His Marjorie Morningstar is a simply timeless, classic portrait of Jewish middle class life in mid-20th Century told without idealization or Rothian malice: the tale of young Jewish beauty drawn to a charming but shallow Luftmensch and dismissive of the earnest nerd who truly loves her. There's a Hollywood version with Natalie Wood and Gene Kelly that's earnest but fails to capture the depth of the book. The gentile lead actors de-Semitize the production for a mass audience, though Natalie Wood almost passes, as she did as a Hispanic in West Side Story.
Excellent comment on Wouk and his Marjorie Morningstar. And for me, not too familiar with the English/American language, I learned a new and useful word: "de-Semitize".
His Marjorie Morningstar is a simply timeless, classic portrait of Jewish middle class life in mid-20th Century told without idealization or Rothian malice: the tale of young Jewish beauty drawn to a charming but shallow Luftmensch and dismissive of the earnest nerd who truly loves her. There's a Hollywood version with Natalie Wood and Gene Kelly that's earnest but fails to capture the depth of the book. The gentile lead actors de-Semitize the production for a mass audience, though Natalie Wood almost passes, as she did as a Hispanic in West Side Story.
ReplyDeleteExcellent comment on Wouk and his Marjorie Morningstar. And for me, not too familiar with the English/American language, I learned a new and useful word: "de-Semitize".
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