Jan Rice's Reviews > The Evil Inclination
The Evil Inclination
by
by
Jan Rice's review
bookshelves: book-club-selection, fiction, religion, them-and-us, self-discovery
Mar 26, 2024
bookshelves: book-club-selection, fiction, religion, them-and-us, self-discovery
A writer is born,
Of course that's not the case because this isn't the first book he's written, but it is, I think, his first book launched into the world. So, for me, yes, a new star. I say that because he has created people, people who didn't exist before, and now they do. And like the joke, he did it with his own dust*. Reminds me of To the End of the Land.
The characters develop and grow. Talents emerge. Character develops. With time we see aspects not previously visible. That reminds me of The Shipping News.
For the male protagonist, we see who his family is, which somehow is part of his emergence. We see him as though from the inside and see his family through his eyes.
The premise of this story is that an Orthodox Jewish boy, meaning young man, falls for an Italian Catholic girl. Mayhem ensues. Setting, New York, 2002.
This book has a lot of sex in it. If that makes the book a no-no for some readers, then so be it. But it's part of the characters and not titillation.
"The evil inclination" is a Talmudic conception of sexual attraction. I used to rail against the negativity since in psychology, and in the modern world, we consider the sex urge a healthy part of life, not an evil. But the reference is to the trouble sexual attraction can cause. And we know that's true, having seen figures both big and small felled. The evil inclination does not discriminate.
I guess, too, this is reminiscent of the Greek concept of moderation. Hmm. Something to think about.
This book led me to understand why the Rabbis -- capitalized because of referring to Talmudic sages of yore -- characterized it that way: evil inclination. Certainly it's a challenge to master. Like an unbreakable horse, maybe.
At first I struggled with the book's ending.
Does the genre tragicomedy apply?
I didn't think so but reconsidered. For the male protagonist, his path, his way is a part of him. He's a part of his world, and his world is in him. It's not like the modern concept of "religion," according to which we might plug in one or another variety.
If tragicomedy means neither a tragedy with a few comic parts, nor a comedy with a few tragic parts, if a tragicomedy is both completely comic and completely tragic throughout, then yes, I think so. Like The Good Lord Bird (about the abolitionist John Brown).
4 1/2 stars rounded up
*I'm talking about the joke where the scientist says to God that he's solved the riddle of how to create life. To demonstrate, he leans down and picks up a handful of dust. And God says, "Get your own dust."
Of course that's not the case because this isn't the first book he's written, but it is, I think, his first book launched into the world. So, for me, yes, a new star. I say that because he has created people, people who didn't exist before, and now they do. And like the joke, he did it with his own dust*. Reminds me of To the End of the Land.
The characters develop and grow. Talents emerge. Character develops. With time we see aspects not previously visible. That reminds me of The Shipping News.
For the male protagonist, we see who his family is, which somehow is part of his emergence. We see him as though from the inside and see his family through his eyes.
The premise of this story is that an Orthodox Jewish boy, meaning young man, falls for an Italian Catholic girl. Mayhem ensues. Setting, New York, 2002.
This book has a lot of sex in it. If that makes the book a no-no for some readers, then so be it. But it's part of the characters and not titillation.
"The evil inclination" is a Talmudic conception of sexual attraction. I used to rail against the negativity since in psychology, and in the modern world, we consider the sex urge a healthy part of life, not an evil. But the reference is to the trouble sexual attraction can cause. And we know that's true, having seen figures both big and small felled. The evil inclination does not discriminate.
I guess, too, this is reminiscent of the Greek concept of moderation. Hmm. Something to think about.
This book led me to understand why the Rabbis -- capitalized because of referring to Talmudic sages of yore -- characterized it that way: evil inclination. Certainly it's a challenge to master. Like an unbreakable horse, maybe.
At first I struggled with the book's ending.
Does the genre tragicomedy apply?
I didn't think so but reconsidered. For the male protagonist, his path, his way is a part of him. He's a part of his world, and his world is in him. It's not like the modern concept of "religion," according to which we might plug in one or another variety.
If tragicomedy means neither a tragedy with a few comic parts, nor a comedy with a few tragic parts, if a tragicomedy is both completely comic and completely tragic throughout, then yes, I think so. Like The Good Lord Bird (about the abolitionist John Brown).
4 1/2 stars rounded up
*I'm talking about the joke where the scientist says to God that he's solved the riddle of how to create life. To demonstrate, he leans down and picks up a handful of dust. And God says, "Get your own dust."
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Reading Progress
March 5, 2024
–
Started Reading
March 5, 2024
– Shelved
March 5, 2024
– Shelved as:
book-club-selection
March 5, 2024
– Shelved as:
fiction
March 5, 2024
– Shelved as:
religion
March 5, 2024
– Shelved as:
them-and-us
March 5, 2024
– Shelved as:
self-discovery
March 11, 2024
–
Finished Reading
March 15, 2024
–
100.0%
"I finished this several days ago -- when was it? Before I voted, because saw somebody from the group & told them I'd finished. ??? Sunday night?"
page
378
With respect to your thoughts about whether the book is a "tragicomedy," I like to think of it as a "laugh-out-loud tear-jerker." Same thing? Perhaps....
Best,
Dan