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The Innocents, by Francesca Segal
I am, like, personally offended that I didn’t know a Jewish retelling of The Age of Innocence exists until now. I’m really enjoying this light, sexy read, though I wish it weren’t mostly the guy’s point of view. The details about the British Jewish community are fun and it has a great amount of tongue-in-cheek commentary. Hat tip: 8 Brilliant Novels About The Contemporary Jewish Experience
Israel Quietly Opens Its Borders, and Palestinians Have a Beach Day, by Adam Rasgon for The New York Times
A semi-sanctioned hole in the border fence of the West Bank allowed Palestinians to visit the beach for the first time in their lives. I got really emotional reading this, not least because it sounds like the final scene in a dystopian novel where the downtrodden people reach paradise at last. I have complicated feelings about Israel. (Who doesn’t?) This article hit the spot in my heart that knows people there are suffering.
Five Micros, by Kathy Fish in Pidgeonholes
Whenever I’m trying to get back into writing flash fiction after some time away, I read some of Kathy Fish’s work. She is such a master of the genre.
Skating Costumes I Have Known, by Lena Moses-Schmitt in The Believer
A lovely nonfiction/comic hybrid, with feministic political commentary sewn in (ha!).