You Never Call! You Never Write: A History of the Jewish Mother | 
 enlarge | Author: Joyce Antler
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Category: Book
List Price: $15.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  3 reviews
Sales Rank: 547100
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 336
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 7.8 x 0.7 x 0.5
ISBN: 0195341430
Dewey Decimal Number: 296
EAN: 9780195341430
ASIN: 0195341430
Publication Date: March 24, 2008
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| Author Video | | Oy vey! You Never Call! You Never Write!: A History of the Jewish Mother author Joyce Antler talks about Jewish humor, overbearing mothers, and Sarah Silverman. Watch the video (.wmv). |  |
Product Description
In You Never Call, You Never Write, Joyce Antler provides an illuminating and often amusing history of one of the best-known figures in popular culture--the Jewish Mother.
Antler traces the odyssey of this compelling personality through decades of American culture. She reminds us of a time when Jewish mothers were admired for their tenacity and nurturance, as in the early twentieth-century image of the "Yiddishe Mama," a sentimental figure popularized by entertainers such as George Jessel, Al Jolson, and Sophie Tucker, and especially by Gertrude Berg, whose amazingly successful "Molly Goldberg" ruled American radio and television for over 25 years. Antler explains the transformation of this Jewish Mother into a "brassy-voiced, smothering, and shrewish" scourge (in Irving Howe's words), detailing many variations on this negative theme, from Philip Roth's Portnoy's Complaint and Woody Allen's Oedipus Wrecks to television shows such as "The Nanny" and Larry David's "Curb Your Enthusiasm." But she also uncovers a new counter-narrative, leading feminist scholars and stand-up comediennes to see the Jewish Mother in positive terms.
A joy to read, You Never Call, You Never Write will delight anyone who has ever known or been nurtured by a "Jewish Mother," and it will be a special source of insight for modern parents. As Antler suggests, in many ways, "we are all Jewish Mothers" today.
"After reading this, you'll call, you'll write, and you'll say thank you!"
--Judy Gold, comedian
"More than a history of Jewish motherhood, this book offers a fresh perspective on Jewish history, women's history, and the history of popular culture that is both informative and entertaining.... Readers will finish the book with a fuller and more nuanced understanding of the history of the Jewish mother--and mothers in general."
--Library Journal
"As educational as it is riotous...go buy this book and call your mom."
--The Jewish Magazine
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| Customer Reviews:
 You Never Call! You Never Write February 8, 2008
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
This book was written by Joyce Antler, a professor at Brandeis University. The Women's Committee of Brandeis (BUNWC)instituted a study group program based on books, research, etc. by professors which included a syllabus to accompany their books, research, etc.
As a former president of BUNWC, I can attest to the importance and popularity of this program. The subjects offered are always on the mark. This one, in particular, hit the jugular vein!
"The History of the Jewish Mother" transcends the history of most American, immigrant mothers. This is a wonderful book for a book club. Through the study guide, questions are posed that relate to each chapter.
The book, in itself, brings back many memories. The study guide keeps the group on track. ONE CAVEAT. Although the book alone is very good, you must be a member of BUNWC to be eligible to buy the study guide.
 Interesting November 7, 2007
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
For a different point of view, and I feel broader, I preferred "Yiddishe Mamas: the Truth About the Jewish Mother." It covers more areas, is far warmer and personal.
wonderful, heart-warming book April 27, 2007
6 out of 9 found this review helpful
Reading this book will be a nostalgic trip down memory lane; the book is full of funny and charming anecdotes and recaps of classic humor routines and shows of past generations. A great book that gives you the really lively, hilarious, often shocking, sometimes bawdy history of how the Jewish Mother has been portrayed in movies, books, sitcoms, etc. But then the author contrasts that negative image with accounts of real Jewish mothers and women, who are strong, spunky, and loving. The perfect gift book; I confess I've already given copies to my mom and 4 aunts!
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