Being Jewish In 2025 New York City; The Dystopian Nightmare (Volume 2)

By: Bert Murray

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

"A whirlwind adventure that manages to be farcical but also thoughtful. In Murray’s series-starting near-future dystopian novel, a middle-aged Jewish Manhattanite seeks love and finds danger. It’s 2025, and 44-year-old David Stein is searching for a suitable mate on the online dating site JDate after breaking up with his girlfriend of three years. However, due to “the new political climate,” he must get approval from the city’s Department of Health, because of laws put in place to ostensibly make dating “safer.” New York City has passed draconian measures that make it nearly impossible to practice Judaism or Christianity out in the open. During the Second Civil War of 2024, extremists burned down the White House, and a rise in antisemitic violence has made life dangerous for Jewish people nationwide...The tone of the story leans toward the fantastical, and it's a choice that effectively allows readers to consider the sheer chaos of the characters' environment. The wildness of some plot developments, as when a member of Thought Police is stopped by Sue's massive Old English Sheepdog-German Shepherd-Great Dane mix, only further serve to illustrate the absurdity of the dystopian world."
- Kirkus Reviews

It is 2025 in America & both Judaism and Christianity are under attack by the totalitarian city government. Christmas trees are being torn down & Jewish temples are being burned. The only place where people can keep their religious traditions alive is in their homes. The thought police in New York even determine who you are allowed to date.

David Stein feels like the freedom he once experienced as a Jewish American has been stolen from him. He is living his life in a dystopian nightmare.