부산대학교 도서관

Working from the only surviving copies of Edmond Fleg’s personal papers, housed at the Alliance Israélite Universelle in Paris, Charnow (Hofstra Univ.) has constructed an insightful examination of Fleg’s life and legacies. Her study focuses on Fleg’s significance in French Jewish literary and cultural realms and introduces his work to a larger audience. First attracted to aesthetics and later evolving in his literary approach, Fleg became an acclaimed author, playwright, and public thinker. A member of the intellectual community in France, he interacted with prominent Jewish figures such as Bernard Lazare and Victor Basch. Charnow unpacks the significant influences in his life, including his sense of identity, belonging, and “Jewish awakening” (p. 86). As she examines Fleg’s career, involvement in the Jewish scout movement, personal tragedies, and role in resistance and rescue in southern France, she also highlights the ongoing importance of the Dreyfus Affair, Zionism, and Jewish communal identity. The bibliography is chronologically organized according to the six main chapters, each of which attends to a specific period in Fleg’s life. The book is accessibly written and supported by notes and sources at the end of each chapter. Summing Up: Recommended. Advanced undergraduates through faculty.