When I was in my first year as an undergraduate at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, I took an introductory Canadian history course (which I aced — I got the only A+ I ever received for an overall subject in school in that class). I was speaking in the class’s auditorium one day, asking a question of the professor perhaps, when I referred to Jewish peoples as “the Jews.” I had meant nothing by it, but my Jewish Teaching Assistant then rebuked me in front of the class, insinuating that I had made an anti-Semite slur. I have not forgotten that lesson, and I try to refer to those who are of this race and religion as “the Jewish people.” You can imagine my slight surprise that a publisher would approach me to give a fair and honest review of Adam Mansbach’s The Golem of Brooklyn. This is a very Jewish book, as it is also a very American one, and I had to wonder if I’m the most qualified to write about it given my position as a white, Anglo-Saxon Canadian Christian who knows not enough of the Jewish culture and way of life in the U.S. Well, perhaps in retrospect, this might have been working in my favour, as I got to identify some blind spots within me and also perhaps learn a thing or two. And the book is (mostly) a comedy, and laughter is something that anyone can relate to. Even if the book features a cameo by Larry David as himself (I’m not a big fan of the kind of sarcastic humour that David exhorts, alas — but that’s just me and my preferences, and is in no way meant to be a reflection on the quality of this novel or of Jewish cultural touchstones.)

The Golem of Brooklyn is about Len, a high-school art teacher, who creates a 400-pound, nine-foot-and-change Golem in his apartment while stoned, using stolen clay. However, The Golem (and the definite article is capitalized throughout the book) comes to life. The problem is the Golem of Jewish tradition exists to protect the Jewish people in a time of crisis. What does The Golem need to protect in the year 2023? Well, as it would turn out, there’s an anti-Semite rally being held in western Kentucky in a manner of days, so Len, The Golem, and Miri, a Jewish lesbian bodega clerk who tags along to help translate what The Golem is saying in Hebrew, set out to give these self-professed “Jew haters” a scare and a real run for their money. However, as such things go, complications abound and Len and Miri must convince The Golem to not kill anybody at the rally, as they deal with problems that crop up that prevent them from making the journey. This includes an overzealous police officer who stops the group for being in the middle of the road (and that may be a comment that the author is making there).

Adam Mansbach may not be a household name, per se, but he’s the author of the bestselling and immensely popular picture book for adults, Go the Fuck to Sleep. In The Golem of Brooklyn, the humour is often profane and somewhat juvenile (if you’re looking for the Hebrew way of saying “dick,” look no further). It also takes some time to get going, plot-wise, which means that there are lulls in the action, particularly in the first half of the read. However, things pick up as the book goes along, culminating in a satisfying but open-ended climax. Overall, this is an enjoyable book and one with multiple messages. It reminds readers — and I suspect this is aimed at so-called goys like me — that anti-Semitism has almost always been around historically, and is becoming especially prevalent in the present day again through groups such as the Proud Boys and MAGA-loving supporters of Donald Trump. That Jewish people need to be protected is something of a given. However, the book is also aimed at Jewish people who have forgotten their traditions and culture. Len, for one, does not speak Yiddish or Hebrew and needs the help of someone else to, at the outset, understand what The Golem is saying. It’s also something of an indictment against orthodox Jewish people who seek to protect themselves at any cost — even if it means hurting or killing others. So there’s much to graze on here other than the humour, and the book is a deeply philosophical and sobering one.

All in all, The Golem of Brooklyn is a work of some brevity — I was able to read the whole thing in a couple of sittings. However, it is an unqualified success. I suppose the stoner humour wasn’t my proverbial cup of tea, but Mansbach knows his presumably Millennial audience and those into light recreational drugs and Jewish humor will find much to smile at here. None of this is “laugh out loud” funny, but it probably shouldn’t be: the elimination of the Jewish race does not lend itself to humour very well, especially with the horrors of the Holocaust being so relatively fresh. In any event, The Golem of Brooklyn is a treat for those into this sort of thing and might be instructive and thus useful for those who aren’t or wouldn’t conceive of reading a very Jewish work of literature. A lot of thought and care has gone into this work of staggering genius, and it’s ripe to be discovered by those seeking something a little different and off the beaten path. Adam Mansbach may be best known for writing children’s stories for adults, but here he has written a very adult story for grown children — and this may ultimately prove to be the thing that he may come to be among what he is best remembered for.

