Wayne State University Press Laughter After: Humor and the Holocaust

Review Laughter After breaks the silence surrounding the topic of laughter, levity, and the Holocaust.--M. L. Scott "CHOICE Connect" (1/1/2021 12:00:00 AM)Laughter After: Humor and the Holocaust offers readers a surprising swath of materials demonstrating how irony, sarcasm, and gallows humor have figured ever since the dark days of World War II as one element in the human response to tragedy and evil. One is taken aback by the proliferation of such examples, which many readers will not have anticipated. Yet, again and again the authors in this collection insist that there is something here that demands a serious hearing and an explanation, and they provide even the wariest reader with the motivation to consider this material with all due earnestness. The authors in this volume, who include some of the most respected authorities in contemporary Jewish cultural studies, quote liberally from a transnational treasury of anti-Nazi quips, mockery, and satire, as well as a considerable body of Jewish self-criticism. They have treated this very sensitive theme without stepping beyond the boundary of serious, disciplined discourse.--Eli Lederhendler "chairman of the Department of Jewish History and Contemporary Jewry, Hebrew University of Jerusalem" (1/15/2020 12:00:00 AM)'Laughter through tears' might seem like a universal response to tragedy, but comedy is also notoriously difficult to translate. As a result, audiences and scholars alike often miss cultural patterns and dynamics in humor that cross linguistic and national lines. Laughter After gathers extraordinary, insightful works of scholarship treating literature and culture in half a dozen languages, in countries ranging from Mexico to Poland to Australia, exposing crucial transnational aspects of Holocaust humor as it has evolved since the 1940s. It has much to offer to scholars of Holocaust memory, comedy, and translation.--Josh Lambert "academic director of the Yiddish Book Center and author of Unclean Lips: Obscenity, Jews, and American Culture" (1/15/2020 12:00:00 AM)Between Laughter After's brilliant cast of contributors and its shockingly wry but deadly serious co-editors, this volume blows apart the myth of Holocaust humorlessness. And it's not just about the therapeutic working through of trauma performed in Holocaust-themed comedy by Jews after the fact, but every one of these excellent essays is also a profound exploration of the historical and cultural origins and hilarious examples of humor and laughter before and during the Holocaust, as well. This is cultural history of the Holocaust at its very best: powerful, deep, and moving.--James E. Young "founding director of the Institute for Holocaust, Genocide, and Memory Studies" (1/15/2020 12:00:00 AM)It is recommended that any library that has even a small collection of Holocaust related books, include this anthology. It is very readable and brings forth a subject not written about before.--Michlean Lowy Amir "Association of Jewish Libraries News and Reviews" (5/1/2021 12:00:00 AM)What does joking and laughter have to do with the horrific tragedy of the Holocaust? Quite a lot, it turns out. From literature to cabaret to television and film, a wide breadth of Holocaust-related humor is explored in this compelling anthology, which offers a fascinating scholarly perspective on the taboo of laughter in the face of terrible inhumanity.--Eddy Portnoy "author of Bad Rabbi and Other Strange but True Stories" (1/15/2020 12:00:00 AM) Product Description Laughter After: Humor and the Holocaust argues that humor performs political, cultural, and social functions in the wake of horror. Co-editors David Slucki, Gabriel N. Finder, and Avinoam Patt have assembled an impressive list of contributors who examine what is at stake in deploying humor in representing the Holocaust. Namely, what are the boundaries? Clearly, there have been comedy and laughter in the decades since. However, the extent to which humor can be eth