A man is found dead drunk in his garage--make that just plain dead. Was it an accident, suicide, or murder? Who would want a harmless mathematician dead, and that on Yom Kippour, the Day of Atonement? Did the corpse have a skeleton in his closet, or was his shiksa wife just hoping to cash in?Much better than the first volume of the Rabbi Small series, Kemelman begins to hit his stride in this instalment. Good red herrings abound (I always did love rollmops) and the blending of Jewish philosophy and crime is much better, though we are still treated to the detective fiction meme that the local police are total bumblers who need help at every step of the way or it all goes terribly wrong. However, this time the rabbi does less sleuthing on his own and more realistically deals with the thought-processes that can help the law find its way in the maze of motives, possible suspects, and false clues.The sixties make themselves felt in references to the Civil Rights protests down South, and again we see women who know how to drive, but don't--some of whom have not renewed their licences because--apparently--at that time in that place, driving the car is the husband's job. The days of two-car households were still in the future. Temple politics still play a large part in the subplot; should a hideous extension be built onto the synagogue to keep the wealthier members of the congregation happy, or should Rabbi Small resign in protest? One of the things that caught my attention in this thread is that the rabbi sees himself as a defender of Jewish tradition, not of any spiritual values; the services, prayers etc are conducted to support the living and the memory of the dead--not one word about living their beliefs for the glory of God. The prayers are recited, but not with a view to establishing or maintaining a relationship with the God they purport to, well, if not worship at least respect. Curious; the Old Testament prophets and writers certainly would disagree with this lukewarm attitude. Perhaps that's what Isaiah meant in 29:13.
Another good book in the series. Not quite as captivating as the first one and the political back biting from the congregation's leadership is disquieting but probably a accurate reflection of the way it really is. The story is a little dated but that is part of the charm of it, for me. The mystery is still rather straight forward and you can pretty easily figure it out before the revelation in the end. I liked how the character stayed true to form from book 1. I will continue to read the series since I want to see how Rabbi Small handles his cantankerous congregational committees and just how he solves the next mystery.
Do You like book Saturday The Rabbi Went Hungry (2002)?
The second book int eh Rabbi Small mystery series. After reading the first book "Friday The Rabbi Slept Late", I jumped on this book expecting the same excellence. Don't get me wrong, this book doesn't disappoint and delivers on the twist at the end when the reader is finally told "who-dun-it". My only issue with this book is that it was a slow start. The first half of the book rather drags on is full of congregational politics. Once the book picks up, you can't put it down. I will defiantly continue in my reading of the entire series...I just hope the rest don't use the entire first half of the book as "filler". Now on to the third one in the series..."Sunday The Rabbi Stayed Home".
—Jonathan Lane
