Edna Fernandes - Journalist, Author on religion, politics, foreign affairs » Last Jews of Kerala

Talk at National Portrait Gallery Lit Festival: 15 March 2010

admin — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 08:59:28 +0000

I’ll be giving a talk on my book “The Last Jews of Kerala” at the National Portrait Gallery’s Contemporary Literary Festival on 15 March 2010 at 7pm in the Ondaatje Wing Theatre. Do take a look at the line-up which is focusing on Asian literature this year. See the link

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.

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.