typically mixed<\/a>. Both Jewish and mainstream reviewers expressed dissatisfaction with the quality of his writing, his conservative outlook on politics and sex, and his treatment of Judaism. Some rabbis even criticized Wouk for mocking Jewish observance \u2014 though in the coming decade, Philip Roth\u2019s fiction would radically change their perspective on what counted as literary denigration of Judaism.<\/p>\nMeanwhile, fellow Jewish novelists like Roth, Saul Bellow and Norman Mailer viewed Wouk as conforming to middle-class American values that prioritized marriage, family, religion and service to country. Not only did he stay married to the same woman for more than six decades, but Wouk expressed pride in his military service, for which he received a U.S. Navy Lone Sailor Award. Wouk in turn saw the others as bowing to fashionable literary trends of rebellion and shocking readers.<\/p>\n
From his debut novel, \u201cAurora Dawn,\u201d in 1947, to his last book, \u201cSailor and Fiddler: Reflections of a 100-Year-Old Author\u201d \u2014 published in 2015 when he had reached a century \u2014 Wouk wove themes central to the American Jewish experience throughout his work. Even \u201cThe Caine Mutiny,\u201d a less Jewish novel than later works, included Lt. Barney Greenwald, who gives a moving speech in defense of a lieutenant who helped keep Greenwald\u2019s Jewish mother from being \u201cmelted down into a bar of soap\u201d by the Nazis.<\/p>\n
Set in the 1930s and \u201940s, Wouk\u2019s fourth book, \u201cMarjorie Morningstar,\u201d heralded a new era for American Jews. The novel followed the journey of a New York Jewish protagonist no different from any other bright and beautiful young woman of the era, an image further cemented by Natalie Wood\u2019s portrayal of Marjorie in the 1958 film version.<\/p>\n
Not since the 1927 film \u201cThe Jazz Singer,\u201d starring Al Jolson, had a movie shown Jewish religious scenes. But unlike \u201cThe Jazz Singer,\u201d Marjorie and her religion were not exoticized \u2014 Jewishness was portrayed as middle class and American. With Marjorie, Wouk had succeeded in making a story about Jews into an American story.<\/p>\n
Marjorie also marked a turning point in his writing career. With confidence that he had readers who would follow him to less popular subjects, Wouk\u2019s fourth book, his first work of nonfiction, took on the subject of Orthodox Judaism. Published in 1959, \u201cThis Is My God\u201d was a primer about the Jewish religion intended for both Jewish and non-Jewish readers.<\/p>\n
As other American celebrities would do, Wouk used his fame to draw attention to his little-understood religion. Serialized in the Los Angeles Times, \u201cThis Is My God\u201d introduced readers to such Jewish particulars as the laws of kashrut and family purity and the holidays of Sukkot and Shavuot. The book showed, through anecdotes from Wouk\u2019s glamorous Manhattan life, that it was possible to be both a modern American and Orthodox.<\/p>\n
At a time when Jews still encountered quotas at universities and discrimination in hiring and housing, Wouk\u2019s example provided inspiration. \u201cThis Is My God\u201d became a popular bar mitzvah and confirmation gift for young Jews of all movements.<\/p>\n
Born in the Bronx borough of New York City on May 27, 1915, Wouk was the second of three children of Esther and Abraham Wouk, both immigrants from Belarus. Abraham Wouk began work as a laundry laborer and found financial success in the laundry business. Herman spent his early years in the Bronx receiving basic Hebrew training from his grandfather. His childhood included the teasing and bullying that was common for bookish boys in rough neighborhoods.<\/p>\n
From an early age, Wouk found a haven in reading, family and Judaism. After graduating from the public Townsend Harris High School, Wouk entered Columbia University, where he served as editor of its humor magazine. He also took courses at Yeshiva University.<\/p>\n
Upon graduating, Wouk briefly abandoned his religious lifestyle when he became a radio dramatist, writing for the comedian Fred Allen. Although the work was lucrative, Wouk felt a void in a life without Jewish learning and religion, and he eventually returned to his previous level of observance.<\/p>\n
In the coming years he would reside in the Virgin Islands, New York\u2019s Fire Island, Washington, D.C., Manhattan and Palm Springs, California \u2014 and in all those locales he was involved in setting up Jewish study and prayer groups.<\/p>\n
Following Pearl Harbor, Wouk joined the Navy and served in the Pacific, where he was an officer aboard two destroyers, participated in eight invasions and won several battle stars. Wouk also started to write \u201cAurora Dawn\u201d while aboard ship. After Wouk sent part of a draft to one of his former Columbia professors, the professor connected Wouk with an editor, and a contract followed.<\/p>\n
While his ship was being repaired in California, Wouk met Betty Sarah Brown, a graduate of the University of Southern California and a civilian Navy employee. After her conversion to Judaism, the couple married in 1945 and had three sons. Betty, who died in 2011, would eventually become her husband\u2019s literary agent.<\/p>\n
Wouk is survived by two sons, Nathaniel and Joseph, and three grandchildren. His oldest son, Abraham, died in a 1951 swimming pool accident.<\/p>\n
(Rachel Gordan teaches American Jewish studies at Boston University and Brandeis University. She interviewed Herman Wouk at his home in Palm Springs in February 2011.)<\/em><\/p>\n
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