Jewish as a Second Language: How to Worry, How to Interrupt, How to Say the Opposite of What You Mean

by Molly Katz

Book Overview

It's a NICE book.

Forget Yiddish. Real Jewish is a secret language of nuance, argument, and somersaults of everyday speech; of wins, losses, and draws in competitions you had no idea you'd entered. It's everything from mastering the OAQ (Obsessive Anal Question) - "They'll de-ice the wings before we take off, right?" - to never, ever believing your mother-in-law when she says "Don't bother driving me, I'll take a cab." Now in a second...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0761158405
• ISBN13: 9780761158400
• Release Date: April 2010
• Publisher: Workman Publishing
• Length: 182 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.2" x 7.5"

Customer Reviews

Molly's great

This is a very enjoyable book that is re-read so many times & shown to friends for discussions. I think this is a 'must' for your library. The long, sour review is a sign of PC running amok - get over it!

Illuminating

As a jew, this book showed me how my "abnormal" behaviour is very very normal!!!

But, some of my best friends are Jewish

I'm not Jewish, though after reading Katz's book, I'm thinking about converting. This is one funny book. Lot of laugh out louds. A side benefit is the non-Jewish reader will develop much more of an appreciation of ( or toleration of ) his/her Jewish friends. So, what's not to like about this book ? Get you some lox and bagels and hunker down for a really fun read.

Enjoy!

I see myself -- and half my relatives in this upclose and personal look at ourselves. If you liked this, you also love a great little package I found called, "A LITTLE JOY, A LITTLE OY" The book and the calendars are not only funny and filled with Yinglishisms, manner-Yidims, but also serious and poignant moments. Randy from Brooklyn

Hilarious book on Jewish life is one vitz after another

Former stand-up comic Molly Katz, inspired by her marriage to a goy, has written a book for Gentiles who marry Jews. Katz expects - even demands - that you will yiddify your worldview, body language, eating habits, gastro-intestinal issues, child-rearing ideas, etc. when you join a Jewish family. Tidbits like "all Jews worry about everything all the time" and "you can have a Jewish wedding without a chuppa but not without a Viennese Table," while slight exaggerations, ring true. Having myself grown up Jewish I recall countless hours spent obsessing over medical problems, Chinese food, money, curtains, schools, etc. A bit more emphasis on Yiddish would have been a plus but the tips Katz gives on word usage and phraseology alone are worth the price of the book (eg, "How long are you married" for "how long have you been married"). Molly Katz is a letz (wit) who gently and affectionately pokes fun at our sometimes overwhelming, always delicious culture, mind-body axis, and worldview.