The Last Jews of Kerala

The Two Thousand Year History of India’s Forgotten Jewish Community

By: Edna Fernandes

Narrated by: Leslie Bellair

When a people die out, can their story survive?Two thousand years ago, trade routes and the fall of Jerusalem took Jewish settlers seeking sanctuary across Europe and Asia. One little-known group settled in Kerala, in tropical southwestern India. Eventually numbering in the thousands, with eight synagogues, they prospered. Some came to possess vast estates and plantations, and many enjoyed economic privilege and political influence. Their comfortable lives, however, were haunted by a feud between the Black Jews of Ernakulam and the White Jews of Mattancherry. Separated by a narrow stretch of swamp and the color of their skin, they locked in a rancorous feud for centuries, divided by racism and claims and counterclaims over who arrived first in their adopted land. Today, this once-illustrious people is in its dying days. Centuries of interbreeding and a latter-day Exodus from Kerala after Israel's creation in 1948 have shrunk the population. The Black and White Jews combined now number less than fifty, and only one synagogue remains. On the threshold of extinction, the two remaining Jewish communities of Kerala have come to realize that their destiny, and their undoing, is the same.

The Last Jews of Kerala narrates the rise and fall of the Black Jews and the White Jews over the centuries and within the context of the grand history of the Jewish people. It is the story of the twilight days of a people whose community will, within the next generation, cease to exist. Yet it is also a rich tale of weddings and funerals, of loyalty to family and fierce individualism, of desperation and hope.

©2008 Edna Fernandes (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

A sad but informative narrative

The Jews of Kerala built a community that was at peace with the Hindus, Muslims and Christians around them. Internal strife and the actions of invading Portuguese and British forces, then damaging decisions by their own state's government, finally led all but a few to leave. Edna Fernandes provides us with a rich and sensitive narrative of this community in its final years.

Last Jews of Kerala - General eval

Commendable work on data collection !
Particularly enjoyed the “composition” took you to the actual time & place !!
Downside: narrator read TOO FAST !

Interesting

An eye-opening story about Jews in India - and the unfortunate prejudice that exists among light skinned Jews toward Jews with darker skin. The narrator speaks too quickly. A good narrator does not rush. Overall, an interesting history.

Mispronunciation

Someone needed to instruct the narrator on the pronunciation of the Hebrew words in this book. B’nai Yisrael, Magen David...it’s really annoying to hear it. Story is great, reader not so great.

INTERESTING PART OF JEWISH HISTORY

So glad I listened to this book. It is a part of Jewish history I was not familiar with.
Time and again when I read about the Jews I find that they are such a strong people.
I highly recommend listening and it is “included” for now.
The narrator has just the right voice.
My thanks to all, JK.

Interesting topic, unethical author, uninformed reader

This book is written on a very interesting topic and the writer presents some vivid description. Yet the author repeats herself so many times that I felt she should have presented her findings as a longform magazine article, rather than stretch them out into a full-length book.

I also found it unethical of the author to "befriend" reclusive community members only to turn around and vividly depict things like the way dentures slip disgustingly in and out of their mouth. These are real people who now come face to face with tourists (like me) who have read this book! In my opinion, the author did not treat her informants with journalistic integrity.

Finally, it was annoying that Audible's reader mispronounced words/names related to India AND words/names related to Judaism throughout the audiobook. This is a book focused on India and on Judaism -- Audible can't find a reader who is familiar with at least one of them? Leslie can't take the time to ask somebody how to pronounce unfamiliar words? Give me a break!

Good to learn the history, but slow moving story

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

The time was well spent to listen to the book as it had many back stories I didn't know. However, it was very slow moving. A little more historic detail or broader links to other Indian jews might have had some additional interest.

Wonderful

A truly great story and wonderful performance. This from someone who does not even “like fiction.”

Excellent! ✡︎

This audiobook is an outstanding look at a community that had been vibrant for millennia only to find itself in a death spiral as the result of their own intolerance for one half of their membership. The Indian Jews’ relation to Israel is also fascinating.

Finally, the narrator did a remarkable job in telling this fascinating tale. Her voice was clear and mellifluous and made it a joy to listen to. She definitely added much value to the audiobook over a simple book version. Both author and narrator are to be congratulated on an excellent job.

Negative and Poorly Written

The Last Jews of Kerala: The 2,000 Year History of India’s Forgotten Jewish Community, lives up to its title but not the subtitle. Journalist Edna Fernandes reflects her primary career by creating a book that is primarily a collection of interviews of Kerala Jews with about two chapters that provide a Wikipedia sized amount of historical context. The interviews thus were the core of the book and while these personal narratives could have been the book’s strength, they too fell short. Fernandes usually painted her subjects in a negative light making most of them come off as pessimistic, prejudicial and petty. Only her last few chapters, especially the one on the Negev Desert, were good at showing likable individuals with interesting stories, which reflect on the story of the Kerala Jews. On top of that the book was highly repetitive and just poorly written. My hope is it could encourage someone to write a more comprehensive history on the subject, or a more passionate narrative on the last Jews of Kerala.

The narration was read at a bizarrely fast pace. I was able to fix it by reducing it to either 0.9 or 0.8 speed. The narrator seemed detached and eager to read through the book as quickly as possible.