The Conversation

Overview

David Goldstein is a fairly typical Jewish-American college student. All he really knows about his Jewish identity is that he’s expected to marry a Jewish girl and that the State of Israel is important, but that’s about it. In his freshman year, though, even as a brainy and beautiful non-Jewish coed catches his eye, David begins to wrestle with some of the major philosophical questions. Is the purpose of life just to seek pleasure? Is there an objectively good way to live one’s life? Over the next four years, as his romantic and personal lives take several twists and turns, David begins to reflect more deeply on issues of faith, religion, and heritage. In this fresh, unique novel, readers follow David on a philosophical, spiritual, and intensely personal quest as he learns about God and Judaism—as well as a few other things—along the way.

Reviews

“Most surprising, perhaps, given its attempt to both defend a Jewish position and teach philosophy, the book is actually fun to read—I really wanted to find out what eventually happened to the book’s two central protagonists!”  —Menachem Kellner, author, Must a Jew Believe Anything? and Maimonides’ Confrontation with Mysticism

“[A] rare combination of an intellectually engaging and enjoyable read. It enlivens various philosophical and religious positions, and then puts Judaism into an animated conversation with them. The results are rich in narrative, tradition and ideas.”  —Faydra Shapiro, author, National Jewish Book Award–winning Building Jewish Roots

Author Biography

Joshua Golding is a professor of philosophy at Bellarmine University in Louisville, Kentucky. He is the author of Rationality and Religious Theism and has published articles in Faith and Philosophy, Modern Schoolman, Religious Studies, Torah U-Madda Journal, and Tradition. He lives in the Louisville area.