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In fairness to Weingrad, his essay is a review of what sound like two extraordinary works of fantasy by Jewish writers. He does anticipate many of the objections raised in these comments (although not the best ones, about Marvel Comics and the Sadman books).
And yet I still think he's wrong, largely because so much of his argument depends upon using Tolkien and Lewis as the defining boundaries of "fantasy." Yes, if you narrow the field to define it as "the work of Christian allegorists and apologists," then it isn't surprising that there aren't a lot of Jews working in it. Precious few Muslims, too.
But expand the definition just a little bit, and his argument collapses.Reply
@Anekanta - Has spatula, will travel: Exactly. Of course he isn't finding it, with his definition. I'm glad Chabon, who was one of the first I thought of, called him on it.
Singer -- gah, you can't GET any more Jewish than that, and he wrote fantasy. Undeniably Jewish fantasy.
Friesner... even Asimov wrote a little fantasy now and again. Silverberg must have at some point, he's written everything.Reply
Edited by Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H. at 03/04/10 8:22 PM
And really when you think about it, Weingrad's claim is kind of bizarre. I mean, it's not as if there is (or should be) some sort of affirmative action program for religious themes in fantasy literature.
I don't think most fantasy readers would base their reading decisions on whether it evoked themes from a particular real-world religion or not. Interesting ideas are interesting, no matter their cultural heritage.Reply
Why didn't Jews write fantasy in set in fictionalized medieval Europe? Mr. Marlow points you to his play "the Jew of Malta", where the titular Jew is boiled alive and everyone rejoices. Ahh, the days of yore.Reply
I was reading the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows on the bus one afternoon. A young black girl (I'm white by the way) asked me "So, where is the black Harry Potter?" her tone suggested everything you might suggest. I thought for a moment, and I said "When you pick up a pen and write it. And don't make it a black Harry Potter. You have a proud mythic tradition in Africa.....use it like Rowling used English Mythic tradition. And for the record....I can't wait to read that book." She sat there, and I swear I could see her brain working. It was nothing short of amazing. I could see a story behind her eyes. And I really am aching to read that book.Reply
Might the (presumptive) lack of a "Jewish Narnia" spring from the familiarity much of the Jewish scriptures might share with the kind of heroic narrative that dominated much of the old folklore? The story of Exodus and the reign of David would seem to me to have much more in common with, say, the Iliad and the Odyssey than the Christian scriptures would. In a sense, there would already be a stirring story of wars and heroes that confirmed the religious faith of a certain people (assuming one is always necessary). As much as I admire the Gospels in many ways--as a convinced agnostic--they don't seem to fit that heroic narrative (despite Jesus' occasional freakouts and talk of being armed with a "sword"). I wonder if Tolkien and Lewis were basically trying to explain a theology derived from Middle Eastern beliefs in a Western European framework, hence the need for heroic fantasy works steeped in that theology.
Oh, yeah--Avram Davidson, Jane Yolen, and, for heaven's sakes, Michael Moorcock! I don't know if the latter fully identifies as such, but I think he's gone on record in interviews saying that the culture and history have influenced his work to an extent.
Grossman's "The Magicians" sounds like a lot of fun! Fantasy's certainly big enough to have some piss taken every now and again.Reply
From Weingrad: "I cannot think of a single major fantasy writer who is Jewish, and there are only a handful of minor ones of any note."
Can't imagine why anyone might have gotten a bit upset at that one.
On the broader themes he has raised and others have picked up, of why no Jewish Narnia, why no Middle Earth, there's a bit of an apples and pomegranates issue here. Middle Earth was based on a variety of pre-Christian legends, as I recall, the point being to create a mythology. Narnia was about sugar-coating Christianity in some nice stories (stories so nice, that when my little Jewish atheist kid self read them, it wasn't til the last couple of books, that laid it on pretty heavy, that she caught on).
So, in order to get a Jewish Narnia, you need to find a Jewish fantasy story that sugar-coats Judaism. I'm sure some are out there, but they aren't as successful as Lewis was. But if we're asking for this, we should also be asking for stunningly successful fantasy sugar-coatings of Buddhism, Islam, and other major religions, no? Why does Judaism have to have one, and not the others? And must it be stunningly successful with everyone, or just practitioners of the target religion.
For the Jewish Middle Earth, that is, high fantasy written by a Jew, well, many others have listed the zillions of examples out there, including some, like Neil Gaiman, who have been stunningly successful with it.
Amazing how many words I just spent on something I thought wasn't worth the words already devoted to it. hee. [xkcd.com]Reply
Has anyone read Cynthia Ozick's feminist treatment of the golem? I highly recommend The Puttermesser Papers. She's a fantastic writer who deserves to be more widely read.
Also, the Hasidic mystic Baal Shem Tov is my favourite superhero of all time. Who else can make a carriage fly across Europe in a single night, raise brides from the dead, make a flock of sheep immobile, make bandits sink into the ground, move mountains, make noisy attic ghosts go quiet, duel with Satanic antagonist known only as the Enemy, and all because he has the "power of words"? Furthermore, the fairytales of Nahman of Bratzlav are probably more inventive than those of Hans Christian Andersen and the Brothers Grimm combined.
Granted, this stuff is pre-Holocaust, but Primo Levi--of all people--wrote science fiction in later life! Yes, it might be science fiction, but it's not hard-bitten realism.
