The Netanyahus

By Joshua Cohen

A historian's life unravels when an Israeli scholar and his family disrupt his world.

3.8/5 Goodreads · 19,869 ratings

237 pages

$16.95Save 6%

In stock. Also at Amazon or Bookshop.

Bookroo's summary

In the winter of 1959, Ruben Blum, a Jewish historian at Corbin College, faces an unexpected challenge. Tasked with evaluating an Israeli scholar's application, Blum's life is upended when Benzion Netanyahu arrives with his family, challenging his American ideals. As academic duties blur with personal chaos, Blum must navigate a comedic clash of cultures and identities. Will he maintain his composure, or will the Netanyahus' presence forever alter his perspective? This genre-bending tale explores the intersections of history, identity, and politics, leaving readers questioning the boundaries of personal and professional life.

From the publisher

WINNER OF THE 2022 PULITZER PRIZE FOR FICTION 2021 NATIONAL JEWISH BOOK AWARD WINNER A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF 2021 A WALL STREET JOURNAL BEST BOOK OF 2021 A KIRKUS BEST FICTION BOOK OF 2021 “Absorbing, delightful, hilarious, breathtaking and the best and most relevant novel I’ve read in what feels like forever.” –Taffy Brodesser-Akner, The New York Times Book Review Corbin College, not quite upstate New York, winter 1959-1960: Ruben Blum, a Jewish historian–but not an historian of the Jews–is co-opted onto a hiring committee to review the application of an exiled Israeli scholar specializing in the Spanish Inquisition. When Benzion Netanyahu shows up for an interview, family unexpectedly in tow, Blum plays the reluctant host to guests who proceed to lay waste to his American complacencies. Mixing fiction with nonfiction, the campus novel with the lecture, The Netanyahus is a wildly inventive, genre-bending comedy of blending, identity, and politics that finds Joshua Cohen at the height of his powers.

At a glance