Why Did The Netanyahus Win a Pulitzer Prize for Fiction? A Pulitzer Prize Deep Dive 

Netanyahus was my favorite book of 2022 but perhaps I am biased as a faculty member since most college novels concentrate on students.

An excellent review - thank you

Disappointed that more people haven’t heard of The Trees by Percival Everett…such a visceral experience and has stayed with me!

Thanks once more for an enlightening analysis of the whys? of this Pulitzer award winner. I feel Supposedly Fun is my first and best book club.

I did like The Netanyahus. It is entirely possible that I just have a thirst for chaos, but I found the wildness in the second half quite entertaining. However...The Trees was definitely better in my opinion. You make good points, as always. Definitely look forward to these videos!

Totally agree with your review. I couldn't force myself to finish this prize winner. So disappointing!!

I really liked this book. The "letters of recommendation" section in the middle dragged a bit but otherwise I had a great time. Basically a funny and nuanced parable of a Jewish-American grappling with his view on Zionism. I don't mean to disparage anyone, but the Netanyahus are an incredibly famous and notorious family (especially prime minister Bibi), frequently in the news, and I think most people picking up a book titled "The Netanyahus" will know who they are. I also believe that the afterword of the book is a continuation of the satirical novel and includes fictionalized content (The Guardian review mentions that the details about Sebald and McCarthy are likely fictional and meant to be a joke). so I question if the email that ends the novel is real, or an attempt at a joke. If anything, this win for Cohen may be the Pulitzer trying to award one of the young writers who was praised by Harold Bloom prior to his death, someone who may evolve to be a Pynchon-esque talent (a comparison also from the Guardian review).

i really liked this book -- oop! lol!! i found the book to be well written, funny and very layered. i also found the conversation about jewish diasporic identities to speak to me as someone who is from the south asian diaspora.

Your discussion of this book almost exactly matches my opinion after reading it. Thank you!

The title of your video, “Why did The Netanyahus win a Pulitzer Prize for Fiction?” neatly encapsulated my reaction after reading the book. I didn’t hate it, there were moments I thought it was finally going to catch my interest, but sadly it did not. The most engaging part of the book was the nostalgic cover. However, I detested the two finalists and I DNF’d them at the 50% mark without compunction. For me, 2022 goes down as a garbage year for the Pulitzer Prize Fiction selections. I had guessed Crossroads as the winner, but would have been thrilled with any other number of books, including The Trees and Love Songs. This year I really want Demon Copperhead to win and the finalists to be Trust and Signal Fires. At the very least, please let it be a book I have read so that I can continue to whittle away at my Pulitzer project TBR. This was such a well done video. Thank you!

Just came here from your monthly wrap up. I am ready with tea and popcorn 😂

PS I do agree about the mean-spirited answer to the email. It was bizarre! And also I didn’t realize at the time that he miss gendered the person. So thank you for that

In almost ALL cases I think it’s safe to say, “the derailment begins with a dream sequence.” I suffered through this book too. Your review is perfect.

Thanks for the thoughtful take! Loved the conspiracy theory, and hadn’t thought before how the jury might stack the finalists to try and make sure a certain title won. Super interesting 🧠

I had read this shortly after it won and remember that I liked that it was funny, bizarre and made me think about how Jewish identity in the US had developed over the past few decades. I specifically also liked how the main character was forced to grapple with his own world view and that his daughter and Netanyahu were catalysts for that development. I totally agree with you on pacing and think at times it felt super academic and then propelled forward quickly. I also wished that I hadn’t read the afterword. Thanks for the video, as you mentioned not much time has passed since it was published but I think you had great insight on other contenders and what it’s win meant about the last 2 years (I never think about these things but they’re very important to). I also became interested in reading these because of your long time project so appreciate that as well!

Great job! I wished this inspired me to actually read it and be able to make my own opinions, but honestly I’m leaving less interested in it being part of my TBR list since there are literally hundreds of other titles I want to engage with more.

Greg, this is such a fantastic and in-depth review- thank you! I stayed away from this book because it deals with real people, now I have another reason to avoid it. I find it interesting that Cohen safeguards his privacy, but didn’t extend the same courtesy to others 🙃

To me, The Netenayus explained the "need" for Israel and the racialization/ethnicization of the jews, something I really didn't know much about so I really learned a lot from reading it as well as enjoying it as a novel. I read it as a kind of explanation and ultimately condemnation of Zionism but maybe I erred in my understanding. I think, as that, it is pretty important right now. I also thought The Trees was amazing but have yet to read W.E.B. Du Bois.

