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8 Jewish Contemporary Fiction Books

One of the first Jewish authors that I fell in love with was Chaim Potok

It would later be made into a film by the same name, which I admittedly saw first

I remember diving into Potok’s works and being fascinated by his depiction of Jewish life in

Looking back on it, I think part of the reason I fell so hard for his work

Later on I’d find my way to Sholem Aleichem’s short stories whose name may be

Now there are even more books written by diverse Jewish voices, and it’s an exciting time

Twitty’s phenomenal Kosher Soul and there are lots of exciting books on the horizon looking at

To celebrate Jewish literature, I’ve put together a list of recently published works of fiction focusing

Published in September, Thistlefoot is one of my favorite books of the year

Bellatine wants to live in the house full time while her brother Isaac sees it as an

So they strike up a deal: they will tour the family’s puppet show to make money

shores with a mission to destroy the house and anyone associated with it

Thistlefoot is a story about stories, family ties, generational trauma, and lots of beautiful puppets

When Jaryk Smith’s friend Misha dies in India while trying to put on a play, Smith

Little does he know that his lover, Lucy, is pregnant with his child

When he gets to India, he’s confronted with memories of the Warsaw Ghetto, and finds himself

While people say that close siblings or friends are two peas in a pod, this novel takes

When they touch their foreheads, they switch bodies and are able to experience life from a different

Both find what they themselves lack; Nina becomes bolder while Jess gets a calm respite from her

The narratives weave back and forth from Jess and Nina’s childhood to the present day when

Ruth Behar has written several children’s books looking at Jewish Cuban culture and this is her

But during the visit, Tía Fortuna talks about the life she built through the possessions in

It’s a delightful look at Sephardic and Cuban culture through beautiful illustrations

This might be a good one for fans of Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett’s Good Omens

So they decide to make the passage for themselves and end up finding Rose Cohen and Malke

In this fictitious memoir of poems, a woman travels metaphorically and literally through the world dealing with

The poem is structured around the Torah and other Jewish texts and interweaves Jewish prayers and sayings

I had never heard of Ethel Rosenberg until I came across a Cuban poster memorializing Ethel and

Plus, many believe that Ethel was innocent of the treason but was caught up in the fervor

Large dragons, known as ryū, were common in Japan until World War II

But Kohei wants to find a large ryū to give joy to his grandfather who is very

So he teams up with Isolde, a half-Japanese and half-Jewish friend, and their little dragons, to find

For folks who want more folk tales, here’s my list on Jewish folk tales