I think you have to have a certain sense of humor to catch all the minutia in this book. It was a little too slapstick and potty mouth to my liking. There were a few moments that I actually understood the pun intended by I really think this one should be done on the big screen so the goofy looking Golem and these 3 high on drugs characters can be seen. Not particularly my cup of tea. I had read others reviews and was looking forward to a good fun book , even as a satire, but this just wasn't it. I was provided an advanced reader copy and was under no obligation to provide a review. The opinions expressed are my own. Thanks to the author,publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

From the author of Go the Fuck to Sleep comes this Jewish story about a Golem who is brought to life by a cultural Jew, instead of a religious one. Suddenly, he finds himself pulled deeply into the Jewish world and manages to end up at a hate rally..

This book was entertaining because of how funny it was. Also, I hope you love reading the word ‘dickhead,’ you dickhead, lol. The chapters told from the hateful’s POV were disturbing, though, and made me feel dirty.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC. This review contains my honest, unbiased opinion.

The author of The Golem of Brooklyn, Adam Mansbach, is probably best known for writing Go the Fuck to Sleep [GTFTS]. The Golem of Brooklyn has the irreverence of GTFTS—only expanded, more detailed, crazier, and with a bit more room for probing the choices made by its characters.

The central character, Len Bronstein, is an art teacher who has been stealing clay a few kilos at a time from his high school classroom and has decided that now is the time to create a Golem. (For those who don't know, a Golem is a creature from Jewish folklore. Made out of mud or clay and brought to life through ritual involving the mystical name of g-d, the Golem will fight to defend Jews in times of great danger.) Len isn't really thinking about the great danger part of things. He just wants to see if he can get enough information online to actually bring this giant clay being to light. The answer is, "yes." Chalk up another win for the internet.

Of course, there are complications. First, the Golem speaks Yiddish, Lem doesn't. Second—and Lem discovers this only after he meets Miri Apfelbaum, who can speak Yiddish—the Golem is not at all pleased to have been created without a penis. Third, the Golem wants to know who he should be killing. That is, after all, his job, the reason he's been called into being in the past.

The novel unrolls as a sort of fever dream of a road trip, during which Lem and Miri track down the leader of the conservative Jewish community she left years ago when she came out as a lesbian, then make the mistake of showing the Golem video of a white nationalist protest, and find themselves driving south because the golem now knows who he wants to kill. Lem and Miri try to discourage the whole killing thing, but in the short term, it's easier to just do what the Golem wants while they try to figure out how you say "no" to a nine-foot tall being of superhuman strength.

It's the kind of plot that can only be dreamed up by someone possessing an unlikely combination of imagination, humor, and anarchism. It's funny. In fact, it's hilarious. It's also serious because Lem and Miri have moments when they're forced to question what they're doing as they allow themselves to be moved along the path of least resistance. Lem and Miri make an interesting, and surprisingly effective team. Miri not only knows Yiddish, she has deep knowledge of Judaism, but that knowledge is strangely unworldly because so much of her life has been spent at one remove from what we call the real world. Lem knows less than Miri does—he also worries less and thinks quickly on his feet when the choices he makes pull them into increasing layers of difficulty. And, because Miri is a lesbian, readers' time isn't wasted on the all-too-often-obligatory romance between characters who work just fine as friends. (Being, like Miri, a lesbian, I love a book where a man and woman can work together without becoming overwrought with carnal tension.)

Those who enjoy humor that combines the slapstick with the metaphysical (and shouldn't we all find that combination delightful?) will find The Golem of Brooklyn a rare treat, sparking both laughter and rumination.

I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via NetGalley; the opinions are my own.

Adam Mansbach's novels deserve every bit as much acclaim as his "for parents" satire books. Rage Is Back and Angry Black White Boy are personal favorites. He's able to capture the heaviest of topics and still infuse it with "I can't believe they let him publish this" humor.

The Golem of Brooklyn is every bit as good as his best work. Bringing Jewish folklore to modern times, with unlikely (and unwilling!) protagonists who are all too-familiar to this reader, I will be pushing this book upon everyone in my earshot for the rest of the year. Excellent work.

