The Handsome Jew is the English language translation of Al-Yah奴d墨 al-岣つ乴墨 (丕賱賷賴賵丿賷 丕賱丨丕賱賷 in Arabic) by Ali al-Muqri (毓賱賷 丕賱賲賯乇賷), translated by Mbarek Sryfi and published by Dar Arab Press. The original Arabic edition was published in Yemen in 2009 and focused on the treatment of Yemenite Jews - a community present in Yemen for centuries before their departure en masse to Israel in the 20th century. In its original context, The Handsome Jew was quite provocative. The story follows Fatima, the educated daughter of a mufti, who falls in love with a Jewish man, Salem, eventually marrying him after a clandestine courtship. The main characters are portrayed with humanity while their relatives and community are shown to be less than tolerant. The most striking aspect of this work is separating the Jewish characters from Zionist ideology, a significant move in contemporary Yemen. But reading this in North America in 2022, it's hard to appreciate the significance of this work. In the context in which I read this, the story reads like an overfamiliar fable without much to hold my interest. I have read countless other tales of courtship involving members from opposing factions. There are also multiple passage where Jewish characters call for genocide of Muslims and prophesy worldwide Jewish domination, using words that could be lifted straight from the pen of a conspiracy theorist. In context, the passages are meant to distinguish Salem and more moderate Jews from extremists in their community. But clearly, this is problematic in a Western context. What may have been attempt to portray Jewish characters in a sympathetic light in the original has quite the opposite effect in translation, reinforcing stereotype and caricature. Issues like this call out for a translator's note or other editorial device to contextualize the book鈥檚 more troubling aspects for English language readers.