Calum

An interesting argument, but the author's style irritates me. He is fundamentally presenting an academic argument, and the reader would be better suited to reading his argument alongside other arguments. Not having the academic background myself, I don't see why his argument is necessarily wrong, but I remain unconvinced by the end due to the poor style. If you're interested in a view of early Christianity from the perspective of Jewish Studies, go ahead and read the book! But keep in mind that it is only one side of what I assume would be a very multi-sided debate.

Always a fun nostalgia read to return to.

Bought the book to gain a sense of Jewish life in Salonica, ended up falling in love not only with Leon and his family, but all of the people surrounding them, from the peasants to the revolutionaries to the little children he went to school with. It is both a childhood autobiography and a memoir of a city-sized society that was in the process of being destroyed, woven together in a beautiful way that highlights how none of us are separate from the world we live in.

Holds up pretty well for a 50s book, aside from language. He focuses on business meetings, but a lot of the substance is helpful for general large conversation.

first person and the whole premise are annoying

did not apply to me, didn't like the language used either. bad vibes

Writing style isn't what I like to read, bored with it.