SHARKFORUM: OPINION WITH TEETH

Brooklynite Shalom Auslander has fearlessly addressed every major moral issue of the day with great intelligence and humor, but also with a sense of irony which suggests he may ultimately have no permanent moral stance.

That has nothing to do with the writing, which is uniformly excellent. Everyman characters with names like Leon Rothenberg and Moishe Cohen (random, synthesized examples of my own) appear and relentlessly challenge metaphorical Gods who either ignore them or else launch into 3-page bitch sessions of their own, explaining why He (God) has had more than his share of puny human beings pathetically praying and hoping that He will put some kind of end to their tiny troubles. It is an attitude not unlike that of the God in Ray Davies' Kinks classic, "Big Sky": ...Big Sky looks down on all the people who think they got problems ... Big Sky's too big to cry, Big Sky's too occupied...

Schlubs, schmucks and shlemiels -- those are Auslander's characters. One owns a dog which is evidently the Messiah. It's a humorous book, and a very cynical one, but one whose central viewpoint is hard to deny. Perhaps God has done His best to help us. Perhaps He regrets having created us (supposedly) in His image. Maybe he is tired of listening to our prayers and settling our unending disputes. Surely this is a perfectly reasonable interpretation of recent history.

Which is not to say that this is a great book impervious to criticism. Terribly compelling, and very laudable in that it doesn't shrink from major philosophical issues, "Beware of God" has its flaws. It is monochromatic; every story is brief and deals exclusively with the broken promises made between Man and God. Hitler, the Golem, Yankel Rosenberg and Charlie Brown show up, as does the actor John Saxon, Jerry Fallwell, Allah and the Three Stooges. I was surprised that Howard Cosell wasn't a character (then I would've been able to talk about boxing). Meyer Lansky gets no mention either. A pity. The metaphysics are somewhat simplistic and overly Judaic. It is possible to enjoy these pieces even if you're not Jewish (I did), but it is not necessarily easy to do so. The writer is brilliant and yet he clearly sees himself as one of the "chosen."

Perhaps, but, chosen for what? For success, for example, for leadership, for suffering?

The overwhemingly Jewishness of it all can become trying. I understand the themes of guilt and doubt. Personally, I am a self-hating Goy (a category I myself created). I am a Catholic of dubious loyalty. Still, the face-off with God is both time-honored and compelling. This book sheds some light and perhaps generates a slight bit of heat but it ultimately provides more laughs than answers.