Meet the Author #2
Tomer Dotan-Dreyfus
At the second reading in our series #Vorzeichen, the German-Israeli author Tomer Dotan-Dreyfus was our guest. He engaged in conversation with moderator and curator Maha El Hissy about his novel Birobidschan.
Interestingly, the real Birobidzhan does not appear in the book at all. In his research, the author focused entirely on the literary tradition of Yiddish nomadic literature and shtetl stories. The fictitious place Birobidzhan in his book is a purely artistic creation portraying a Jewish-socialist utopia.
The two also discussed the figure of the unreliable narrator. Dotan-Dreyfus goes so far as to describe his narrator as irresponsible, as he sometimes retreats to smoke on the balcony and completely loses sight of the characters in his story. Occasionally, he disappoints the reader by changing his intentions. This irresponsibility can be seen as a form of violence towards the reader.
There is no explicit depiction of antisemitism in the book. Nevertheless, there are subterranean evil currents that have a frightening effect. The fictional characters in the book gradually realize that they are trapped in a work of fiction. Anything can happen in the fictional world, and that is quite frightening.
A central topic of conversation in Birobidzhan is the question of whether Judaism is a religion, a nation, or an ethnicity. The fact that this topic is discussed as an open question has also earned the author criticism.
Tomer Dotan-Dreyfus refers to a conversation between the secular doctor from Birobidzhan and the rabbi from the even smaller neighboring village. They discuss the meaning of writing and religion, especially in the context of literature. The question is whether open literature, which allows for interpretation and harbors many uncertainties, limits or liberates us, restricts or rather expands our ways of thinking?
The two also discussed the figure of the unreliable narrator. Dotan-Dreyfus goes so far as to describe his narrator as irresponsible, as he sometimes retreats to smoke on the balcony and completely loses sight of the characters in his story. Occasionally, he disappoints the reader by changing his intentions. This irresponsibility can be seen as a form of violence towards the reader.
There is no explicit depiction of antisemitism in the book. Nevertheless, there are subterranean evil currents that have a frightening effect. The fictional characters in the book gradually realize that they are trapped in a work of fiction. Anything can happen in the fictional world, and that is quite frightening.
A central topic of conversation in Birobidzhan is the question of whether Judaism is a religion, a nation, or an ethnicity. The fact that this topic is discussed as an open question has also earned the author criticism.
Tomer Dotan-Dreyfus refers to a conversation between the secular doctor from Birobidzhan and the rabbi from the even smaller neighboring village. They discuss the meaning of writing and religion, especially in the context of literature. The question is whether open literature, which allows for interpretation and harbors many uncertainties, limits or liberates us, restricts or rather expands our ways of thinking?