Book Review: Hunting in America by Tehila Hakimi translated by Joanna Chen

The unnamed woman character of author and poet Tehila Hakimi´s debut novel Hunting in America, translated into English by Joanna Chen (here is an interesting dialogue between the author, the translator and the Jewish Book Council about the book) got promoted to the American branch of the Israeli company. A three-year contract as product manager, and the promise of a new life.

She moves, learns from the mistakes of addressing her colleagues in a very direct frontal way, not getting used with the tasteless food, and got invited by her direct supervisor to hunting. Weekend after weekend, this will be her intermezzo that makes the difference between work and non-work. And as she advances into the experience of the hunting her life takes a dark edge. Her job is unsafe, she is getting involved with David, her supervisor and hunting partner. 

First and foremost, except hunting - Hakimi brought the topic as a common bridge between Israel and USA - there is nothing else happening to the character´s life. (and here there are again similarities between the two cultures). The daily work instills importance and relevance to the day, consumes the energy. What else is left ? Therefore, the confusing experience of the hunting, where deers may acquire human features. Can you imagine the exhaustion of being took out of the safety of the office and the project management tasks? Work is an alienation (and the protagonist is fully alienated from herself during her intensive working episodes, manifesting her eating disorder) but not-work is a hallucination.

The timeline of the story is mixed, with the episodes leading to her American chapter being mixed with the accounts of the present time. The counting - ´on my first hunting in America...´ - split the story into different benchmarks. It is like an effort to make sense of a lonely life, who does not exist outside the work framework.

This is a short novel, that I´ve listen in few hours as audiobooks, read by Sharone Halevy - her use of the right Israeli accent at the right time in the story added more authenticity to the audio-reading.  

I´ve found the angle of the book very interesting, but sometimes a book built around a thesis may have shortcomings in terms of other elements, such as character development etc. But it is a concise explanation of the idea and would definitely love to read more by Hakimi, especially her poetry, hopefully in original.

Rating: 4 stars

There Was Night and There Was Morning by Sara Sherbill

If one will have the curiosity, as I did, to do a bit of search of rabbi Daniel Sherbill, the rabbi father of Sara Sherbill, he or she will only stumble upon heartwarming obituaries, mentioning him as a kind and helpful person. 

Coming to religion during the 1960s, Sherbill served as a rabbi in several communities across America. Displaying a spiritual yet anchored in the Orthodox restrictions type of belief, he was a different person in relationship with his family and with some of the younger - way too younger - women members of his communities. He was praised for bringing Jews back to Judaism, in the midst of his hippie-like, denominational type of religious practice.

His daughter, Sara, the author of the recently published memoir There Was Night and There Was Morning - I recommend to have access to the book as I did, in audiobook format read by the author, an to feel the emotions of accounting the abuse and trauma from her own voice and emotional breaks - knew a different person. And so did her mother, and siblings too. Prone to terrible anger attacks and violence, he was also a sexual abuser, targeting very young girls from his community, luring them into drugs, as he ended up as a drug addicted too.

Sherbill´s memoir is very much focused on the tentacular outreach of trauma, sometimes inherited, that can permeate our lives in so many unexpected ways. First and foremost though, it affects our way to trust other people, to position our relationships, our human connections. It may make you believe that the world is full of predators and bad people hiding behind a pious mask. It pushes people out of religion, any kind of religion, although sometimes by converting old rituals into daily routines that keep the life go on, 

It is a very emotional story although I struggle a bit trying to understand the type of community it was, and how it really operated in real time. But for the storry itself, it is largely irrelevant, as we are left with the right approach and knowledge of trauma that is more important than the context.

Rating: 4.5 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered by the publisher in exchange for an honest review

 

Kissing Girls on Shabbat by Dr. Sara Glass

If you read a certain amount of books, more than the average anyway, on a specific topic or belonging to a well-defined genre, sooner or later you will become satiated with the topic. There is a certain pattern repeated over and over again, with only personal details filled in. Take, for instance, the case of the off the derech memoirs, out of which I´ve read a good bunch of in the last years, as the genre is becoming more and more popularity.

You have the person who does not fit in, the oppressive religious conformity that cannot be tolerated any more, following an illumination-kind of acknowledging the absurdity of some or all religious tenets. Afterwards, there is the fight or the loneliness, faced with the lack of skills for economic survival and very often the struggle to keep the children or the broken heart for not being able to keep them.

However, despite the overall predictability, I will not give up reading those memoirs, because the more repetitive they are, the clearer the certain trends within religious communities - I read in general memoirs of getting out of faith: there is a new generation that may find different ways of positioning towards religion and willingly or not, even the most closed groups will be suprepticiously changed one day.

Take, for instance, the Gur Hasidim, who are practicing very strict marital relationships, considered by many as oppressive: not using the given name for the wife, separate walking ways, discourage of any closeness between spouses unless for procreation. Being born a Gur in America, experiencing queerness from an early age, Dr. Sara Glass succeeded to write her own story: becoming independent, cutting the dependency ties with the community while keeping her precious children.

Manipulated into religion by the sake of her children and the religious background of her family - ´A kosher woman does the will of her husband´ -, she had to play the appearances, even after her divorce, otherwise she may have lose them. The power of the batei din - the religious tribunal deciding, among other, in issues of divorce and child custody - may overcome that of the secular authorities, especially when the woman does not have the proper knowledge and advice for checking the content of the documents she is signing. You are not represented by a lawyer in the front of the religious courts thus the risk of being completely unaware of the legal consequences of the documents signed. Religious communities are tied by trust, obviously, why do someone may need a lawyer anyway?

