Celebrate Rosh Hashanah: 8 Favorite Fictional Jewish Characters In Books (PHOTOS)

To help ring in Rosh Hashanah -- the Jewish New Year -- we've reflected on the Jewish literary canon. From Philip Roth to Michael Chabon, some of the most critically acclaimed authors of this century have written novels with memorable Jewish characters.

Non-fiction, memoir and autobiography aside, we've gathered eight of the greatest Jewish characters in books. But who have we left out? Let us know.

1 of 8

Alexander Portnoy

1 of 9

First Slide

Previous Slide

@

"Portnoy's Complaint" by Philip Roth The novel that catapulted Philip Roth to literary stardom, "Portnoy's Complaint" features a protagonist at once universal in character and utterly distinctive who tells his tale in a nonstop monologue on his psychoanalyst's couch.

New Books You Need To Know About

Jonathan Franzen Hates EBooks

Madonna Books: 5 Reasons To Love Madonna

Paris vs. New York: Which Is Better?

A Brief History Of Debt

Evil in the Crosshairs

"Portnoy's Complaint" by Philip Roth

The novel that catapulted Philip Roth to literary stardom, "Portnoy's Complaint" features a protagonist at once universal in character and utterly distinctive who tells his tale in a nonstop monologue on his psychoanalyst's couch.

comments(102)

featured comment

Reply | Share

Phil Goldmarx said on 9 Thursday 2010 am30 10:26 am: So, are they half-full or half-empty?

Total comments: 102 | Post a Comment

1 of 9

Comments

[MIKEinNYC]

08:51 PM on 09/12/2010

My favorite fictional Jewish character? That's easy, Moses!

[standish]

09:47 PM on 09/11/2010

Tevye the Milkman in Sholem Aleichem's stories. He died in the 20th century, but then so did John Kennedy Toole,

[valhalladad]

12:23 PM on 09/11/2010

Who can forget Frank N. Stein?

[Ira Meyers]

10:55 PM on 09/10/2010

Not to mention Issac Beshevis Singer, Begger in Jerusalum is a sin. Also "Night" Elie Wiesel, and Jersi Kasinski.

[cameron d]

07:32 PM on 09/10/2010

Wait, where's Jesus of Nazareth?

[moflard]

10:25 AM on 09/10/2010

Where's Jesus of Nazareth? Surely the "Son of God" must be the all-time number 1 fictional Jewish character of all time.

(and yes, I'm being cheeky).

[TheBaffler]

04:43 AM on 09/10/2010

Come on, Bloom from Ulysses needs to be included.

[ChelleAgain]

04:42 AM on 09/10/2010

I'm reading Sophie's Choice right now. That, and My Germany by Lev Raphael (who posted earlier in this thread.) The latter is non-fictio­n though. It wasn't until recently I found out that Sophie's Choice is considered controvers­ial for focusing on a Polish Catholic concentrat­ion camp survivor. Of course, I was 11 when the book came out and so you have to cut me slack. Of course, that still makes me dreadfully old to the young whipper-sn­appers who keep stepping on my grass.

[holyheretic]

04:15 AM on 09/10/2010

The all time Favorite Fictional Jewish Character must be... God.

[3fingerbrown]

06:41 AM on 09/10/2010

Yahweh of the Hebrew Bible--yes­, excellent point. He is a wonderful literary conceit--p­eevish, jealous, cantankero­us, an all-powerf­ul being with a childlike need for unconditio­nal love. Harold Bloom's book "Jesus and Yahweh" covers this ground nicely.

[SteelTrapMind]

09:48 AM on 09/10/2010

Ho ho ho, let us dance now cleverly around our enlightene­d atheism fire and troll internet threads! The dance of the 'net-Troll is a powerful thing. Look at us find ways to see who we can upset with our magickal ways... ooooh ooooh oohh

[holyheretic]

02:03 PM on 09/10/2010

Dear 3fingerbro­wn

Fanned and marked as favorite.

[AJ Frost]

02:16 PM on 09/10/2010

Cheeky, cheeky. No Moses?

[Gronkie]

01:10 AM on 09/10/2010

I loved Kavalier and Clay. My son read the entire Lemony Snicket series, but I don't think he picked up on the Jewish thing. I'll have to ask him. I read Asher Lev about a million years ago in high school, and it still sticks with me. I have always loved art, and that was the first book that showed me what was in an artist's head.

[laurelei23]

11:17 PM on 09/09/2010

Catch-22. Isn't Yossarian Jewish?

[deniz]

08:56 AM on 09/10/2010

That sounds Armenian actually.

[Lisa Shields]

09:32 PM on 09/09/2010

I guess I am revealing my age...but no mention of Harry Kimmelman'­s Rabbi series?
No Faye Kellerman either...?

[Steamboater]

09:32 PM on 09/09/2010

A freylichen yuntiff everyone and a HAPPY NEW YEAR! (Too bad yiddish has been reduced to phonetics)

[happycat]

11:02 PM on 09/09/2010

l'shana tovah, to you too.

[Steamboater]

09:21 PM on 09/09/2010

"Anya" by Susan Fromberg Schaeffer is a fictionali­zed story of Anya Brodman who lived in Poland prior to and after the Nazi invasion. You get a lot of stream of consciousn­ess in this book enabling a feeling of liightness and ghostlines­s, apt for such a story. There's the love and family and loss of life and family and a search for a child lost. It also has has a lot to say about the horrors assimilati­on can bring and shows how even in the worst of circumstan­ceswhen all appears lost the will to survive is strong Beautifull­y written some time during the 1970's, this is one no one should miss.

[Marco Wilson]

06:19 PM on 10/25/2010

Anya is not fiction. Susan Fromber Schaeffer passes it off as fiction, but I lived for many years across the street from Mrs. Brodman in Florida. She dictated the book on a series of tapes that were transcribe­d. Mr. Brodman told me a lawsuit was filed. Fromberg lost. The money was given to orphans in Israel (I was told). Read some of SFS's other books. You'll see there is a different writing style. May Anya Brodman's soul rest in peace. Shame on SFS.

[Clare53]

09:18 PM on 09/09/2010

Tevye and Marjorie Morningsta­r.

[happycat]

11:02 PM on 09/09/2010

Marjorie Morningsta­r is my favorite.