I agree with almost everything you said! I was really excited to read this book since I don't know much about Jewish culture and wanted to read some Jewish fiction. I found the first half mildly interesting, but the second half was the most laborious reading I've experienced in a long time. It took me a whole month to read the last 100 pages. It was that much of a slog. For me, it was the mental equivalent of hyping yourself up to run a marathon because you'll feel accomplished afterward and then crossing the finish line only to realize you're just exhausted, sweaty, and that it was absolutely not worth it. I appreciate what Cohen was trying to do, but, like you, I don't think he was successful enough to merit a Pulitzer or even to be considered among the better books of 2021. Thanks so much for your reviews; I really enjoy your in-depth Pulitzer Prize series!

I quite enjoyed The Netanyahus overall and found it to be a really interesting examination of culture and identity is a diaspora. The juxtaposition between American Judaism and Israeli Judaism, along with the idea of self-aggradizing identities from both sides. American Jews facing the dilemma of being either "not Jewish enough" or "too Jewish" while the Netanyahus questioning their place in the grand scheme of these countries while also self-mythologizing into success (which is essentially Benjamin Netanyahus entire life)

Feels like a lot of your anger is directed at what the novel isn't rather than what it is. You seem upset that it was not what you were expecting in terms of dealing with antisemitism, or being a campus novel, or explaining Bibi Netanyahu, but Cohen never promised you any of those things. Your expectations are not the author's concern. The novel very specifically contrasts two kinds of Jew. The first is the apologetic, trying-to-pass assimilationist Jew. This is who we start to sympathize with. This is the story of the Jew dressed as Santa and the astonishing set piece of the deliberately broken nose. The second Jew is the unapologetic, furious, Zionist Jew. Appallingly and against everything we want to believe, this angry, aggressive creature has enough charisma to compel the reader even as we are repelled by him. The contrast is between Reuben and Benzion. Reuben is a man out of time, there was never a better moment in history to be a proud and strong Jew than in the two decades after the establishment of the State of Israel, but Reuben is determined to hide and follow the old ways of thinking. Benzion is a man out of place. He believed he should be a forefront of the way Israel was being built, but his right-wing, firebrand nature was utterly out of touch with the Socialist utopians that were leading Israel at that time. Turns out Benzion was also a man out of time except that he was as far ahead of his as Reuben was behind. Cohen is writing about the way each of these diaspora Jew stereotypes, which still exist in 2023, relates to the ingathering of the exiles in Israel. His book is very much in conversation with Jonathan Safran Foer's last novel Here I Am. They are both part of a young generation of authors wrestling with what Israel means to Jews in the 21st century, along with Nicole Krauss, Nathan Englander, and others. They have replaced the previous generation of great American Jewish novelists, Bellow, Roth, Mailer et al who barely thought of Israel and never really engaged with the end of the Jewish exile and the end of the Jew as outsider. That's an awful lot of specificity and it's probably worth mentioning that even living here in Israel, I'm more Reuben than Benzion. I met Joshua Cohen at the International Writers' Festival in Jerusalem last year and he was very pleased with himself and his recent Pulitzer win. Nevertheless I feel sure that he would be out on the streets protesting with the rest of us against the current Netanyahu government which is the most right wing in our history. I thought The Netanyahus was well written, but more importantly I thought it was very funny. I did a whole video about the book and included some footage of Cohen talking about the book from the festival in Jerusalem last May. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-zrOwegJNzmU.html

Use for two cold Guinness on your trip! Thanks!

I consumed The Netanyahus via audio. Like you I wondered why it won the Pulitzer. There were some great moments but they didn’t add up to a whole novel that’s going somewhere. The Netanyahus’ boys were a nightmare. Reading about what happened to them when they grew up was better than the book. 🍀👋☘️📕📖📚☕️

Was planning on finally getting to this novel in May. Out of curiosity, are you a Philip Roth fan? Just from your description, my ear hears some similar beats, but curious if your dislike comes from similarly disliking Roth, or if this just turns out to be a poor imitation.

Could not agree more 👏 Great review! This book was so odd, tonally all over the place, very confusing without quite a bit of preexisting knowledge - truly a shame because I think it could have been great.

