Born to Kvetch

Yiddish Language and Culture in All of Its Moods

By: Michael Wex

Narrated by: Michael Wex

As the main spoken language of the Jews for more than a thousand years, Yiddish has had plenty to lament, plenty to conceal. Its phrases and expressions paint a comprehensive picture of the mind-set that enabled the Jews of Europe to survive persecution: they never stopped kvetching about God, gentiles, children, and everything else.

In Born to Kvetch, Michael Wex looks at the ingredients that went into this buffet of disenchantment and examines how they were mixed together to produce an almost limitless supply of striking idioms and withering curses. Born to Kvetch includes a wealth of material that's never appeared in English before.

This is no bobe mayse (cock-and-bull story) from a khokhem be-layle (idiot, literally a "sage at night" when no one's looking), but a serious yet fun and funny look at a language. From tukhes to goy, meshugener to kvetch, Yiddish words have permeated and transformed English as well. Through the fascinating history of this kvetch-full tongue, Michael Wex gives us a moving and inspiring portrait of a people, and a language, in exile.

©2006 Michael Wex (P)2006 HarperCollinsPublishers, Inc.

Critic reviews

"This treasure trove of linguistics, sociology, history and folklore offers a fascinating look at how...a unique and enduring language has reflected an equally unique and enduring culture." (Publishers Weekly)
"Wise, witty, and altogether wonderful....Mr. Wex has perfect pitch. He always finds the precise word, the most vivid metaphor, for his juicy Yiddishisms, and he enjoys teasing out complexities." (The New York Times)

Listened to it twice so far!

Really enjoyed this book that I thought was about linguistics, but delivered so much more. The previous mentions of the harsh narration are right, and at first it is pretty hard to take, but I got used to it after awhile. And, there are times when Mr. Wex drops the extreme accent and reveals a pleasant reading voice. The choice not to use that all the time is rather baffling, but the book itself was so enjoyable that I got over it and I didn't even notice how much I was learning. I am still laughing about the place of the chicken in Yiddish culture. Terrific.

It took me a while to get used to Michael’s voice, but when I did...

I totally enjoyed listening and learning and appreciating Yiddish, as a culture, a language, it’s humor, it’s curses and blessings!! Thanks, Michael!! LOVED IT!

fantastic look into a world that is sadly, nearly

loved it. Wex has great skill as a narrator one you get used to his rhythm and rhyme.

Great info, nauseating narration.

The information was great. Learned a lot. But the narrators droning, nauseating voice at the end of each sentence made it very difficult to continue reading the book. I think perhaps, a different performer might change the overall acceptance of the material. I do appreciate the Jewish quality of his voice, as I am a Jew too, but the excessive use of drawing out the end of each and every sentence is not an aesthetic that is pleasing to the ear.

Fascinating and Foul

Wex gives a "warts & all" look into eastern European Jewish culture through its language. The first part of the book made me laugh out loud much to the surprise of fellow commuters. Unfortunately, he soon descended into scatology and profanity.

Accurate & amusing

The author speaks with a drawl often extending the last vowel of each paragraph.

He is however a great story teller who backs up all his ideas with sources.

I spent my listen giggling & going back to relisten to what I missed while laughing.

Yiddish Self Defense Lesson

Having married into a Jewish family understanding a little Yiddish never hurt. It is a private language unto those who still want to keep the goyim on the outside of the circle. To get the full impact of Wex's book you must listen because it is about language. My wife's grandmother was a Russian Jew and for the first time I began to appreciate the historical and religous perspective of Yiddish and the world she left behind.

To keep it fresh Wex integrated all of this into everyday life. On the downside Wex has an annoying cadence in his reading and picks it up so fast as he continues that you can only comprehend a small piece of what he gives you. If you speak German (ich spreche ein bischen) or Polish or some eastern-European dialect, you will be able to follow. Warning to all goys...don't try Yiddish at home, leave it to the professionals.

Something unusual

So much is explained in this wry and hilarious book. All the sayings and tones of voice we've heard smatterings of come sharply into focus. The inflection of the author is mildly annoying at first, but I soon got used to it and eventually grew to like it. It matches the content perfectly.

Brings a smile, in times we can sure use it

I'm just a curious gentile. But I have been bit by the bug. This is the one language I'm aware of where words can be funny, in and of themselves, they can contain in one syllable a sort of capsule cartoon, dripping with wry attitude. So in moments of classroom lecturing I lapse into Yiddish (not purposely!) and it never fails to bring a laugh. All of a sudden I get to be sort of, stand-up, Borscht-Belt. Yeah, teaching law, even. And even youths of an ethnicity that generally might tend not to, laugh too. It's hard to do humor without giving serious offense, and nowadays it can be a minefield. Being around this Yiddish culture in law school and elsewhere, I learned the self-deprecating humor style that makes that possible. It's on great display here. The old ad line was, you don't have to be Jewish to love Levy's, right (whatever that was or is? Disclaimer: Any intellectual property sampled here ham-handedly(!) by me is the property of its rightful owner(s)), and that goes for this stuff too. I have a great affection for it.
I love the author-narrator's sort of laconic speaking style which is a perfect fit. Sometimes authors should stay miles away from their books, but not this fellow. He's the real deal -- a scholar and clearly this is a labor of love.

Enjoyable, but for the narrator

I quite enjoyed this book. It was full of interesting facts and tidbits along with an interesting and witty take on Jewish culture. The narrator however, has a way of elongating the last sound of the last word in a statement, or emphasizes this sound in place of punctuation (such as commas). If you cannot ignore this inflection it may get on your nerves. It is not subtle. Even so, it did not bother me greatly and I found it a fun listen, perfect for daily commutes in the car (entertaining but wont make you late because you had to sit in the parking lot to hear what happens next).