Passover

by David Mamet, Michael McCurdy (Illustrator)

As a grandmother and her young granddaughter work together at the kitchen table, preparing the traditional Passover recipes, the elderly woman reflects on their family's traumatic past

Genres: Fiction

53 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

David Alan Mamet is an American author, essayist, playwright, screenwriter and film director. His works are known for their clever, terse, sometimes vulgar dialogue and arcane stylized phrasing, as well as for his exploration of masculinity.

As a playwright, he received Tony nominations for Glengarry Glen Ross (1984) and Speed-the-Plow (1988). As a screenwriter, he received Oscar nominations for The Verdict (1982) and Wag the Dog (1997).

Mamet's recent books include The Old Religion (1997), a novel about the lynching of Leo Frank; Five Cities of Refuge: Weekly Reflections on Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy (2004), a Torah commentary, with Rabbi Lawrence Kushner; The Wicked Son (2006), a study of Jewish self-hatred and antisemitism; and Bambi vs. Godzilla, an acerbic commentary on the movie business.

Reviews

[Katy Wheatley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a powerful short story by playwright, David Mamet with gorgeous, woodcut illustrations by Michael McCurdy. A grandmother and her grand-daughter prepare a dish they will share at Passover and as they work together, they talk about family ties, their faith, recipes and previous Passovers. This is short but not a word is wasted.

[Princess Consuela Banana Hammock]

Horrible. I didn't learn anything, the author didn't convey the message well. The information was confusing.

But the illustrations were nice

[Johnpemberton83 · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book called the passover is about a grandmother and a grandaughter making the passover meal. They have conversations about their family and how the grandmother came to the USA. In the end the grandmother ands the grandaughter await some company and they knew that it was going to be pleasant company.
I think that this book is really about how much you care about your family. The more you love them, the more you will do to protect them. The grandmother and the grandaughter really show their commitment to their religion and their family. I really liked this book for its family and style. I think that their company really enjoyed their passover meal.

[Krista Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant story about a Grandmother preparing a meal with her Grandchild and she tells of surviving a possible holocaust of her family and teaches the child about her history. It is only about 72 pages but it is a brilliantly crafted story from David Mamet. Worth reading.

[Rod · Rating 3 out of 5]

A spare, haunting conversation in classic Mamet dialogue between a young girl and her grandmother as they make ready for the celebration of Passover. Well worth the read...

[Boris · Rating 4 out of 5]

David Mamet writes a story about making Charoses and remembering the bad old days. My friend deanna gave me this book in 1995.

[JoAnn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Extremely short, but interesting story by well known playwright, David Mamet.

[Nathan Davis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Short and pointless. Dialogue follows Mamet's theatrical/cinematic style but doesn't hold up as well in a fifty page story about nothing.

[Jim · Rating 2 out of 5]

The illustrations are excellent. Otherwise, not that impressive.