Jews of the Amazon: Self-Exile in Earthly Paradise

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Summary: soooo interesting
Review: Ariel Segal did an amazing job writing this book. It is so interesting and incrediable. I couldn't put this book down, i just loved it. Ariel, congratulations on writing an amazing ethnography...

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Summary: Jews scattered to the 4 corners of the earth
Review: Ever since the Jews were originally exiled from the land of Israel they can be found in many far-flung corners of the world. But who would have thought that in the middle of the Amazon jungle Jews could be found? Ariel Segal does an amazing job of both presenting how Jews got to the Amazon and how they are currently expressing their religion and culture. It is a wonderful tale of the blending of cultures and the desire for religious and cultural continuity.

Rating:
Summary: Taciturn study of an interesting subject
Review: Well researched but not engaging.The author never immersed my interest or compassion with the "Jewish mestizos" living in one of the most remote cities in South America. Ariel Segal made me feel detached and unemotional about a subject that one could feel compassion. That of Jewish men, woman and children living in isolation from their culture and history. Perhaps, this subject could be reworked as a novel. The story of a white family in the Belgian Congo was addressed rather grippingly in The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver.