David Herman

David Herman is the JC’s chief fiction reviewer

Latest from David Herman

Obituary

David Abulafia, distinguished and pioneering historian and campaigner against anti-Jewish racism, dies at 76

An increasingly outspoken public intellectual, Abulafia became a fearless champion of intellectual and academic freedom

4 min read

David Abulafia was a leading medieval historian of his generation

Berlin Shuffle review: Pimps, prostitutes and peddlers in Weimar Germany

2 min read

These dark stories that remind us that Stefan Zweig was one of the greatest Jewish writers

2 min read

2025 in review: Books

7 min read

‘He was one of the most remarkable writers who ever lived’

Called a ‘Polish Franz Kafka’ by Bashevis Singer, Bruno Schulz wrote two books of short stories before he shot dead by an SS officer in 1942. Now the Pushkin Press has released a new anthology of his work

2 min read

December 5, 2025 13:33

Virtuoso of Polish fiction: Bruno Schulz and the Pushkin Press edition of some his most famous stories

The highly cultured German Jews who built Britain’s art world

John Hilary’s compelling book tells the story of the Jewish art collectors who arrived in Britain during the 19th century and who established themselves by their philanthropic dealings

2 min read

November 28, 2025 16:12

Superb research: John Hilary and his new book

Fall, Bomb, Fall review: ‘haunting on the Dutch experience of war’

Originally published in 1950, and now translated into English by the Pushkin Press, the teenager at the centre of this novel is so bored he wishes for all-out war...

1 min read

October 24, 2025 10:35

Fall, Bomb, Fall review: ‘haunting on the Dutch experience of war’

Love’s Labour review: How psychoanalysis can help and hinder us in understanding our messy love lives

A deeply moving book of case histories which brings the experience of psychoanalysis to life

2 min read

October 21, 2025 11:27

The father of psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud has left his mark on modern love. (Photo: Wikimedia/ Chatto & Windus)

Woody Allen’s first novel has been worth the wait

The filmmaker’s debut is as Jewish as can be and a wonderful evocation of New York

2 min read

September 15, 2025 13:53

Woody Allen’s first novel has been worth the wait

Happy New Years review: ‘another fine novel by one of Israel’s best writers’

The Hebrew teacher in Maya Arad’s latest novel is a heroine for our times

1 min read

September 12, 2025 16:41

Happy New Years review: ‘another fine novel by one of Israel’s best writers’

The Rest of Our Lives review: ‘It’s not clear why this novel should matter to anyone’

British-American writer Ben Markovits’s new Booker-longlisted novel leaves this reviewer cold

2 min read

September 5, 2025 17:23

The Rest of Our Lives review: ‘It’s not clear why this novel should matter to anyone’

My Name is Stramer review: ‘One of the great east European novels of our time’

Mikołaj ŁoziNski’s fifth novel is a masterpiece of foreshadowing and, surely, a future Pushkin Press classic

2 min read

August 21, 2025 14:42

The author Mikołaj Łozinski and his latest book

Autocorrect by Etgar Keret review: ‘thirty-three troubling short stories’

The Israeli writer’s latest short story collection features dating, sex, relationships – and deep wells of loneliness in contemporary Israel

1 min read

July 18, 2025 16:20

Prolific: Etgar Keret, who has published numerous short story collections, and written widely for TV and film, and his latest book

Ralph Blumenau, history teacher dies aged 100

Refugee who became a ‘brilliant and inspiring’ history teacher at Malvern College

4 min read

July 17, 2025 16:07

Ralph Blumenau, history teacher dies aged 100

The Propagandist review: ‘a devastating account of Vichy France’

Historian Cécile Desprairies’ debut novel is a dark and powerful account of the French men and women who eagerly embraced evil

2 min read

June 27, 2025 13:05

The Propagandist review: ‘a devastating account of Vichy France’

Ellmann’s Joyce: The Biography of a Masterpiece and its Maker, review: ‘a Bloomsday treat’

This is a fascinating tribute to Richard Ellmann, the son of Jewish immigrants from Romania and Ukraine, and James Joyce’s greatest biographer

1 min read

June 13, 2025 15:48

Ellmann’s Joyce: The Biography of a Masterpiece and its Maker, review: ‘a Bloomsday treat’

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David Herman

Latest from David Herman

David Abulafia, distinguished and pioneering historian and campaigner against anti-Jewish racism, dies at 76

Berlin Shuffle review: Pimps, prostitutes and peddlers in Weimar Germany

These dark stories that remind us that Stefan Zweig was one of the greatest Jewish writers

2025 in review: Books

More from David Herman

‘He was one of the most remarkable writers who ever lived’

The highly cultured German Jews who built Britain’s art world

Fall, Bomb, Fall review: ‘haunting on the Dutch experience of war’

Love’s Labour review: How psychoanalysis can help and hinder us in understanding our messy love lives

Woody Allen’s first novel has been worth the wait

Happy New Years review: ‘another fine novel by one of Israel’s best writers’

The Rest of Our Lives review: ‘It’s not clear why this novel should matter to anyone’

My Name is Stramer review: ‘One of the great east European novels of our time’

Autocorrect by Etgar Keret review: ‘thirty-three troubling short stories’

Ralph Blumenau, history teacher dies aged 100

The Propagandist review: ‘a devastating account of Vichy France’

Ellmann’s Joyce: The Biography of a Masterpiece and its Maker, review: ‘a Bloomsday treat’