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Exorcising demons of faith and family

Rodney Price, Special to the Rocky

Published October 5, 2007 at midnight

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Foreskin's Lament

• Nonfiction. By Shalom Auslander. Riverhead, $24.95. Grade: B+

Book in a nutshell: Auslander grew up in upstate New York in an orthodox Jewish community that taught him to fear and respect - but mostly fear - God. Raised by an angry, alcoholic father and a mother who "had more pictures of the dead on our walls than she had of the living," Auslander recounts his childhood struggles.

The author describes his attempts to live according to God's commandments, as well as his violation of those same laws by gorging on nonkosher food, shoplifting, smoking pot, looking at pornography and thinking blasphemous thoughts. Unlike children of secular families, who might shrug off the consequences of such rebellious acts, Auslander recalls them as if unspooling scenes from a Hebrew horror movie - never forgetting his rabbis' terrifying story that "Moses had committed one sin in his whole life, and because of it, God killed him before he could reach the Promised Land."

Such harsh lessons are at the core of Auslander's fight to understand his religion. Although he ultimately rebels from his faith and his family, he can never shake the suspicion that God will find a way to punish him for his transgressions.

When he meets his future wife, Orli, he finds refuge in a like-minded soul. But when she gets pregnant with their son, all the old issues come roaring back, as they discuss whether they should have their son circumcised, pursuant to the Jewish law.

Best tidbit: "My family and I are like oil and water, if oil could make water depressed and angry and want to kill itself."

Pros: Auslander recalls with vivid detail his nightmarish childhood. Black humor coats much of the bleakness that might otherwise swamp the reader.

Cons: Unfortunately, the resolution of the book involves the clichéd story of the love of a good woman taming and calming the beast. Auslander never uses his laserlike insight to show how he and his wife have carved out a sane life. Also, although he describes the scene where his parents visit to see the baby as the last time he will ever see them, he never gives readers any context for what led to their ultimate separation.

Final word: This is a worthy, and for the author, necessary exorcism of his tortured relationship to his God and family. The cruelest joke of all is that shalom is the Hebrew word for peace. One can only hope Auslander has found a sliver of it in writing this book.