Djakke Raine

5747 Djakke Raine

The novels' central character is a West Coast-born red diaper baby in his mid-thirties. It chronicles his decision to investigate his Jewishness while getting married and having a son. The novel explores the fringes of the Jewish Renewal movement, as well as exalts the holiness of an old shul in Petaluma. The novel trails his relationship with his father, a radical psychotherapist who does not approve of his son's life, or his recent infatuation with mystical Judaism with Gershom Sholem. The amazing aspect of 5747 is the capturing of the actual soundscape of the times through monitoring the early days of talk radio, including right-wing talk. Politics provide the background to the personal, extraordinarily relevant to the present.