Irene Katz Connelly is a staff writer at the Forward. You can contact her at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter at @katz_conn.
Irene Katz Connelly
By Irene Katz Connelly
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Culture Why this Jewish playwright wants you to sympathize with the teens of the Third Reich
A new play from Michelle Kholos Brooks follows the German girls forced to taste Hitler's food for poison.
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Culture Why Audrey Gelman’s pastoral fantasy doesn’t make sense for Jews
The Wing founder's new "country store" is inspired by a fictional English village — with its own rabbi
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Culture ‘Tokyo Vice’ is a portrait of the reporter as a terrible coworker
It’s Jake Adelstein’s first week as a reporter at The Yomiuri Shimbun, one of Tokyo’s biggest newspapers, and the protagonist of “Tokyo Vice,” a new crime miniseries from HBO, is already questioning how things are done. Jake (Ansel Elgort) is covering a stabbing, and he writes that the victim was murdered — as he certainly…
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Culture A thriller from Mexico and a debut detective novel: The Jewish books you need to know this month
Welcome to your monthly tour of the Jewish literary landscape! I have four new titles to share and a special announcement — we just launched our Bookshop storefront, where you can shop the books recommended in this newsletter. I’ll be keeping the page updated with titles I’m loving, Forward Book Club picks, and other fun…
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Culture Jewish writers from former Soviet Union watch invasion with fear, dread — and recognition
Novelist Zhanna Slor was born a few weeks after the Chernobyl disaster, in the Ukrainian city of Chernivtsi. Her timely arrival probably saved her father’s life. An engineer, he was slated to join cleanup crews at the radioactive site — until Slor’s mother demanded he stick around for the birth. That family story returned to…
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Culture What to watch, listen and read to understand the war in Ukraine
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which began February 24, is the largest military action in Europe since WWII. Yet it can be difficult to parse breaking news without an understanding of the history behind it. If you’re looking to deepen your understanding of the situation on the ground, this round-up of things to read, watch and…
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Culture What ‘The Merchant of Venice’ loses when no one laughs
Clothes do a lot of work in Arin Arbus’s new staging of “The Merchant of Venice.” Antonio (Alfredo Narciso), the play’s titular merchant, dresses like a tech founder just back from some problematic retreat: black blazer, ostentatious cross, too-white velcro sneakers. The heiress Portia (a sprightly Isabel Arraiza) issues commands to her underlings while prancing…
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Culture Johanna Kaplan’s short stories and Olga Tokarczuk’s (very) long novel: The Jewish books you need to read this month
Welcome to Forward Reads, your monthly tour of the Jewish literary landscape. I’m Irene Katz Connelly, a culture writer at the Forward, and I spend a lot of time combing through new releases so you can read the best books out there. This article originally ran in newsletter form. To sign up for Forward Reads…
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