The Five Books: Jewish Authors on the Books That Shaped Them

Dara Horn on Being the Lorax at Her Seder Table


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Dara Horn is the award-winning author of six books, including the novels The World to Come, All Other Nights, and the essay collection People Love Dead Jews: Reports from a Haunted Present. Her latest book is the graphic novel One Little Goat. 


At the Passover seder, an out-of-control family cannot find their afikoman  and as a result, they are trapped at a seder that cannot end. Six months in, a wisecracking talking goat shows up at their door with bad news: Thousands of years of previous seders have accumulated underneath their seder, and their afikoman is stuck in one of them. Now the family’s ​“wise child” must travel down with the goat through centuries of previous Passovers to find it– and to discover the questions he needs to start asking.


Dara Horn is also the recipient of three National Jewish Book Awards, among many other honors. Horn received her doctorate in comparative literature from Harvard University, studying Yiddish and Hebrew. She has taught courses in these subjects at Sarah Lawrence College and Yeshiva University, and held the Gerald Weinstock Visiting Professorship in Jewish Studies at Harvard. 

Dara Horn's Five Books:


  1. Mr. Mani by A B Yehoshua 
  2. Tevye the Dairyman by Sholem Aleichem
  3. The Last Consolation Vanished by Zalmen Gradowski
  4. Journey to the Land of No by Roya Hakakian
  5. One Little Goat by Dara Horn

  6. The Five Books is a podcast that celebrates the role of books in Jewish culture. Through author interviews, we delve into Jewish identity and discover each author’s favorite novels. Join us every week for new Jewish book recommendations! Some of our episodes have included conversations with Yehuda Kurtzer (host of Identity/Crisis), Yael Van Der Wouden (author of The Safekeep), and Gila Pfeffer (author of Nearly Departed.)


    Find us on Instagram @fivebookspod or Facebook at The Five Books Podcast


    For feedback or author recommendations please email us at [email protected]


    Find us online at www.fivebookspod.org 


    The Five Books has the advisory and promotional support of the Jewish Book Council. Jewish Book Council is a nonprofit dedicated to amplifying and celebrating Jewish literature and supporting authors and readers. Stay up to date on the latest in Jewish literature! https://www.jewishbookcouncil.org/events/celebrate


    The Five Books is fiscally sponsored by FJC, a 501c3 public charity. 


    Hosted by Tali Rosenblatt Cohen


    Produced by Odelia Rubin


    Editorial and website support by Sarah Waring


    Artwork by Dena Friedman


    Music by Dov Rosenblatt and Blue Dot Sessions.

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    The Five Books: Jewish Authors on the Books That Shaped ThemBy Tali Rosenblatt Cohen

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