The Same Embrace

Rating:
Summary: An artistic, insightful first novel
Review: An eloquent first novel; I read it in just one day! The Same Embrace is very much an issue piece and very reflective of Lowenthal's own life experiences as a Jewish - American. The religious traditionalism of Jonathan's conflicts with the secular "gay life" of Jacob's and of course, sparks fly! Jewish history (which is unfamiliar to me) family loyalties, gay and lesbian pride, the AIDS crisis, generational roots are all tackled with compassion and remarkable realism. This is a wonderful novel of reconciliation and healing and although some of the religious diatribe becomes a bit much, it still packs a very important wallop! Lowenthal has a gift for creating characters' with a remarkable depth and three dimensionality. This novel makes me want to visit Boston and Israel! The opening scenes at the Wall have a wonderfully detailed and at the same time sinister feel about them. The author has a beautiful, artistic style, so perhaps we are seeing the emergence of a real talent!

Rating:
Summary: I know I'm Not The Only Gay Jew
Review: As a gay jewish man who grew up outside of Boston, what can I say...I LOVED THIS BOOK!

Okay, I am an only child, and this work centers on two twin brothers, not something I thought I could relate too, but the basic emotions and search for love and acceptance cut through that.

Narrated by Jacob, the gay brother, we learn about teh close bond he shares with his brother Jonathan. ALthough they look alike, they are very different. In the end, Jonathan transforms from a party boy teen, to a devout Orthodox Jew in school in Jerusalem.

Jonathan can not accept his brother's homosexuality, and it made me wonder if he turned to religion in suppression of his own homosexual desires? Jacob sees he and his brother begin to grow apart intheir teens, and it is upsetting him.

What was revealed about the family's history in WWII in Nazi Germany shocked me, and that was when the book really kicks in. Jacob learns about an Aunt who was shunned by his Grandparents and I was completely thrown over!

This is a must read for any gay jew out there. And if you have ever been curious about jewish religion and history, regardless if you are gay or straight, I believe you will throroughly love this book!

Rating:
Summary: Couldn't put it down.
Review: From start to finish the writer holds you with his tale of life. His Jewish background parallels so many of our lives that are gay and Jewish. Michael Lowenthal does a superb and gripping job of a not so uncommon struggle for today's gay Jewish male. Hopefully, he will continue the story where he leaves off, as he has left me hungry for more details of what happens between jacob/danny/jonathan/their father/aunt ingrid etc!

Rating:
Summary: If you are Gay and Jewish, it's a must read
Review: I liked this book for a few reasons... first of all, I too am gay and Jewish, and this book helped me look at some of the problems that I have rectifying those disparate elements of my life. And thank goodness for "gay fiction" (althought I hate to pigeonhole) that does not solely exist to complain about AIDS. Second of all, it's a well written book. It ranges from funny to serious and heart-rending. The prose is eloquent, not superfluous, and it is, overall, an enjoyable book.

Rating:
Summary: Twins deal with the Jewish tradition very differently.
Review: Identical Jewish American twins distinguish themselves by going in opposite directions - Jacob Rosenbaum is a gay activist and sensual playboy while Jonathan becomes an Orthodox Jew and scholar in Israel. Interestingly enough, the parents of these prodigies are troubled by the choices of both their sons. This is an excellent study of the two sides of the Jewish religion as well as the twins who are the central characters. - the compassionate, all-encompassing humanism of one interpretation and the hard, one-dimensional prejudice and hatred of another perhaps fundamentalist interpretation. I love this book for its courage in comparing the hard, unyielding and judgmental Jews like Papa Isaac, the rabbi grandfather of the twins to the cruel, hard judgmental Nazis who hound him and his family.

There are some graphic homosexual love scenes but, after all, why not? The compassionate side of Judaism can envision love as the conjunction of the sexual and spiritual spheres.

Rating:
Summary: Couldn't put it down.
Review: Now this is a good book. I don't share Lowenthal's perspective, so hopefully it's of some value that as a "general reader" I found this an utterly compelling read. He holds his own with my favorite classic novelists.

Rating:
Summary: Brother to brother
Review: Reading this again four years after I first read it, I'm still amazed at the scope and impact of the story. "The Same Embrace" centers on Jacob, gay and Jewish, whose twin brother Jonathan has embraced Orthodox Judaism and now lives in Israel. While mostly about the struggle of the two brothers to reconnect after years apart, the book also deals with the legacy of the Holocaust, the impact of family secrets, and the essence of family. For me though, it is the story of the two brothers that resonates so clearly and brilliantly. And by having the brothers be so similar and yet so different, Lowenthal presents the reader with a fascinating portrait of what could almost be two halves of a whole: one man trying to bring together his sexuality and his religious beliefs. Even without this context in mind (whether it's intended or not), "The Same Embrace" is a marvelous, insightful, and ultimately joyous story that expands past the genre distinctions of Jewish fiction and gay literature to a wholly American novel of family.