Dara Horn on Reclaiming the Jewish Question

After publishing her essay collection People Love Dead Jews, Dara Horn found her inbox flooded with messages from readers about their own experiences of anti-semitism. She realized that her readers wanted her to come up with an answer to all the problems she had raised. Her response is in her latest book, The Final Solution to the Jewish Question: A Love Story for the Living. In this conversation, Dara explains why reading Yiddish works are critical to understanding the Holocaust. We also discuss the internalized antisemitism that both she and Sarah Hurwitz explore in their latest works, what she’s learned from Natan Sharansky, and how we should teach about Judaism as an anti-tyrannical movement. Dara Horn is the award-winning author of seven books, including the novels The World to Come, All Other Nights, the graphic novel One Little Goat and the essay collection People Love Dead Jews: Reports from a Haunted Present. Dara Horn is also the recipient of three National Jewish Book Awards, among many other honors. Regular listeners might notice that this is Dara’s second time on the show! We were delighted to talk to Dara about her book One Little Goat last April. If you haven’t yet heard it, you can go back to Dara’s first episode on the show and hear her talk about Tevye the Dairyman by Sholom Aleichem and Mr. Mani by A B Yehoshua. Dara Horn’s Five Books: 1.A book that inspired, informed, or is in conversation with your latest work: As a Jew by Sarah Hurwitz2. A book you changed your mind about – one you once loved, misunderstood, or now see differently: See Under: Love by David Grossman 3. A line or passage from a book that you think about often or that changed your worldview: From Natan Sharansky's memoir Fear No Evil, "No one else can humiliate me. I can only humiliate myself." 4. The book you're reading now: Arrow in the Blue by Arthur Koestler 5. Your latest book: The Final Solution to the Jewish Question: A Love Story for the Living Other Episodes You Might Enjoy: Dara Horn on Being the Lorax at Her Seder Table Sarah Hurwitz on Reclaiming Our Jewish Story Matti Friedman on the Stories that Built a People Sharon Brous on Working to Mend Our Broken Hearts and World Also Mentioned: Anti-Judaism by David Nirenberg Gentleman’s Agreement (film) Postwar Stories: How Books Made Judaism American by Rachel Gordan “The Golden Age of American Jews is Ending” by Franklin Foer The Last Consolation Vanished by Zalmen Gradowski Darkness at Noon by Arthur Koestler Thieves in the Night by Arthur Koestler Blood Libel: On the Trail of an Antisemitic Myth by Magda Teter The Tell Institute The Five Books is a podcast that celebrates the role of books in Jewish culture. Through author interviews, we delve into Jewish identity and discover each author’s favorite novels. Join us every week for new Jewish book recommendations! Some of our episodes have included conversations with Rabbi Sharon Brous, Sam Sussman, Rabbi Angela Buchdahl and Allegra Goodman. ⁠⁠⁠Sign up for our newsletter⁠⁠⁠ to get new episode reminders, authors’ five book picks, and more delivered straight to your inbox. Find us on at ⁠www.fivebookspod.org, on Instagram ⁠@fivebookspod ⁠or on Facebook at The Five Books Podcast. For feedback or author recommendations please email us at ⁠team@fivebookspod.org⁠ The Five Books has the advisory and promotional support of the Jewish Book Council. Jewish Book Council is a nonprofit dedicated to amplifying and celebrating Jewish literature and supporting authors and readers. Stay up to date on the latest in Jewish literature! ⁠https://www.jewishbookcouncil.org/events/celebrate⁠ The Five Books is fiscally sponsored by FJC, a 501c3 public charity. As an Amazon Associate, The Five Books earns from qualifying purchases. Any commissions we receive help support our nonprofit mission and are reinvested in producing the podcast and related programming. Hosted by Tali Rosenblatt Cohen Produced by Odelia Rubin Editorial and website support by Aimee Fogel Artwork by Elad Lifshitz of the Dov Abramson Studio Music by Dov Rosenblatt and Blue Dot Sessions