Review of "Jewish Curses for All Occasions," by Benjamin Einhorn

Review of

Jewish Curses for All Occasions, by Benjamin Einhorn

Five out of five stars

 This collection of simple, yet effective curses are all based on what can be considered “folk wisdom.” The structure of the book is the short, effective curse appears on the left page while there is a simple illustration on the right page. Many comedians, a large percentage of them Jewish, have used similar comments in their routines for decades. They are just as funny in textual and visual form as they are when delivered by a pro.

 For example, the shrewish, Jewish wife cliché is the point of the curse on page 40, “May you be too good for the world and not good enough for your wife.” The premise of the suffering Jews is the point of the curse on page 58, “Don’t die, suffer!” My favorite in the book is the generic one on page 88, “May you be a liar with a poor memory.”

 This is one of the books that you keep by your favorite stuffed chair where you sit watching television. That way, when there is a boring segment, you can reach for it and be crisply entertained. For these insults can be read repeatedly with no loss of chuckle value.