The Jewish Observer
News from Middle Tennessee's Jewish Community | Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024
The Jewish Observer

People of the Books, July 2023

Galford, Ellen. The Dyke and the Dybbuk (Seal Press, 1994) and Yiddish Lost and Found: Eavesdropping on the Ancestors (Amazon, 2015)

Summer Reading means different things to different folks. As a university professor, I see summer as a time for both relaxation and research, for light and heavy reading in equal measure. In recent days, I’ve been reading some challenging tomes about antisemitism today, and I’ll happily foist them upon readers come fall. But for now, I’ll share a different pleasure, my appreciation for American-born Scottish Jewish author Ellen Galford. Galford was born in the US and grew up on the east coast. She migrated to the United Kingdom in 1971, after ending a brief marriage. Thereafter, she came out as a lesbian. She has lived in London, Glasgow, and Edinburgh, and her various experiences appear in her Twitter handle (@lothianlitvak) and her witty, engaging prose.

The Dyke and the Dybbuk is the first book I read by Galford, a delightful blend of lesbian romantic comedy and Jewish folklore. I discovered the novel, which critics call a “feminist cult classic,” when I was looking for contemporary depictions of dybbuks. The bold, humorous title drew me in immediately. In this London-set romp, we meet young lesbian cab driver Rosalind “Rainbow” Rosenbloom, pestered by overbearing aunts. Soon, she finds herself pursued by another, this time Dybbuk Kokos, a soul-stealer who escapes after 200 years trapped inside a tree. Her mission is to find and torment the current descendent of the woman she haunted generations ago. Their adventures are hilarious and heart-warming, and the novel has a happier ending than Rainbow, Kokos, or I expected. Between the pages of this 240-page novel we find spectacles and spells alongside cultural commentary and tasteful, tame erotica. I consider it perfect for a summer reader looking to update their appreciation for Isaac Bashevis Singer. (Out of print, but easy to find used online.)

To pair with this escapist frolic, I recommend something equally enjoyable but quite different. While Galford’s 1980s and 1990s novels are all worth a read, she wrote less fiction thereafter. My favorite of her more recent writings is 2015’s Yiddish Lost and Found: Eavesdropping on the Ancestors. In this encyclopedia-meets-memoir, Galford presents her personal journey through memories of Yiddish as she experienced them in mid-20th century New York and New Jersey. As difficult to categorize as it is to put down, I recommend this unorthodox social history of three generations of Jews, shared through words that show their devotion to the Ashkenazi mameloshn. (Available for Kindle only.)

Whichever volume you choose, a unique Jewish adventure awaits.

Elyce Rae Helford, Ph.D., is a professor of English and director of the Jewish and Holocaust Studies minor at Middle Tennessee State University. Reach her at elyce.helford@mtsu.edu.

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