Another thing--even writers who are ostensible proponents of the thinly disguised autobiography have written fantastical work. I hate Philip Roth with a burning passion but even his misogynist rantings took a magic realist turn in a 1972 novella entitled The Breast (don't read this, please).Reply
So, my belated 2 shekels:
First of all, if you read the article, it becomes clear that it's not Jewish fantasy authors that are missing, it's Jewish-themed fantasy worlds. Charlie - Isaac Bashevis Singer was not forgotten, and was mentioned in the article. With all respect to the authors that were mentioned, most of them don't really write Jewish themed stories.
Now, to Weingard's question of where is the Jewish Harry Potter - there is one. Before the second world war, a Jewish-Polish writer named Janusz Korczak (who was rather popular at the time) wrote a children's book called Kajtuś the Wizard, which tells of a schoolboy in then-contemporary Warsaw that acquires magical powers and has to learn to control them and resist the temptation to abuse them.
Finally, I'd like to nominate Donaldson's Chronicles of Thomas Covenant as the Great Jewish High Fantasy, just because of all the whininess ;-)Reply
I believe Ross Douthat is asking the wrong question, because there certainly are Jewish fantasy writers and fantasy stories influenced in some way by Judaism. I think what he really wants to know is if there is a fantasy allegory steeped in Judaism the way Narnia is steeped in Christianity. From what I understand, Narnia is somewhat unique in fantasy for it's strong ties to Christianity. LOTR, very broadly, has the idea of a king returning to defeat evil forever, but is that solely a Christian theme? Dragonlance and similar fantasy don't even have that, and there are references to multiple gods as well. It seems to me that even Christian themes don't appear THAT often in fantasy.
I don't know of an epic fantasy with Jewish themes, but I'm not all that well-read in fantasy of any kind. If there isn't one, I'd sure like to write it.Reply
@drdoombot: Yes, I think this is the important distinction. I believe Tolkien was always adamant that Middle Earth was not under any circumstances an allegory. At a certain point, though, that ceases to be his prerogative in a way, because people will see what they want to see.
The "Christian fantasy" story is not exclusive to Christianity, so I think it is easier to take Christian writers like Tolkien and Lewis (Lewis even more so) and apply the label to them. But they were strongly influenced by Nordic mythology and other language traditions that precede Christianity.
So, Christian myth structure: Darkness/evil is overcome by the sacrifice of one Prince/leader/hero, usually one born under a prophecy or supernatural circumstances. The sacrifice is usually their own death and usually they are betrayed. Their resurrection restores the reign of Light/Good.
@EndangeredRed: Interesting question. There are a number of ways to do it, but here's my take on it: A person or people are chosen by a deity to receive something (land or a special object). The person/people are oppressed in some way (slavery?), and right at the moment of their lowest hope, they are liberated in a spectacular fashion and finally receive that which was promised to them (or their ancestor) by the deity.
I thought this was a very interesting article...and I can't imagine why anyone would have anything but very mild problems with it...oh I see "...I have not read Mr. Weingrad's piece but I agree with others that..."
this.
I'm sorry Mr. Chabon but if you haven't read the article you shouldn't have any opinion. period.
that goes for many in the comments here...
he's not saying that Jews don't like Fantasy at all or that Jews don't write fantasy at all...but that there might be something interesting in the differences between for example Christianity and Judaism that might explain why there isn't anything like 'Narnia' with a jewish point of view...and there simply isn't - dispite the vast list of stuff people have mentioned...
and pointing out that Superman or whatever was created by jews doesn't address the question at all...it does however provide a nice definition of 'knee-jerk'Reply
The implication that fantasy (or high fantasy) is intrinsically Christian, just because of a couple/one of the more well-known books in the genre was a Christian parable...really?
I'd call high fantasy polytheist, if anything. Most of the books I've read feature Pantheons, and don't resemble the single God of the Christian (or Jewish) mythology at all.Reply
@kurzon: I think it's the fact that most fantasy plots revolve around a single heroic figure prophesied to save his people from an unjust and cruel overlord, embarking on a quest accompanied by his apostles...I mean, companions. It's a pretty straightforward messianic plot.Reply
@Althamiel: Except that "the chosen hero" is hardly a trope which is confined to the Christian mythology. Hercules, Odysseus, Jason and the Argonauts. These aren't Christian stories, they're based in a polytheist mythology which pre-dates Christianity.Reply
@kurzon: Exactly! Western culture, including Christianity draws very heavily on Hellenistic themes. It makes sense that Judaism, which is an Eastern culture that predates the Greeks would have very different themes.Reply
Why is it always a "my God is better than your God" pissing contest when it comes to jackasses like Douthat?
I'd chastise the foolishness of statements such as "the [fantasy] genre itself will remain irreducably Christian" but I'm reminded his sort probably aren't at all familiar with the Bible they praise, much less any modern fantasy literature.Reply
Edited by TheGreat&PowerfulTurtle at 03/04/10 2:17 PM
Interesting articles both, but to which I would retort, towards what end does the question stand for?
Does it even matter if a fantasy or scifi or any other genre of story telling was influenced or is blatantly based on one religion or another? Are we trying to compare religions now based on the fiction books that are based on them? Does Narnia's Christianity roots make it or Christianity somehow better than Muslim based fantasies or Jewish based ones?Reply
Chabon wrote "The Gentlemen of the Road" which he jokingly refers to as "Jews with Swords." It's obviously not classic high fantasy, but still.
But yeah, I can't believe Weingard actually wrote it, and that it was published by the Jewish Review of Books. Aside from being completely ignorant to a lot of fantasy authors, the omission of people like Gaiman and Chabon (among others) is absurd.Reply
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