Judaism and Fantasy

[wilperegrine]

 I'd like to recommend this article, "Why there is no Jewish Narnia," for all speculative fiction aficionados out there.  A good read, some interesting food for thought.

Although it might seem unlikely that anyone would wonder whether the author of The Lord of the Rings was Jewish, the Nazis took no chances. When the publishing firm of Ruetten &

Comments

[ashnistrike]

I cannot think of a single major fantasy writer who is Jewish

There is one obscure author by the name of Neil Gaiman.

[nancylebov]

And his earlier fantasy is very conventional medieval genre fantasy. I haven't read the one you cited.

[mofic]

It's Rosenberg, actually (we share a last name, and parents). I think a lot of Joel's stuff is true fantasy, although he writes hard science fiction and science fiction/fantasy blends as well. Also plenty of Harry Turtledove's, some of which is very Jewish in tone and subject - The Case of the Toxic Spell Dump is a good example and a really fun book. And there's Asimov and Ellison, who are certainly more on the science fiction side, but with fantasy elements. Then there's all the explicitly Jewish fantasy ficiton, which he raises and dismisses.

I thought the article was interesting, but that basically he defined fantasy as that written during a particular place and time by a particular social group, and those who took those books as models. So when you define it so narrowly you reach his conclusion but it doesn't mean a whole lot. Still it made for fun reading and I loved the anecdote at the beginning.

[dichroic]

I don't know if Peter S. Beagle is Jewish, but anyone who created Shmendrick the Magician has got to at least be very familar with Yiddish culture.

[nara_cat]

He is, and references it in many of his stories (for example, "Uncle Chaim and Aunt Rifke and the Angel," which I just read a few days ago).

[treebyleaf]

Why, just imagine what Jane Yolan and Maurice Sendak could have done if they hadn't been held back by a Jewish aversion to fairy tale.