Women's Fiction

Welcome to New York City, and the world of publishing, interior design, fashion and food. As Elie Sands turns 50, she seems to have a charmed life. Executive editor of a top design magazine, she’s married to a furniture tycoon and the mother of two accomplished young women. She’s an avid cook, lives on Central Park West and owns a house in the Hamptons. Syd Sorenstein is Elie’s mentor and upstairs neighbor. A chic, opinionated financial advisor, widowhood has not extinguished her lust for living. A workout fanatic and world traveler, Syd does exactly as she sees fit, with little interest in what others think.Michael Delmonico, partner of Daniel, is entertaining and flamboyant. He is also self-centered and hopelessly disorganized, but has an eager list of clients waiting for his interior design services. Michael is Elie’s dearest friend, and Syd’s worst nightmare. Life is good. Or is it? Elie makes a distressing discovery, Syd’s reputation is threatened and Michael gets shocking news from his past. Instead of easing comfortably into middle-age, each is forced to deal with unforeseen challenges, unresolved issues and reassessing what lies ahead.

 Menopause in Manhattan was edited by Karine Wagemakers & Illustrated by Charles Fazzino

This collection of books featuring Jewish main characters is decidedly non-comprehensive. As we come across books that are described as having Jewish main characters, we add them to this database. The creators of the Jewish Genre Reading Challenge have not read all (or even most) of the books in this database. We have gathered information from many sources and not all may be accurate. Inclusion of a book in our database does not imply endorsement or approval. There is always the possibility that antisemitism may be present in a book, either written into a character's experience or through malicious or ignorant caricature or stereotypical portrayal of Jewish characters and culture. Please take care of yourselves as you read.

PLEASE let us know if you encounter a book in this database that does not have a Jewish main character, if you have corrections or additions for a book's genre categories, or if you have any other concerns about the inclusion of a particular book in this database.