Foreskin's Lament: A Memoir
Encyclopedia
Foreskin's Lament: A Memoir is a book by Shalom Auslander
. The book chronicles his upbringing as an Orthodox Jew and his efforts to break free from it. Portions of the book have been featured in various media, including the PRI
program This American Life
.
called it "edgy" and "bitterly funny." People
magazine also called it "hilarious" and gave the book three-out-of-four stars. Regarding it as "one of its best memoirs", Time
magazine called the memoir "blackly funny." More conservatively, Entertainment Weekly
gave the book a B+, calling Auslander a "gifted writer" but concluding, "he's never going to find [something deep and rich in his problematic past] lunging after every sophomoric laugh."
Shalom Auslander
Shalom Auslander is an American author and essayist. He grew up in an Orthodox Jewish neighborhood in Monsey, New York where he describes himself as having been "raised like a veal". His writing style is notable for its Jewish perspective and determinedly negative outlook...
. The book chronicles his upbringing as an Orthodox Jew and his efforts to break free from it. Portions of the book have been featured in various media, including the PRI
Public Radio International
Public Radio International is a Minneapolis-based American public radio organization, with locations in Boston, New York, London and Beijing. PRI's tagline is "Hear a different voice." PRI is a major public media content creator and also distributes programs from many sources...
program This American Life
This American Life
This American Life is a weekly hour-long radio program produced by WBEZ and hosted by Ira Glass. It is distributed by Public Radio International on PRI affiliate stations and is also available as a free weekly podcast. Primarily a journalistic non-fiction program, it has also featured essays,...
.
Response
The Globe and Mail called the tome "humorous but burdened" and said "the book ably captures the strain between elements of Judaism." USA TodayUSA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
called it "edgy" and "bitterly funny." People
People (magazine)
In 1998, the magazine introduced a version targeted at teens called Teen People. However, on July 27, 2006, the company announced it would shut down publication of Teen People immediately. The last issue to be released was scheduled for September 2006. Subscribers to this magazine received...
magazine also called it "hilarious" and gave the book three-out-of-four stars. Regarding it as "one of its best memoirs", Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine called the memoir "blackly funny." More conservatively, Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
gave the book a B+, calling Auslander a "gifted writer" but concluding, "he's never going to find [something deep and rich in his problematic past] lunging after every sophomoric laugh."