André Aciman (January 2, 1951)

I've enjoyed one or two books and articles by André Aciman, and once heard him do a reading of Proust (I think) as part of a concert. His book Out of Egypt is both a personal memoir and a history of the end of Jewish life in his native Egypt, written with both chilling realism and delightful humor. He's both a scholar and an interesting writer on many subjects, not just on Jewish subjects. Here's a quote from him that I found somewhere: "I am a provisional, uncertain Jew. I am a Jew who loves Judaism provided it’s on the opposite shore, provided others practice it and leave me to pursue my romance of assimilation, which I woo with the assiduity of a suitor who is determined to remain a bachelor."