Edna Fernandes - Journalist, Author on religion, politics, foreign affairs » Cochin

March 1 2009: Jewish Book Week

edna — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 09:13:45 +0000

On 1 March at 2pm, Edna Fernandes and fellow author Sophie Judah discussed the history of India’s Jewish Diaspora and its decline in numbers as part of the Jewish Book Week Literary Festival in London’s Bloomsbury. The discussion ranged from the internal conflict of those Jews who left India for Israel as well as the story of the racial divide that plagued Kerala’s Jews for four centuries.

Sunday Times Best Travel Books 2008: The Last Jews of Kerala

edna — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 09:30:48 +0000

The Last Jews of Kerala was included in the Sunday Times’ list of the Best Travel Books of 2008. See the link for details.

US Jewish Book Council review

edna — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 12:57:30 +0000

The Last Jews of Kerala details the fascinating history of the 2,000 year old little-known Jewish community in India’s Kerala region, from its inception to its apex to its impending extinction. Author Edna Fernandes gives the work a human side by describing not only the history but her interactions with the present generation of these Jews, who now number fewer than fifty. The reader joins Fernandes in what feels like her personal journey of discovery. The subject is fascinating and poignant, the journey both languid and intense. Fernandes’ strongest suit is her ability to introduce a theme, seamlessly interweave it within the story, and conclude by unfolding a cohesive tapestry. Readers interested in Jewish history will not be disappointed.

Sunday Times

edna — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 20:55:49 +0000

A touching investigative account…Fernandes movingly captures the sombre, embattled mood of this population in ‘countdown mode’, all too painfully aware that they have already become a ‘souvenir people’” Read Review at Times Online