From the Kafkaesque to “Everything is Illuminated” and a childhood favorite: the 50 works of fiction by or about Jews that you must check out.
-Jason Diamond, http://jewcy.com/jewish-arts-and-culture/books/essential_jewish_fiction
Here are some of those titles in our catalog! Includes commentary from Jason Diamond.
 | The Metamorphosis Kafka, Franz It’s really impossible to rate anything– especially the ultimate “Kafkaesque” work—any higher. The Prague-born writer’s ultimate work about poor Gregor Samsa is one of the most seminal works of Jewish fiction in the last century. Our Catalog |
 | Portnoy's Complaint Philip Roth Trying to pick one book as the ultimate Philip Roth work isn’t as hard as you think. Portnoy is the book you see every new title compared to, even to this day. Goodbye, Columbus made him famous, but Portnoy made him a creepy god. Our Catalog |
 | Death of a Salesman Miller, Arthur Miller’s play tells the tale of Willy Loman, but also works as the perfect parable of the death of the American Dream. Our Catalog |
 | The Catcher in the Rye Salinger, J. D. No list dealing with best fiction of the last century would be complete without Salinger’s ode to teenage angst, and the limited knowledge we have of the late writer tells us that this book was indeed the product of Jewish neurosis. Our Catalog |
 | The Trial Kafka, Franz We recognize that we should have just said “Everything Kafka did” at the #1 position, but that wouldn’t have been fair, now would it? Our Catalog |
 | Herzog Bellow, Saul It’s hard to pick Bellow’s masterwork, but we really have to go with the book that made mid-life crisis into an art form. Our Catalog |
 | Call it Sleep Roth, Henry This is the quintessential Jewish experience of the ghetto known Lower East Side of the early 20th Century. They should issue it to students in Hebrew school. Our Catalog |
 | Angels in America Kushner, Tony It’s almost scary how lacking the 1990s were of “generation defining” art by Jews. Thankfully, Kushner’s tour de force play made up for that by being one of the greatest artistic works in the entire Western Canon, both literally and according to Harold Bloom. Our Catalog |
 | The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay Chabon, Michael The story of how Jews created the modern superhero might not be the most interesting idea for a story, but leave it in the hands of one of modern fiction’s greatest writers, and it’s an epic. Our Catalog |
 | American Pastoral Roth, Philip Our Catalog |
 | Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret Blume, Judy A story about a girl growing up in an interfaith family, getting her first period, buying her first bra, and all the other fun issues that go along with being a teenager. Our Catalog |
 | The Assistant Malamund, Bernard Our Catalog |
 | Catch-22 Heller, Joseph In terms of the greatest dark humor anti-war novels, we’d pick Heller’s book over other Slaughterhouse Five or anything else you could think of. Our Catalog |
 | Where the Wild Things Are Sendak, Maurice Essential? Isn’t every child issued a copy of this when they’re born. Our Catalog |
 | Maus: A Survivor's Tale Spiegelman, Art The only comic book to ever win the Pulitzer Prize. Art Spiegelman’s biography of his father’s life before, during and after the Holocaust, brought the medium to a whole new level. Our Catalog |
 | Novels & Stories (1959-1962) Roth, Philip Our Catalog |
 | The New York Trilogy Auster, Paul If anybody is looking for the post-modern mystery book of the last thirty years, look no further. Our Catalog |
 | The History of Love Krauss, Nicole Krauss’ second novel that launched her into the literary spotlight, is the story of a very old man and a very young woman, and how their lives are joined by one very special book. Our Catalog |
 | Everything is Illuminated Foer, Jonathan Safran Upon this book’s release, some called it “genius,” others said it was “overrated.” We’d like to say that it is one of the finest works of “Post-Holocaust Fiction.” Everything is Illuminated is a book for people who want to try and make some sense of the senseless. Our Catalog |
 | Absurdistan: A Novel Shteyngart, Gary As of the writing of this list, Mr. Shteyngart is 3 for 3 in terms of great novels, but the story of the very rich and very rotund Misha Vainberg, is his masterpiece. Our Catalog |
 | The Mind-Body Problem Goldstein, Rebecca Our Catalog |
 | Motherless Brooklyn Lethem, Jonathan Is it fair for us to say that Lethem’s 1999 novel set the stage for the current literary renaissance going on in the borough of Brooklyn to this day? It certainly made the “Neuronovel” a trendy thing. Our Catalog |
 | The Instructions Levin, Adam If you’re going to make a big splash, write a 1000+ page book about a Jewish boy from the Chicago suburbs who might or might not be the Messiah. That’s what Levin did with his debut, and that’s why it was our favorite work of fiction in 2010. Our Catalog |
 | The Trial of God Wiesel, Eli Our Catalog |
 | Bech, a Book Updike, John The king of the W.A.S.Ps parodies his Jewish contemporaries, and gives the world the greatest work of “Jew envy.” Our Catalog |
 | The Finkler Question Jacobson, Howard Salon said the underdog Man Booker winner in 2010 would “probably distress you on its way to disarming you. Can we pay the novel any greater compliment?” We don’t think so. Our Catalog |
 | Seize the Day Bellow, Saul Our Catalog |
 | For the Relief of Unbearable Urges Englander, Nathan Our Catalog |
