You Never Call! You Never Write!: A History of the Jewish Mother

by Joyce Antler

In You Never Call, You Never Write , Joyce Antler provides an illuminating and often amusing history of one of the best-known figures in popular culture--the Jewish Mother. Whether drawn as self-sacrificing or manipulative, in countless films, novels, radio and television programs, stand-up comedy, and psychological and historical studies, she appears as a colossal figure, intensely involved in the lives of her children.
Antler traces the odyssey of this compelling personality through decades of American culture. She reminds us of a time when Jewish mothers were admired for their tenacity and nurturance, as in the early twentieth-century image of the "Yiddishe Mama," a sentimental figure popularized by entertainers such as George Jessel, Al Jolson, and Sophie Tucker, and especially by Gertrude Berg, whose amazingly successful "Molly Goldberg" ruled American radio and television for over 25 years. Antler explains the transformation of this Jewish Mother into a "brassy-voiced, smothering, and shrewish" scourge (in Irving Howe's words), detailing many variations on this negative theme, from Philip Roth's Portnoy's Complaint and Woody Allen's Oedipus Wrecks to television shows such as "The Nanny," "Seinfeld," and "Will and Grace." But she also uncovers a new counter-narrative, leading feminist scholars and stand-up comediennes to see the Jewish Mother in positive terms. Continually revised and
reinvented, the Jewish Mother becomes in Antler's expert hands a unique lens with which to examine vital concerns of American Jews and the culture at large.
A joy to read, You Never Call, You Never Write will delight anyone who has ever known or been nurtured by a "Jewish Mother," and it will be a special source of insight for modern parents. As Antler suggests, in many ways "we are all Jewish Mothers" today.

Genres: Nonfiction, Jewish, Judaism, American History, History

336 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fascinating study of the Jewish mother stereotype since the 1920s. How it got started, how she has been portrayed on radio, tv,in movies and in books. Has she been fairly portrayed? Author opinion on how we can eliminate this stereotype.

[Alexis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This isn't a complete history of the Jewish mother, but more a review of the Jewish American mother from the early 20th century through to the early 21st. There's some history and sociology, but the book is tilted towards cultural portrayals of the Jewish mother and the development of the stereotype as an overprotective nag. It's somewhat selective but nonetheless interesting--I preferred the more historically connected aspects and less those that are solely cultural analysis with less connection to the lived reality of Jewish women.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the last half of the book. The first half was all information I knew. The writing style was kind of abrupt and smooshed together various sources. It could have been smoother with more original prose.

[RUSA CODES · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an Honorable Mention for the Sophie Brody Award for 2008. For the complete list, go to http://ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/rusa/aw...