"My Name is Barbra" by Barbra Streisand
Publisher: Viking
Reviewed by Shirley Nigri Farber
Upon hearing about the long-awaited memoir by the legendary singer Barbra Streisand, my curiosity was piqued. I admired her but didn't know much about her life.
While waiting for the book to arrive, I stumbled upon a TV interview with Streisand by Fran Drescher on the occasion of the SAG 2024 Life Achievement Awards. They discussed the unique aspect of the audiobook where Barbra sings while describing her songs. As one of the Yiddish words she uses in her book was "Bashert," meaning serendipity, I had to listen to the book in her own voice.
Anyway, given my time constraints, opting for the 48-hour audiobook seemed more feasible than delving into nearly 1000 pages of text.
Streisand reflects on her insecurities growing up without a father and a mother who didn’t show much affection. She is a talented singer and performer but also a nice Jewish girl from Brooklyn yearning for genuine affection.
From a young girl at yeshiva (Jewish religious school) to being on the cover of Playboy magazine, Streisand candidly recounts her journey, shedding light on her successes and personal relationships with world-famous figures. While listening to her beautiful voice, I felt that I had some similarities with her: a sense of Jewish pride, feminist ideals, the need to always have food around, and a multifaceted career. And yes, I also had a different nose, but thank G-d, it didn’t bother me, and I was never bullied like her, ending up having plastic surgery at the age of 30.
While Streisand presents her memoir as the truth about her life, we must acknowledge the fallibility of memory, especially when recounting events involving others. She goes into detail about each person she had met either at work or in her personal life and reveals that she gets furious when seeing articles or books showing another version of her story.
Every person looks at a situation through their own lens. I understood that because of her insistence on creative control, she had faced a lot of criticism.
In recounting her experiences, Streisand sheds light on enduring societal prejudices, highlighting the need for continued progress in the entertainment industry and beyond.
She challenged gender norms in a male-dominated industry long before recent controversies like the Barbie movie snub at the Oscars.
While working on "Yentel" and films involving other Jewish characters, she addressed prevalent issues such as antisemitism in Hollywood: “Everybody is afraid of being Jewish,” she writes.
While describing how her desire for certain achievements led to that realization, she frequently uses a quote from Goethe: “At the moment of commitment, the entire universe conspires.”
After years of therapy, Streisand came to terms with her upbringing, accepting that her father did not abandon her after he died and her mother's coldness was a reflection of her own struggles as a young widow who needed to please a new husband in order to survive. Even while attaining recognition for her talent, she always seems to return to her mother's criticism and lack of attention.
In the book we get to learn about all her successes and details about the creation of each movie, music and play that helped turn her into a beloved icon. But she doesn't want to be loved for her voice alone, but for her personality as well. Unfortunately, we don't get to choose. People see us the way they want to see us.
She is a strong Democrat who likes to get involved in politics and fight for human causes. I was curious to see her take on an issue related to her friend Bill Clinton: the Monica Lewinsky affair. Like with many other bad things happening around the country, she blames it on Republicans. Unfortunately, as we know from the polls, half of this country's population doesn't agree with her political views. Luckily, the number of people who admire her for her talent is larger than the ones who agree with her politics.
As I always do when reading a book, I started to contact friends who would benefit from reading it. From aspiring actors to people in the media, to those seeking insights into family dynamics, Streisand's candid exploration of her relationships resonates deeply.
This book is a valuable resource for students of film and theater, deserving a place in any art class syllabus.
I can’t decide which one to recommend, the book or the audio, as listening to her descriptions of scenes, people, and costumes made me curious to see photos. I ended up with both.
Perhaps the two together should be offered as an individual encyclopedia, given their numerous candid and enlightening references about classic movies and plays, and of course, Streisand's remarkable career.
Journalist Shirley Nigri Farber is editor and publisher of Shalom Magazine www.ShalomMA.com . Like Streisand, she also has fond memories of her time at a yeshiva in Brooklyn.
100 Jewish Brides: Stories from Around the World
by Barbara Vinick and Shulamit Reinharz
Published by Indiana University Press
Reviewed by Shirley Nigri Farber
100 Jewish Brides is a captivating anthology that celebrates Judaism and wedding traditions with a global perspective. What makes it truly remarkable is its inclusivity. Authors Barbara Vinick and Shulamit Reinharz were able to collect personal accounts from couples in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Europe and the Americas. Each story unfolds with rich cultural detail, offering insights into the beauty of Jewish weddings and the unique journeys of each couple from a different part of the world. From traditional ceremonies to modern interpretations, the book showcases the richness and diversity of Jewish culture. It is a testament of how diverse the Jewish people are, and how the countries where they live have an influence on their rituals.
The Antisemitic Imagination: The Great Establishment Deception
by Charles Moscowitz
The Antisemitic Imagination examines various forms of antisemitism historically and presently, including the Christian, Islamic, Leftist, Right-Wing and Nazi variants, analyzing how these variations have often been advanced and in some cases manufactured by governments and influential institutional establishments to divert attention from their own malfeasance. As a faith that advocates knowing G-d and as a people with a longstanding reputation for success, family values, education and independence, Judaism and the Jewish people have often stood as obstacles to those who seek to advance state power and utopianism. Moscowitz offers novel solutions that have to do with an internal examination and a re-working from within of Jewish society that involves a better understanding of what it means to be a Jew. (Independently published)
Copyright © 2022 Farber Marketing - All Rights Reserved.
Designed By David Farber