Lost Tribe: Funny, Dark, and Raw Stories of Contemporary Jewish Identity

by Paul Zakrzewski

Funny, raw, dark, sometimes outrageous, the twenty-five contributors to Lost Tribe explore themes such as conflicted identities, sexual fetishes, religious intolerance, and even the troubled legacy of the Holocaust to create a stirring picture of contemporary Jewish life. Lost Tribe features stories and commentary from a brilliant mixture of critically acclaimed and emerging writers.Steve AlmondAimee BenderGabriel BrownsteinJudy BudnitzNathan EnglanderJonathan Safran FoerMyla GoldbergEhud HavazeletDara HornRachel KadishGloria DeVidas KirchheimerBinnie KirshenbaumJoan LeegantMichael LowenthalEllen MillerTova MirvisPeter OrnerJon PapernickNelly ReiflerBen SchrankSuzan ShermanGary ShteyngartAryeh Lev StollmanEllen UmanskySimone Zelitch

Genres: Jewish, Fiction, Judaism, Short Stories, Anthologies

576 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2003

About the author

Since 2005 Paul Zakrzewski has coached hundreds of writers of all levels – including NYTimes-bestselling authors, professional novelists, even a rock star or two – to overcome self-limiting beliefs and publish their authentic life stories and through the application of craft and insight.

He is the editor of LOST TRIBE: JEWISH FICTION FROM THE EDGE (Harper Perennial 2003), and his essays, reviews, and features have appeared in The New York Times, Washington Post, Boston Globe, and A LIVING LENS: Photographs of Jewish Life from the Pages of the Forward (W.W. Norton).

More at www.pzak.info

Reviews

[Allison · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been trying to find this book on here! Great short stories by Allegra Goodman, Jonathan Safron Foer, and many other Jewish lit writers. Read it in a Jewish Literature class in college and didn't sell it back at the end of the semester. This is a good book to keep and go back to every once in a while!

[Patrick · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought that there would be a couple of gems in this collection, and I have read a couple of the authors before and I really enjoyed their texts, but this is not an enjoyable collection of stories.

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great collection of stories by Jewish authors; I especially liked Tova Mirvis' contribution.

[David Cohen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most of these are edgy but as short stories highly accessible. If there is one theme these authors have in common, it is that Isra-El means wrestle with oneself (or a divine being which half of these authors doubt). The characters are edgy and the antagonisms ring true. Well worth reading; if you don't like the theme of one of these short stories, just skip, and be delighted with the next short story.

[Arlo · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Safran Foer piece is 400 pages in and as Iwas reading it, I figured out it's lifted from Every Thing is Illuminated. ...That was dissappointing. Rest is great. The comments by the authors offer interesting insight to their stories.

[Meri · Rating 3 out of 5]

My ex got this for me and I loved it! Used to teach 2 of the stories in it. I'm jealous I didn't think to anthologize contemporary Jewish writers first. Then again, I thought of Netflix first but didn't move on it! You snooze, you lose! I often go back to this book, and I always know exactly where it is in my stacks.

[Lisa Gould · Rating 3 out of 5]

These are excerpts from novels or else short stories published on their own. I found some of them really well written, entertaining, thought provoking, others not very compelling, skipped a few, but overall would recommend.

[Lizzy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some of the stories were intriguing, but most of them I didn't like and/or skimmed. When my favorite authors WERE featured, it was excerpts from their books I'd already read, instead of a new short story.

[Maryam]

I wonder if I could get more information about this book.
Can anybody help me find out more?

[melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this so long ago that I can't even remember which stories I liked the best :/

[Keith Brooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good stories but it was a gift not something I would go out and buy.

[Benjamin Revier · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very well varied compilation of short stories centered around one common thematic. Some good, some bad, some indifferent...