Shalom Auslander
Shalom Auslander
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Full Name and Common Aliases
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Shalom Auslander is a writer, novelist, and humorist known for his provocative and insightful works on Jewish culture, identity, and the human condition. His full name is Shalom Auslander, but he is often referred to as Shalom by friends and readers.
Birth and Death Dates
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Shalom Auslander was born in 1970 in New Jersey, USA. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any information about his death date.
Nationality and Profession(s)
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Auslander holds American nationality and has worked as a writer, novelist, and humorist throughout his career. His writing often explores themes of Jewish identity, family dynamics, and the complexities of human relationships.
Early Life and Background
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Shalom Auslander was born to an Orthodox Jewish family in New Jersey. Growing up in a devout household had a profound impact on his life and work. He has spoken publicly about the tensions between his desire for intellectual freedom and his upbringing's strict adherence to traditional practices. This dichotomy is reflected in much of his writing, which often grapples with questions of faith, identity, and belonging.
Major Accomplishments
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Auslander's breakthrough novel, Barely Functional at Best, was published in 2006 to widespread critical acclaim. The book's unflinching portrayal of family dynamics, particularly the complex relationships between fathers and sons, cemented Auslander's reputation as a bold and innovative writer.
Notable Works or Actions
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Some of Auslander's notable works include:
Barely Functional at Best (2006) - a novel exploring themes of family, faith, and identity.
Mother for Dinner (2017) - a collection of short stories that delve into the darker aspects of human nature.
Auslander has also contributed to various publications, including The New Yorker, Harper's Magazine, and McSweeney's. His writing often pushes boundaries and challenges readers' assumptions about themselves and the world around them.
Impact and Legacy
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Shalom Auslander's impact on contemporary literature is significant. His work has been praised for its raw honesty, nuance, and emotional depth. Readers have come to appreciate his willingness to confront difficult subjects head-on, even when it means challenging societal norms or personal biases.
Why They Are Widely Quoted or Remembered
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Auslander's writing is widely quoted and remembered due to its relevance, insight, and literary merit. His ability to craft stories that are both deeply personal and universally relatable has made him a beloved figure in the literary world.
Quotes by Shalom Auslander

Which is what it all comes down to, I suppose – how you’re selling. Welcome to the twenty-first century, where the only opinion of you that matters is the one that isn’t your own. Rate My Tits. Rate My Ass. Rate My Children. Rate My Essential Being. 1 Star: Awful. This Being left me feeling like I wanted more.

You can hope all you want for a happy ending, but sometimes, like it or not, the guy writing your story is working on a tragedy; you may not even be the main character.

Write something dangerous. Say something you shouldn’t. Blow something up. But well.

His intelligence only exacerbated the guilt Kugel felt for bringing him into the world. It was one thing to have condemned a child to life, that was criminal enough, but life was a sentence more easily served by fools.

Anger and depression are not diseases or dysfunctions or anomalies; they are perfectly rational responses to the myriad avoidable disappointments that begin in a thoroughly irrational hope.

Kugel was a firm believer that death was not always a bad thing – that life often reached such levels of crapitude that dying was preferable to living.

Written with passion, honesty, humor, and a stubborn, rebellious optimism, Dear Marcus is like nothing I’ve ever read. When a bullet in the back told Jerry McGill not to go on, Jerry went on-smiling.

What’s the harm in forgetting? What does remembering do? Kugel had read that the war in the Balkans was referred to as the War of the Grandmothers; that after 50 years of peace, it was the grandmothers who reminded their offspring to hate each other, the grandmothers who reminded them of past atrocities, of indignities long gone. Never forget! shouted the grandmothers. So their grandchildren remembered, and their grandchildren died.

