People Love Dead Jews

Reports from a Haunted Present

By: Dara Horn

Narrated by: Xe Sands

A startling and profound exploration of how Jewish history is exploited to comfort the living.

Renowned and beloved as a prizewinning novelist, Dara Horn has also been publishing penetrating essays since she was a teenager. Often asked by major publications to write on subjects related to Jewish culture - and increasingly in response to a recent wave of deadly anti-Semitic attacks - Horn was troubled to realize what all of these assignments had in common: She was being asked to write about dead Jews, never about living ones. In these essays, Horn reflects on subjects as far-flung as the international veneration of Anne Frank, the mythology that Jewish family names were changed at Ellis Island, the blockbuster traveling exhibition Auschwitz, the marketing of the Jewish history of Harbin, China, and the little-known life of the "righteous Gentile" Varian Fry. Throughout, she challenges us to confront the reasons why there might be so much fascination with Jewish deaths, and so little respect for Jewish lives unfolding in the present.

Horn draws upon her travels, her research, and also her own family life - trying to explain Shakespeare’s Shylock to a curious 10-year-old, her anger when swastikas are drawn on desks in her children’s school, the profound perspective offered by traditional religious practice and study - to assert the vitality, complexity, and depth of Jewish life against an anti-Semitism that, far from being disarmed by the mantra of "Never forget", is on the rise. As Horn explores the (not so) shocking attacks on the American Jewish community in recent years, she reveals the subtler dehumanization built into the public piety that surrounds the Jewish past - making the radical argument that the benign reverence we give to past horrors is itself a profound affront to human dignity.

©2021 Dara Horn (P)2021 Recorded Books

Magnificent

Thought provoking, tragic, funny and beautiful written. I recommend this for anyone struggling with faith.

Should be required reading

An enlightening book for Jews but I think even more important for non-Jews to read/listen to and learn from. Antisemitism is the oldest form of hatred and it’s ever present today. It looks different than other forms of discrimination and can be more insidious. This book really makes you see through the bullshit. It also teaches you a lot about Jewish history beyond the Holocaust that you probably did not know about. I’m not nearly a good a writer as Dara so this review will fall short of doing it justice but please or listen to this book!

Incredibly important book

Amazingly written and researched. For such a short book, it’s amazing, and yet also horrifying just how well this book explains and fits into the modern world. Essential reading for all fellow Jews, and anyone else who considers themselves an ally or is curious about the state of our world today.

Moving. Eye opening. Convicting. Incredibly engaging.

Moving. Eye opening. Convicting. Incredibly engaging. One of the best books I’ve ever read. The readers voice is superb as well, and makes the book an easy listen.

Stunning book

No matter what you are expecting, this book will surprise you. Captivating, punchy, wise.
Sands’ reading, too, is superb.

great book

The narrator was very expressive but got some Jewish names wrong, which is a bit too ironic given the nature of the book. The book itself is fantastic - a really insightful piece detailing the ways in which an acceptance of anti-Jewish prejuduce is accepted around the world, the ways in which some Jews are complicit in this and the ways in which the fetishization of dead Jews is used to continue to opress Jews. I highly recommend.

Powerful and thoughtful book with wonderful writing

After reading about this book in the New York Times I was excited to have the opportunity to read it. Even more excited to listen to it, to better understand it. Having this book read aloud gave me a chance to truly enjoy it at a different level then when reading it. The author does an incredible job at sharing her own life stories intertwined with historical fact and putting down and helping to erase historical fiction.

The material in her stories it’s sometimes hard to read or hard to hear because the crimes are so unbelievable and the imagery will stick with you forever.

I believe that this book should be read by all young adults and college students.

Interesting insights

Thesis of anti Semitism & our different responses interesting, but I’m not convinced we are currently in denial. As a second generation Jew from immigrant grandparents, in the racist & anti Semitic South, I’ve always been aware of dealing with dangerous antiSemitic acts. But there also has been a lot of progress in my lifetime. I’m more worried about assimilation re: Jewish future, re: not being attached Jewishly, and rates of addiction & suicide, which are increasingly high of Jews among Caucasian population.

People DO love dead Jews, but there is more to it

(As posted in Goodreads)
It's insightful, and and DOES raise the question, "[why do] people love dead Jews?" I have seen a few reviews of this book – actually, one review posted in two places, Goodreads and Audible, and it comes to the conclusion that "the benign reverence we give to past horrors is itself a profound affront to human dignity." I, however, sum it up with a different quote from the book: "Dead Jews are only worth discussing if they are part of something bigger."
A great part of the richness of Judaism is pointed out by that statement, and the current and past trends to anti-Semitism and the fact that the religion and our people ARE remembered and recognized in our dead. Our book club is planning to read this book as our choice in September, and I am looking forward to it and look forward to discussing it, both with the people in the book club and, perhaps, our Rabbi and Cantor, as well as the woman who responded to me (I won't state her name here, because she is not specifically asked me to or granted permission) when i suggested the book upon reading about it. The view of the world and anti-Semitism and how it remembers any and all Jewish people is both telling and thought-provoking.

Excellent book

This book is excellent! The way it is read is impeccable, the writing is amazing, the history, and the way she is able to communicate the collective consciousness of the Jewish people is outstanding. If anyone is interested in getting an overview of Jewish history, in a story telling way - I would highly recommend this book.