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Reviewed by Doreen Chombu for Readers' Favorite
A Fine Madness: A Novella in Stories and Other Mad Stories by Jeffrey Feingold is a collection of thought-provoking tales that explore human fragility, masculinity, loss, and identity. You meet characters like B, a bald Jewish guy trying to make sense of life and loneliness after his dad ditched him to join the circus. There's even a series of messages from a fake prince trying to dupe women. Two men have a clash of ideologies at a Hooters bar as one tries to objectify the young women who work in the bar, and the other feels disturbed and concerned for their safety. Finally, follow Howie and his wife Marsha, a couple who experience profound grief after losing their baby, Asher, and go through trials that test their loyalty, faith, and roles in their relationship.
A Fine Madness is a collection that blends realism and humor to cover various aspects of life. It mainly focuses on the men in these stories and societal expectations, the way they handle loss, change, solitude, and self-image issues. This is refreshing, as most books often show these issues from a woman’s perspective. Toxic masculinity is another topic that is explored through the lens of flawed and sometimes offensive narrators. Jewish cultural identity is a subtle but recurring subject, portrayed through characters’ struggles with faith, tradition, and assimilation. Apart from the themes, the stories are intriguing, with unpredictable plotlines and characters that you can easily visualize. Jeffrey Feingold uses uncomfortable truths about humans to let us confront trauma, misogyny, and social blindness, but also shows compassion for flawed individuals. The balance of contrasting sides of people, combined with comedy, is what makes this book memorable. If you want stories that really get into the chaos and beauty of human nature, and tackle shifting gender norms and cultural identity, this one's worth picking up.
