The Hulk, Superman, the Terminator; they are all modern popular culture echoes of the golem, that mystical, artificial man of legend, a sort of friendly Jewish version of Frankenstein's
monster. By focusing on the golem in key literary texts and films, The Golem Returns explores the role that popular culture has played in the formation of modern Jewish culture. Widely
seen as an icon of authentically Jewish lore, the golem has inspired a broad range of writers across ethnic, cultural, and national affiliations in Europe, the United States, and Israel.
Tracing the popular culture constructions of the golem by non-Jewish and Jewish writers since the early 1800s, Cathy Gelbin argues that golem representations have come full circle and that
popular culture, despite its subversion of clearly demarcated ethnic origins, has played an important role in the construction of modern Jewish culture.
The Golem Returns will be of interest to scholars of German and Jewish Studies, as well as readers examining popular culture, film, and the illustrated novel.
Cathy S. Gelbin is Senior Lecturer in German Studies at the University of Manchester.
