Friday the Rabbi Slept Late

Rating:
Summary: An Old Friend Revisited
Review: I found Harry Kemelman's Friday at a library while looking for something else. I read this book "way back when" and remembered enjoying it. On a whim, I checked the book out and it sat for a while before I decided to take a look at it. I finished it in two sittings. Is it an intellectual masterpiece? No. Is it damned entertaining? Absolutely! I plan to visit the weekdays with Rabbi Small beginning very soon. If you've never read this series, do so. If you read it a while ago, read it again.

Rating:
Summary: a whimsical slice of Kojak/Colombo with a Jewish twist..
Review: I remember when Harry Kemelman's 'rabbi' series were best sellers in the 1960s/1970s. Thirty years on, after the books are all but forgotten, I decided to try out 'Friday the Rabbi Slept Late' - the first in the series. Was it worth the wait?

The story is about a rabbi in New England who is dealing with bureaucratic hassles with his congregation. Yes, apparently even amongst the Jewish orthodox politics is a fact of life. Just when the rabbi (Rabbi Small) seems to unable to cope a murder is committed outside his temple. And Rabbi Small is both a (reluctant) sleuth and murder suspect. (..you can guess the rest)

While Harry Kemelman is a capable writer and the book makes for fun (albeit light) reading, the story has telemovie or TV crime drama feel to it. It left me neither shaken nor stirred.

Bottom line: a light read, perhaps better suited to young teens. But this book cannot hold a candle to the works of Agatha Christie or Patricia Highsmith.

Rating:
Summary: a whimsical slice of Kojak/Colombo with a Jewish twist..
Review: I remember when Harry Kemelman's 'rabbi' series were best sellers in the 1960s/1970s. Thirty years on, after the books are all but forgotten, I decided to try out 'Friday the Rabbi Slept Late' - the first in the series. Was it worth the wait?

The story is about a rabbi in New England who is dealing with bureaucratic hassles with his congregation. Yes, apparently even amongst the Jewish orthodox politics is a fact of life. Just when the rabbi (Rabbi Small) seems to unable to cope a murder is committed outside his temple. And Rabbi Small is both a (reluctant) sleuth and murder suspect. (..you can guess the rest)

While Harry Kemelman is a capable writer and the book makes for fun (albeit light) reading, the story has telemovie or TV crime drama feel to it. It left me neither shaken nor stirred.

Bottom line: a light read, perhaps better suited to young teens. But this book cannot hold a candle to the works of Agatha Christie or Patricia Highsmith.

Rating:
Summary: Light murder mystery with unlikely but likeable Rabbi sleuth
Review: Rabbi Small is a young, "rookie" rabbi at a synogogue in an upstart, suburban Boston community which only recently has had many Jews in the town. The congregation would prefer a "star" that they can show off to their Gentile neighbors--a man who presents himself well at community events--more than they want a spiritual leader and teacher. Unfortunately, Rabbi Small doesn't quite fit their bill: he is often unkempt, he gets lost in his books, he refuses to participate by blessing the boats in the town's annual regatta. He even publicly chides the Sisterhood for serving non-Kosher food at one of their luncheons. At the same time that the Rabbi's contract comes up for renewal, there is a new problem--he is implicated in the murder of a young woman, whose body is found in the synogogue parking lot and whose purse is found in his car. Forming an alliance with the local Irish-Catholic police chief, the Rabbi proceeds to solve the crime, while simultaneousl! y working to win over the confidence of the synagogue Board of Directors to keep his job.

The book is a short, one-or-two nights read, easy to get into. As a mystery, it rates well but not among the great mystery classics. Kemelman's strength as a writer lies not in his build-up of the mystery tension, but rather in his ability to portray characters, including their admitted foibles, within their social context. The portrayal of suburban synagogue politics is uncannily accurate, as well as the struggle within the Yankee town to deal with the specter of prejudice and anti-Semitism when the Rabbi becomes a murder suspect.

For a light mystery, a sort of "Murder, She Wrote" with sociological insight and a Jewish twist, try this first of the "Rabbi" mystery series.

Rating:
Summary: Light murder mystery with unlikely but likeable Rabbi sleuth
Review: Rabbi Small is a young, "rookie" rabbi at a synogogue in an upstart, suburban Boston community which only recently has had many Jews in the town. The congregation would prefer a "star" that they can show off to their Gentile neighbors--a man who presents himself well at community events--more than they want a spiritual leader and teacher. Unfortunately, Rabbi Small doesn't quite fit their bill: he is often unkempt, he gets lost in his books, he refuses to participate by blessing the boats in the town's annual regatta. He even publicly chides the Sisterhood for serving non-Kosher food at one of their luncheons. At the same time that the Rabbi's contract comes up for renewal, there is a new problem--he is implicated in the murder of a young woman, whose body is found in the synogogue parking lot and whose purse is found in his car. Forming an alliance with the local Irish-Catholic police chief, the Rabbi proceeds to solve the crime, while simultaneousl! y working to win over the confidence of the synagogue Board of Directors to keep his job.

