And I do a monthly "Under the Radar" book review for WKAR 90.5 FM in East Lansing, MI. I'm always on the lookout for beautifully written books in any genre, but I more and more favor books from smaller presses, because they need more exposure.

I love reading my work and have done hundreds of readings on three different continents. Readings are performances, and I practice, practice, practice.

Reviews

[Moses · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed these short stories. Lev Raphael sticks to what he knows, which results in the stories having slightly too uniform a flavor, but he does it well. Each story is about some combination of being gay, Jewish, and/or the child of Holocaust survivors, taking place in some combination of Michigan, New York City, and/or Amherst. If there's a dog in the story, it's a collie. Despite this demographic repetition, Raphael's stories are distinct and cover a range of experiences. The collection has a very 1990 flavor, but still resonated with me. I would highly recommend this book to anyone Jewish (particularly gay Jewish men) or anyone interested in the experience of being raised by survivors of genocide.

[Derek Siegel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I selected this book for a Jewish reading group I'm a part of (surprise - we're all trans and/or queer, too). There were some really good stories in this collection, and others that took me awhile to get through or felt repetitive after reading the earlier ones. The stories that resonated most with me were about diaspora, and what it means to be Jewish. It's told mostly through the lens of queer narrators, many have parents who are Holocaust survivors, and many are affiliated with universities somehow. "Dancing on Tisha B'Av" is grounded in its own context - which can either transport you, or leave you thinking, "OK this is ...... dated." Or both! But Raphael is a good writer, and I definitely found something worthwhile in this collection.

[Nicolas Chinardet · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of short stories that feel very autobiographical. There are echoes between the stories, like the echoes from the unknown past Raphael writes about, and some of the characters reappear several times. The book is mostly about Jewishnes and the generational devide between camp survivors and their American born children. Some but not all stories include gayness as further theme but mostly as a way to explore a further example of belonging to difference. The collection functions well as a meaningful whole as well as a series of discreet stories.

[Todd Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book was a mixture of short stories and provided insight into what it was like to be gay and Jewish in the 1980s. The author did a good job relating life in that time period and the difficulties the characters faced in that era.

[Christopher Dempsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short stories ranging a variety of places, and times, with underlying Jewish identities and themes. Good read.

[Ari · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this collection of short stories. The author explores connections between Jewish community and religiosity, sexuality and queerness, and a specific social/historical moment -- the shadow of the Holocaust and the looming threat of AIDS in the 1980s and 1990s. I enjoyed the writing in its own right but especially as a glimpse into specific Jewish and queer experiences in a generation before me.

[Bethany Ebert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dancing on Tisha B'av is a collection of short stories about being gay and Jewish. It was published in 1990, but many of the stories were published before then, in the 1980s. There is a lot of talk about AIDS, which makes sense considering it was a prominent fear at that time. A few of the stories feature men who are proudly, happily gay but stuck in relationships with closet cases. "Betrayed by David Bowie" was a good one (oh, but it made me sick). There are some stories having less to do with homosexuality and more to do with the Jewish family unit. I appreciated the female characters - the strong, beautiful sisters and the mothers who were Holocaust survivors. They never seemed shrill or stereotypical, and their concerns were given as much weight as those by the male characters. I was expecting all the stories to be from the POV of gay men, but they weren't. The author did quite a good job with characterization and story-telling. Each chapter was unique. Good job!

[Katie M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like David Leavitt 20 years earlier with better metaphors.

[Elija · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Essay entitled, "Remind me to Smile" had me smiling the entire time I read it. A refreshing and hopeful glimpse into the future.