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A review by simlish
Among the Thorns by Veronica Schanoes
4.0
Read it here. Based on the antisemitic fairy tale "The Jew Among Thorns", from the POV of the daughter of the Jew and her search for revenge.
I hadn't previously heard of the fairy tale Among the Thorns is based on, and only found out about it when writing this review. The story stands on its own without that context, but I think I might have enjoyed it even more if I'd known about the fairy tale beforehand. For some reason, it doesn't seem to have had the same staying power as Cinderella. Fancy that.
Wikipedia refers to "The Jew Among Thorns" as having incidental antisemitism, since the Jewishness of the Jew is not integral to the story; his victimization is justified by his faith, but it's just flavoring. The boss of the fiddler is greedy and cheats the fiddler but is not punished. The fiddler steals the Jew's money, but the Jew is the one hung for theft. I understand the categorization of "incidental" antisemitism, but it clearly isn't. The Jew's sin is being a Jew.
Among the Thorns is a retelling and a response; Itte, the Jew's daughter, promises to get revenge for her father. She allows herself to be possessed by the Matronit in order to facilitate her vengeance. I don't pretend to be the most well educated on Jewish folklore or kabbalah, so I both asked my father, who does a fair amount of kabbalah and googled -- my father had never heard the term. Wikipedia redirects to Shekhinah, who I do know. I also found this, which has a little more information.
I loved this story, and I love that it's led me to do more research. I loved Itte, and her determination and rage. I loved the way Schanoes uses language. I loved the ending. I loved how Jewishness was worked into each part of the story. When I was younger, during the High Holy Days, my parents would let me read through the daylong services, as long as my reading was related to Judaism. My favorite book to bring was [b:After the Apple: Women in the Bible: Timeless Stories of Love, Lust, and Longing|337603|After the Apple Women in the Bible Timeless Stories of Love, Lust, and Longing|Naomi Harris Rosenblatt|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1438492046l/337603._SY75_.jpg|328020], and I think if Among the Thorns had been out at the time I would have devoured it over and over.
The only thing I was not totally in love with was the way the Matronit spoke of G-d; it's certainly one interpretation, but the Matronit is presented as something of an expert, and there's little pushback on the idea of an uncaring G-d. I did like the line, "My daughter, if you did not [keep your covenants], who would you be?" but the concept did hit me in an argumentative bone. Two Jews, five opinions, and all that.
Overall, I really liked it, and it's such a quick (free) read that I highly recommend it.
I hadn't previously heard of the fairy tale Among the Thorns is based on, and only found out about it when writing this review. The story stands on its own without that context, but I think I might have enjoyed it even more if I'd known about the fairy tale beforehand. For some reason, it doesn't seem to have had the same staying power as Cinderella. Fancy that.
Wikipedia refers to "The Jew Among Thorns" as having incidental antisemitism, since the Jewishness of the Jew is not integral to the story; his victimization is justified by his faith, but it's just flavoring. The boss of the fiddler is greedy and cheats the fiddler but is not punished. The fiddler steals the Jew's money, but the Jew is the one hung for theft. I understand the categorization of "incidental" antisemitism, but it clearly isn't. The Jew's sin is being a Jew.
Among the Thorns is a retelling and a response; Itte, the Jew's daughter, promises to get revenge for her father. She allows herself to be possessed by the Matronit in order to facilitate her vengeance. I don't pretend to be the most well educated on Jewish folklore or kabbalah, so I both asked my father, who does a fair amount of kabbalah and googled -- my father had never heard the term. Wikipedia redirects to Shekhinah, who I do know. I also found this, which has a little more information.
I loved this story, and I love that it's led me to do more research. I loved Itte, and her determination and rage. I loved the way Schanoes uses language. I loved the ending. I loved how Jewishness was worked into each part of the story. When I was younger, during the High Holy Days, my parents would let me read through the daylong services, as long as my reading was related to Judaism. My favorite book to bring was [b:After the Apple: Women in the Bible: Timeless Stories of Love, Lust, and Longing|337603|After the Apple Women in the Bible Timeless Stories of Love, Lust, and Longing|Naomi Harris Rosenblatt|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1438492046l/337603._SY75_.jpg|328020], and I think if Among the Thorns had been out at the time I would have devoured it over and over.
The only thing I was not totally in love with was the way the Matronit spoke of G-d; it's certainly one interpretation, but the Matronit is presented as something of an expert, and there's little pushback on the idea of an uncaring G-d. I did like the line, "My daughter, if you did not [keep your covenants], who would you be?" but the concept did hit me in an argumentative bone. Two Jews, five opinions, and all that.
Overall, I really liked it, and it's such a quick (free) read that I highly recommend it.