For my latest newsletter I had Ilana Masad join me to write about a literary genre that I have dubbed "Holocaust Beach Reads." open.substack.com/pub/mariskre...
"Books that craft Jewish characters to embody the endurance of the human spirit in all its nobility are, in fact, denying these characters’ humanity." --Ilana Masad on Holocaust Beach Reads
Oof. I keep thinking the tragic N*Zi solder romance trope is part and parcel of our tragic white boy shooter/romantic white man serial killer obsessions.
Oof. I had no idea this was a thing, and now I'm having flashbacks to all the angry mail I got for calling out Beningi's inspirational bullshit in LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL.
Great essay. Helps me articulate why these books make me feel uncomfortable
You might consider this deep dive into a literary trend to be a starting point to consider the wider commodification of Jewish pain, now used to justify genocide.
Oh man this is extremely my shit 🙃