The book is a short, one-or-two nights read, easy to get into. As a mystery, it rates well but not among the great mystery classics. Kemelman's strength as a writer lies not in his build-up of the mystery tension, but rather in his ability to portray characters, including their admitted foibles, within their social context. The portrayal of suburban synagogue politics is uncannily accurate, as well as the struggle within the Yankee town to deal with the specter of prejudice and anti-Semitism when the Rabbi becomes a murder suspect.

For a light mystery, a sort of "Murder, She Wrote" with sociological insight and a Jewish twist, try this first of the "Rabbi" mystery series.

Rating:
Summary: A great book on any day of the week!
Review: There's no need for me to recap the story- others have done it already. I do believe that some reviewers of this book, and other books in the series , have missed the point. Rabbi David Small is not a detective who enters a crime scene, recreates the events in his head and presents the police with the killer. He is a student, and a teacher. He is a man who has trained himself to think "outside the box" as the term is now. That is how he manages to lead the police to the criminal.

Another fantastic element of these books is the insight into the Jewish religion. As a gentile (and Protestant Christian) I may not agree with all of the rabbi's beliefs, but I can, and should, respect them. In a foreward to the new editions The late author explained why he began writing about a rabbi who was often in conflict with his congregation. It was because many people of his faith were not aware of the rich heritage or the historical purpose of the rabbi. His agent liked the book but thought he should add a mystery element to it. Thus was born the crime solving rabbi.

Do these stories move with the speed of an Agatha Christie yarn? No. They don't even try. Kemmelman tells stories about people- the crime is often secondary. Are they charming and entertaining? Oh, yeah.

This is the book to start with. Then hang out with the rabbi on every day of the week. Then SOMEDAY. Then ONE FINE DAY. Then on THE DAY THE RABBI RESIGNED. Then on THE DAY THE RABBI LEFT TOWN. Your only regret will be that Mr. Kemmelman only wrote 11 Rabbi Small mysteries.

Rating:
Summary: A great book on any day of the week!
Review: There's no need for me to recap the story- others have done it already. I do believe that some reviewers of this book, and other books in the series , have missed the point. Rabbi David Small is not a detective who enters a crime scene, recreates the events in his head and presents the police with the killer. He is a student, and a teacher. He is a man who has trained himself to think "outside the box" as the term is now. That is how he manages to lead the police to the criminal.

Another fantastic element of these books is the insight into the Jewish religion. As a gentile (and Protestant Christian) I may not agree with all of the rabbi's beliefs, but I can, and should, respect them. In a foreward to the new editions The late author explained why he began writing about a rabbi who was often in conflict with his congregation. It was because many people of his faith were not aware of the rich heritage or the historical purpose of the rabbi. His agent liked the book but thought he should add a mystery element to it. Thus was born the crime solving rabbi.

Do these stories move with the speed of an Agatha Christie yarn? No. They don't even try. Kemmelman tells stories about people- the crime is often secondary. Are they charming and entertaining? Oh, yeah.

This is the book to start with. Then hang out with the rabbi on every day of the week. Then SOMEDAY. Then ONE FINE DAY. Then on THE DAY THE RABBI RESIGNED. Then on THE DAY THE RABBI LEFT TOWN. Your only regret will be that Mr. Kemmelman only wrote 11 Rabbi Small mysteries.

Rating:
Summary: Jewish Justice?
Review: Throughout the series, Rabbi David Small has his own problems. There is always a battle to whether his contract is renewed or not, and he's often in conflic with social or political desires of his congregation.

The contrast is that Rabbi Small does deeply care, but in his own way. He cares deeply about justice and Jewish law, and follows his own ethics and beleifs. If he feels his congregation is off track, he tells them, and opposes things no matter what the cost might be to himself.

Don't get me wrong; he very well might have been the wrong Rabbi for the community. In many ways, he was suited to a different age. Temples, like churchs and other social clubs, have needs and desires. Rabbi Small was kind of a throwback to a different age, and may not have been the right man for that community. It's easy to see how a principled man like Rabbi Small would not fit in; when he took a stand it was for a reason, and he wasn't much for bending a little to make a friend or save his job.

Over the course of the books it's also shown he has an affinity for younger jews, best described in Monday the Rabbi Took Off. During a Sabbath dinner, he argued on points with a college student. Afterwards, the student told his father he liked Rabbi Small. They may have disagreed on issues, but Rabbi Small neither pandered or lectured him - he treated him like an adult worthy of respect.

Rabbi Small's first adventure found himself as a suspect - because the murder victim's purse was found in his car. Suspicion shifted away to him to one of his flock, but the Rabbi pointed out things in his member's favor - which went right back at him. What he showed was an unwaring bias for the truth - as well as logic and interpretation of the facts. He even told the police chief that just because he was a Rabbi didn't mean he should throw out his common sense.

If there is a weakness to the book, it was that the mystery was too easy to solve by the reader. The same thing which triggered Rabbi Small's suspicions was the same flag which led me to the correct solution. Still, it was a fun book, and a great introduction to a great series of books.