I don’t know what compelled me to select this book as typically I would run away from a story about a Golem. After reading it I can adamantly state that this book is a ridiculous, irreverent story that made me laugh and that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Thank you you to NetGalley for providing this early release in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This debut novel from the author of Go the F*uck to Sleep is entertaining, but not very deep. A good start, to be sure, but there are long and needless tangents throughout and the funny premise doesn't carry this all the way. Some sharp, funny scenes here, but not such a cohesive whole.

An interesting enough story and characters that were relatable should have made me love this book but something about the way the story was told fell flat

A lot of fun to read. This tells the story of a stoner art teacher who creates a golem who is intent on killing all anti-semites. It gets funny and silly while also having at its heart many ethical, social and religious issues that will absolutely make you think.

3.5 stars

“There has only ever been one golem. He is not made, but remade.”

This is a very funny, tongue-in-cheek, surprisingly biting novel of contemporary American Jewish identity. The actual plot—a nonreligious Jewish man accidentally animates a golem, which struggles to find a purpose in the modern world and eventually lumbers menacingly toward the white supremacists from 2017’s Unite the Right Charlottesville rally—is engaging enough, but the real heart of the story lies in its half-jokingly philosophical musings on what Judaism is all about. Tucked in at the sides is a very readable account of Jewish history and lore, at least as pertains to the legends of the golem.

My favorite chapter concerns the conversion of a little girl to Judaism, which is presented as a legalistic work-around for the golem’s purposes but is in practice strikingly earnest and wholesome. Some of the chapters seem superfluous and the text stops rather abruptly, but looking at the story as a postmodern text, I rather like the effect it produces.

In an act of stoned whynotism, Williamsburg-based high school art teacher Len Bronstein decides to create a golem — the five-thousand-year-old “crisis monster” of Jewish mythology — and when he realises that he’s unable to communicate with the massive, Yiddish-speaking, rampage-machine he brought to life, Len runs to the local bodega to beg the clerk there for her help. Between Len (culturally Jewish but won’t say no to a BLT) and Miri (an ex-Hasid who loves her heritage but couldn’t live within the strict confines of her orthodox upbringing) and a night of binge-watching Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Golem is brought up to date on the current climate for Jewish people. And as the creature states that he can only be summoned in a time of great threat, and Len and Miri insist that their lives are not in any imminent danger, a news report about an upcoming White Pride rally in Virginia forces the trio to consider what use a crisis monster might be put to in our times. Adam Mansbach (probably best known for his Go the F**k to Sleep series of tongue-in-cheek “children’s” books) treats this examination of antisemitism with a light and humorous touch (Len is a goofball and extremists — whether Hasidic or Supremacist — are satisfyingly lampooned); but through the memories of The Golem (who is always the same creature with an intact consciousness over time) the history of Jewish persecution is outlined. Ultimately, the question asked by The Golem of Brooklyn is: If Jews are directed to both follow the Golden Rule (what is hateful to you, don’t do to your neighbour) and to engage in tikkun olam (to repair and improve the world), how does unleashing a killing machine against one’s enemies satisfy these directives? All delivered with dick and stoner jokes and a cameo by Larry David. It’s an odd balance, but thoughtful and entertaining. I’m glad I picked this up.

I can't wait to see the reaction to this highly original work, since there are those who will see themselves portrayed none too gently, but then, they probably won't read it. As with any delicious satire, The Golem of Brooklyn is equal parts hilarious and disturbing, and should be required reading by those who, for instance, are saying that January 6 was not an attempted coup but a nice visit to our capitol. But then again, they won't read it. Even the chapters dealing with the history of the Jews, the persecution throughout the ages are wickedly funny. So we learn of the creation of a crime stopper in the form of a 9 foot 400 pound creature fashioned out of clay, traditionally by a rabbi, but here by a stoned art teacher in Brooklyn Heights. And off they go to a Charlottesville-like rally in Kentucky with a former member of the Williamsburg Hassidic community originally enlisted as a translator. What could possibly go wrong. I won't go further into the plot since it should unspool for each reader. All I'll say is, it will probably be banned in Florida.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - One World and NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

The Golem of Brooklyn tells the story of Brooklyn art teacher, Len Bronstein, who manages to create a Golem out of clay and then embarks on an ill advised road trip with Miri, a local ex-Chasid bodega employee and the Golem.

