Non­fic­tion

Search­ing for Bubbe Fis­ch­er: The Path to Mah Jongg Wisdom

  • From the Publisher
June 3, 2015

Mah jongg is more pop­u­lar than ever in the Jew­ish com­mu­ni­ty. Tak­ing one’s seat at the mah jongg table has been a rite of pas­sage among Jew­ish women (and men) for almost 100 years. Sets are pre­cious fam­i­ly heir­looms. The mere sound of tiles being called out (“One bam, two crak!”) evokes child­hood mem­o­ries of late-night liv­ing rooms or after­noons at the swim club, link­ing the past and present gen­er­a­tions. The game still pro­vides a men­tal chal­lenge as well as an oppor­tu­ni­ty to make new friends and form strong emo­tion­al bonds. Novice play­er Karen Gooen loved the game and want­ed to take her skills to the next lev­el. She hoped to find the ulti­mate Mah Jongg Maven — the myth­i­cal Bubbe Fis­ch­er — and learn all her secrets. This mem­oir and man­u­al shares Gooen’s quest and the wis­dom that she found along the way. Told with self-dep­re­cat­ing humor and a great deal of insight, this book will appeal to play­ers at any skill lev­el — from the begin­ner to the sea­soned expert, and even to Bubbe herself!

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