The Jewolic: Conundrums of a Half-Jew and other Shiplkus, by: Ritch Gaiti

NORTH HOLLYWOOD, Calif. - Nov. 4, 2013 - PRLog -- Some people go to a building with a cross on top, some to a building with a Star of David, but author Ritch Gaiti, as described in his book The Jewolic, tells about going to the baseball game, because his belief would be symbolized by a question mark.

Born from a Polish/Jewish mother and an Italian/Catholic father, he begins his book by calling himself a “Religious mutt.”  This sense of irreverence and humor carries forth throughout the book, engulfing the reader in his irony of being caught between two opposing tides of belief and creates an articulate nomenclature of new ways to view religion.  He tosses the argument over the fence from God’s existence, to UFOs and aliens, only to focus on the one certainty of real pleasure – breasts.  With an inherent sarcasm which is quite representative of what is known as “Borscht-Belt humor,” the type New Yorkers developed; he holds captive the minds of readers who can relate – like me.  His literary spell casted is a mix of Woody Allen, Jerry Seinfeld and Buddy Hackett, with a little Don Rickles thrown in to poke fun at everyone, including mostly himself.  In fact, virtually each sentence is a punch line, a subliminal joke – being fired off like an Uzi keeping the reader pinned down with the book open, challenging the reader to put it down prior to the ending – an impossible task.  I just couldn’t wait to see what Gaiti had to say next.

Low and behold there is a surprise ending!  Yes, just what I thought it had to be by the nature of his vernacular mixing in a bunch of Yiddish here and there, and viewpoints no goy could come up with.  Getting there is half the fun.  Bringing up nostalgic events such as stickball, bar-mitzvahs, hanging out with Gram playing solitaire, you vicariously spend your memories of your past along with his childhood, thinking back to things which happened (at least in my case) and how importantly significant those little incidents turned out to be later in life.

Perhaps not for everyone, but definitely a great read for the millions of New York Jews with Catholics in their family, or vice versa, The Jewolic will be the most fun 78 pages can produce, if you want to compare notes with a non-believer.