Embodied Differences

“Mondry’s book is exemplary in its linking between being human and/or being Jewish or non-Jewish, as the case may be. What is sad about her tale is that while we, as academics, know how poisonous are both the charges of difference as well the complex reactions to being so labeled, we seem to be caught in a loop that makes it ever more difficult to acknowledge the infiltration of a fragmented past into our pre- sent world. We often struggle to get our case across in spite of this. Mondry succeeds brilliantly.”

— Sander L. Gilman, Contemporary Jewry

“It is noteworthy and commendable that the book, which started with the outsiders’ often pernicious take on the Jew’s body and the “paradoxical space” (212) it occupies in Russian literature, ends with the celebration of Jewish agency. This is one of the many reasons why no student of Russian and Jewish literature and culture should bypass this innovative and provocative book.”

— Marat Grinberg, Antisemitism Studies

“This book rewards the reader as a result of the breadth of discussion of a specific domain, and the number of vectors that Mondry succeeds in applying in her research. This is complemented by the depth of discussion, represented by a layered approach that employs tools from literary theory, psychoanalysis, museum studies, pathology, and sociology, to name a few of the disciplines brought to bear on the topic at hand. It is an extremely erudite study that, nonetheless, engages the reader by its approach, making it an ideal acquisition for any academic library.”

— John Cook, University of Melbourne, Australian Slavonic and East European Studies