Parts of this story are extremely clever and hilarious (like the first third) and parts are just plain weird and underdeveloped. This book is very short and almost reads like an early draft of a novel. It has something to say but it truly doesn’t know what it is trying to say. The depiction of rabid anti-semitism was a buffoonish caricature and seems pretty naive to the real threat in 2023.

Overall this book is fascinating and such a great kernel of a story but the execution leaves a lot to be desired.

The Golem of Brooklyn is a hilarious story about an art teacher who creates a golem when he is stoned and the mayhem that follows. The story is also full of Jewish history which I knew very little of and found fascinating. The characters are great, I loved Len, Miri, and the Golem. The dialogue is witty with biting sarcasm and all-around hilarity. I loved this one and highly recommend it.

Opening sentence: "Len Bronstein was not so much in need of a golem as he was in possession of a large quantity of clay, and very stoned." Two snorts of laughter: first for the sentence as a whole, second for the realization that "Len Bronstein" is one letter away from "Lev Bronstein," better known as Leon Trotsky, and that no way on this earth did Mansbach do that by accident, never mind by what series of preposterous accidents Len managed to create a golem.

Or rather, The Golem, which is his name. And now the ambiguities and questions start pouring in: Is The Golem alive? Is he a saving force or a destructive one? What makes a Jew? (Miri, the other central human character, is a lesbian ex-Hasid: her family doesn't consider her Jewish anymore. But The Golem converts a pork-eating 11-year-old to Judaism by having her stand on one leg, briefly, twice: once to approximate Hillel -- "What is hateful to you, don't do to your neighbor. That the Torah. The rest just commentary" -- and then to introduce the concept of tikkun olam.)

Also, as Len, Miri, and The Golem head for a planned white-supremacist demonstration in Kentucky: How should one respond to anti-Semitism (and to white supremacism in all its aspects)? The Golem thinks by extirpating anti-Semites, Len thinks by frightening them, and Miri ... well, you have to read the book to find out.

The Golem of Brooklyn starts and ends as one of the funniest books I've ever read; also, the further into it I got, the bleaker it became, until it hit what seemed to me a point of no return. Along the way it takes in the entire history of the Jewish people as well as the present threats to them and to all of us who overlap with are properly allied with them -- queer people, Black people, Muslims ...

So I laughed all through, with breaks for grief and, as appropriate, fear, then finished stock-still in wonder and dismay. I can't recommend this book highly enough -- it's brilliant -- but brace yourself.

Many thanks to Random House and NetGalley for the ARC.

This book was absolutely hilarious. My in-laws are Jewish and I’m grateful to have learned so much about the culture that these jokes land HARD.

It was recommended as similar in tone to a Dave Barry novel (he and the author are frequent collaborators) so this recommendation was absolutely true. It’s serious when it needs to be and lighthearted when those serious moments are a little too serious.

The characters were authentic, real people reacting like real people do when something absolutely wild and horrifying happens in front of them. Only unrealistic thing in the whole book (include the titular Golem learning English by watching Curb Your Enthusiasm and also getting the blessing of Larry David himself to rough up some anti-Semites) is that the characters always have the perfect quip at the right time. That’s the real magic right there.

I enjoyed everything about this book: the tone, characters, worldbuilding, all of it.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House, and Adam Mansbach for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Golem of Brooklyn is as weird as it is entertaining. It is a story with a very high concept and plenty of humor amid serious subject matter.

It was recommended to me as a fan of Gary Shteyngart’s work and I was happy to have a chance to read it. If you can get behind the premise of a stoned art teacher accidentally creating a golem (aka The Golem) who becomes sort of obsessed with Larry David and is determined to stop hate by intervening in a rally in West Virginia, this book is for you!

Many thanks to Random House and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy.

Adam Mansbach’s #The Golem Of Brooklyn is either the funniest serious or most serious funny book I’ve had the pleasure to read in years. Whichever way you take it it’s a brilliant achievement. All I know is if my Jewish Education had been this entertaining and thought provoking I might actually have learned something. # The Golem Of Brooklyn is not to be missed !