The bar or bat mitzvah is the coming-of-age ritual in Judaism, where 13-year-old boys or girls are now accountable for who they are and their actions, not their parents. Author Eli Zuzovsky has expanded this definition and applied it to queer people in his scathing and audacious debut novel, “Mazeltov.”

Our hero, Adam Weizmann, is less concerned about learning and reciting Hebrew and worried more about his developing sexuality. He’s also a precocious, lonely, aspiring actor dealing with stage fright, as he prepares to star in an upcoming school play, having been goaded by his flamboyant theater instructor, Vee. As Zuzovsky will reveal, all these and other factors will compel anxious, self-doubting Adam to define his identity vis-à-vis his own costly version of manhood.

It’s Tel Aviv 2009

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