Hi Greg, I found your discussion of the Netanyahu’s very interesting. I read the book and really liked it except for the ending. At first I found it too highbrow for my taste, but since I’m Jewish, I got a lot of that in jokes and parts of it were hilarious. I did not know much of the political angles but I have heard the story of how the author wrote the book. I also could relate to the antisemitism having lost family during the holocaust. Yes I’m that old. Thank you for your review. Aloha

I was also skeptical of this novel winning the Pulitzer, but I will say it gave me an enlightening perspective on some important characters behind Israel. It wasn't until I even read Cohen's book that I learned that Benzion Netanyahu (the father of Prime Minister Netanyahu) wrote a ridiculously long book responsible for the philosophical justification of the state of Israel and Zionism. Reading about that perspective was fascinating if anything else. I am a Hispanic American so it is a very different world than mine.

I detested this book and DNF’d it, a rarity for me! Appreciate your insights as to why this was chosen!

Another great video! I just finished The Trees and OMG I LOVED IT. I'd describe it as a racially charged True Detective or Fargo mix. Absolutely stunning.

You have definitely talked me out of The Netanyahus. To be fair, I wasn't really all that interested. You are not the first to criticize it for it's pompous style. If there's one thing I have no time for, it's "look at me, I'm writing!"

"Out here in reality..." 😁

My next book is the Netanyahus- I got it to read along with you but I’m still reading The Time of Our Singing. But I’ll let you know what I think of it. Of course I totally concur with Love Songs getting the Pulitzer: call the cops, she was robbed! 😅

my theory is that is the best written of the bunch.

I just finished reading this. - The first part, where the focus is on Ruben, is the better half. At halfway point, I was already thinking "Ahh, this deserves the Pulitzer win." The visit from Edith's parents is the best chapter. The whole dialogue between Ruben and Sabine (or is it just Sabine's monologue?) is nuanced enough to my taste, and honestly more interesting to me, than the whole chaos of the second half. The only element in the 2nd part that I love is Edith (which you don’t love haha). - I also agree that the derailing starts on the dream sequence. I also don’t like dream sequences. - Netanyahus’s (the character's) philosophical musings part is also very annoying because I hate the character (the novel makes us hate the character), and so we tend to disagree with him (it doesn't help that his philosophies are really rambly and shitty), but the novel doesn’t allow space for other voices to show disagreement, aside from Ruben's irritation. It's lacking the opposing voice to provide satisfaction. - As a summary, I completely agree with your takes. I still do rate this 3 stars though because of the first half.

I enjoyed the read but found it breezy and it ultimately didn't stick with me. When I consider that it beat out "Love Songs of WEB Du Bois," I get a bit mad. That was a generous, warm, important novel - and to my eyes, a clear and urgent one. It would have been a great winner.

I am very skeptical about all annual literary prizes, and take them with a large grain of salt. The proof of literary quality is in the reading.

I didn’t hate this book, I didn’t love this book. I read right after it won and a year later, I barely remember it.

I enjoyed it but quickly forgot it. I wanted to know about the Netanyahus but I quickly forgot about it.

I really enjoyed this at the time I read it, but it made zero impact on me at all. The writing was quirky and funny but also overly intellectual and pretentious. I thought some of it was really funny but it felt pretty pointless overall. I liked the very end - it was pretty whacky and campy in a way. Some of my friends said it was a big deal that a New York Review Book novel won? I'm not familiar with the publishing industry at all so I'm not sure what the importance of that is.

Completely agre

I quite liked The Netanyahus, especially for the writing and the description of this obnoxious family. But in general I don't understand the Pulitzer Prize at all and I'm usually not that much interested in it.

I hated it. Pulitzer's were my literary prizes, but to be honest i liked the booker way more the last decade or so. And everytime the Pulitzer goes for a surprise, it surprises me in a negative way. The truth is a wanted to read Cohen before the Pulitzer but it was a big dissapointment and even worse, i find the novel incredibly boring. Maybe it's that i just don't get some kind of humour because there are people who swear to me that Elif Batuman's The idiot is hilarious and for me is one big boring nonsense (i disliked The Netanyahus but not as much as The idiot)

I see your critisism. I liked this book, but even I can see how pretentious and silly it is at some points. However I think the points you make about plot and character are not really in line with what the book is trying to be. This book was designed to be grotesk, pastiche and satire. The characters are caricatures and I think they are meant to be that way. I can totally see why that wouldn't be your style, but in your critic I feel like you treat them more like well-written charicters, which feels little unfair to me.