Mazel Tov
The Story of My Extraordinary Friendship with an Orthodox Jewish Family
Published on 7. January 2021
Book
Paperback/Softback
320 pages
978-1-78227-528-2 (ISBN)
Description
When 20-year-old student J. S. Margot took a tutoring job in 1987, little did she know it would open up an entire world.
In the family's Orthodox Jewish household she would encounter endless rules - 'never come on a Friday, never shake hands with a man' - and quirks she had not seen before: tiny tubes on the doorposts, separate fridges for meat and dairy products. Her initial response was puzzlement and occasionally anger, but as she taught the children and fiercely debated with the family, she also began to learn from them.
Full of funny misunderstandings and unexpected connections, Mazel Tov is a heartwarming, provocative and disarmingly honest memoir of clashing cultures and unusual friendships - and of how, where adults build walls, sometimes only children can dissolve them.
In the family's Orthodox Jewish household she would encounter endless rules - 'never come on a Friday, never shake hands with a man' - and quirks she had not seen before: tiny tubes on the doorposts, separate fridges for meat and dairy products. Her initial response was puzzlement and occasionally anger, but as she taught the children and fiercely debated with the family, she also began to learn from them.
Full of funny misunderstandings and unexpected connections, Mazel Tov is a heartwarming, provocative and disarmingly honest memoir of clashing cultures and unusual friendships - and of how, where adults build walls, sometimes only children can dissolve them.
Reviews / Votes
A gentle chronicle of empathy and understanding * Guardian * Margot's is an exceptional voice, illuminating a section of society rarely seen in a refreshingly frank manner. Mazel Tov is a book about finding familiarity in the strange, but also the stranger in ourselves, in which courage and humour save us from the usual romanticising. Any reader interested in the central questions of our time will find enlightenment here A book that touched me deeply. Wow! An artfully rendered memoir * Jewish Review of Books * A heartwarming true-life account of wary people overcoming their preconceptions which doesn't gloss over its author's flaws * Herald * So much more than a good read... What makes Mazel Tov especially attractive is that the author effortlessly succeeds in depicting real-life characters * Cutting Edge * A must-read for everyone * De Standaard * A compelling and confronting story... beautifully written * De Sleutel * A beautiful story about friendship and overcoming cultural differences * Tertio appa Libri * Captivating and inspiring * De Morgen * A unique view into the world of the Orthodox Jewish community * De Standaard der Letteren * Mazel Tov provides nuanced insight into a world which is highly visible to many people but at the same time foreign and unfamiliar * Nieuwsblad *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 198 mm
Width: 132 mm
Thickness: 25 mm
Weight
260 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-78227-528-2 (9781782275282)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Previous edition
Book
01/2020
Pushkin Press
€36.11
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Persons
J.S. Margot (b. 1967) is a journalist and freelance writer based in Antwerp. An award-winning contributor to leading national newspapers De Standaard and De Morgen, she has also written five novels and lectures regularly in both the Netherlands and Belgium. In 2017 she was awarded the E. du Perronprijs and the Prize for the best Religious book from the VUKPP for Mazel Tov, which was also highly acclaimed in the Dutch and Belgian press. Mazel Tov has been translated into German, French and Polish and won the Best Book Award in Poland; it is her first book to be translated into English.