Kissing Girls on Shabbat that I had the chance to have access to in audiobook format, read by the author, focus less on how bad, backwarded and generally disgusting the community is - as it is the case in at least one such memoir - but on her own story. Her own work to achieve the best version of herself, the engagement trying to help people in a similar situation, her doubts and obsessive fears of being taken away her children. Also, more importantly, the importance of actively being involved in helping distressed people, unable to get over by themselves of their mental health struggle, overcoming generational or recent family trauma. 

It is love not hate or revenge that motivates her life. At 24, she was the mother of two children, at 32 she came out, and established her career as a therapist while being together with her children. Education gives power, including to gently overcome one own´s struggles.

Kissing Girls on Shabbat - whose collage-like cover is also worth mentioning - is a moving testimony of those strengths.

Rating: 4.5 stars

About ´Fate´ by Zeruya Shalev (translated into German by Anne Birkenhauer)

 

Fate (translated into German as Schicksal by Anne Birkenhauer, who translated among others David Grossman or Yehuda Amichai) is from all the books by Zeruya Shalev I´ve read until now, the most Israel-oriented. All of her books are taking place in Israel and do include elements of the everyday life in the country, particularly terorist threats or the religious context, but the main topics mainly have to do with relationship, betrayal, love and pain (the book before, Pain was by far my favorite, for the complexity of the characters and the surgical precision exploring suffering).

Fate - that was completed during the Covid pandemic - has a completely different spin and is partly inspired by Shalev´s own family history, namely her father´s. After the death of her father, a famous brain researcher, Menachem (Mino) Rubin, her daughter, Atara wants to find out the woman her father was married before, Rachel. Atara, an architect specialized in historical monuments, lives in Haifa (like Shalev herself). Rachel, whose son is a Breslev hasid, met Atara´s father during their time in Lechi, an armed group active during the British Mandate whose aim was, among others, to push the Brits out of the country, with any price. 

Most of the book is an exploration of memory, the ways in which we remember. Memory is an emotional business and its authenticity is at a large extent doubtful. The names of the Lehi members killed are repeated in the story as a mantra. Likewise, the story of the doll stucked with explosive who blew up. For many reasons, the history of Lehi in the creation of the state of Israel is rarely mentioned openly - compared to Irgun or Palmach, for instance. In the account include in Fate, they look like promoters of a Jewish-Arab entente and co-existence, with the only enemy being the Brits, which is a too edulcorated and romanticized version for my taste. I would have loved much more a rough version of a Lehi member, maybe confused, violent, idealistic, but more authentic than by being assigned ideas and intentions that just resonate with current political concerns. This distorted voice is a big pity for the overall representation of Lehi, given that they were, in fact, a very interesting movement, to be understood and placed in the equally complex context of the times.

I had access to the book in audiobook format, read by actressed Maria Schrader and Eva Meckbach. 

Rating: 3 stars 

Book Review: An Observant Wife by Naomi Ragen

 

One year after reading An Unorthodox Match, I am done with the sequel, An Observant Wife which follows the beginning of the married life of Leah - former Lola, a BT (baal teshuva, repented Jew who returned to Orthodox Judaism) - and her husband, Yaakov. I had access to the book in the audiobook format, read by Gabra Zackman. 

Although a sequel, it stands on its own and one can read it independently without the risk of not being able to understand what it is about. There are several useful mentions about the past events taking place in the previous book. I´ve found this book better structured and balanced than the previous one, approaching very stringent topics for the Haredi community in America and elsewhere, such as acknowledging mental health and sexual molesters. 

One of the reasons why I am devouring anything written by Naomi Ragen - actually, I´ve listened to this audiobook in two days and I hardly wanted to take a too longer break curious about what is to come - is that compared to other authors approaching the ultra-Orthodox world with a critical eye she is doing it without the black-and-white perspective. Knowledgeable both in terms of practice and halachic standards, Ragen creates a world of many nuances, human with all its highs and lows. It is more or less how this world - in Boro Park or Kirias Joel or Bnei Brak - operates in real life. Therefore, the characters of her books - An Observant Wife included - look very authentic, you can even represent them in flesh in the front of your reader´s eyes.

Shaindel, Yaakov´s older daughter, who was initially a fierce opposant to this marriage - as usually within a very religious community those returning to Judaism are considered with a very critical eye and may be never fully trusted - is experiencing not only the first teenage awkward rebelious moments, but also a possible beginning of a depression, a sickness that prematurely killed her mother - who could not cope with post-partum confusion and committed suicide, a mortal sin in her conservative community. Her innocent adventure with an OTD - off the derech, a label applied to those who have left the righteous path of Orthodox, observant Judaism - who happens to be the son of her school principal is set by her parents in the context of a larger emotional trauma that may need a professional - psychological support. As the person recommended by the local rabbi and the principal is in fact a sexual predator, Yaakov and Leah are trying to publicly reveal his misbehavior, but they will become the victims of a mafia-like row of attacks against their own physical integrity as well as their professional status. Is this situation ´gam zu l´tova´ - all for good - or they are in fact caught in a complex situation when they have to follow the religious authority?

As usual in Ragen´s books, the characters are complex, able to face the manifolds of their complicated situations. However, there are a couple of details that caught my attention which are slippery. For instance, the description of the first physical contact between Yaakov and Leah which is neither cast or passionate, and is presented as a very awkward encounter which is unusual for two adults that were having relationships before. Another aspect which was out of place was Shaindel´s voice which sounded sometimes inadequate for her age and background: too reflexive and unusually philosophical. Also, in the discussion about Leah´s BT status, there is not a single person who, in fact, may mention that she is a born Jew, no matter how much she sinned before becoming religious. Strangely for communities where the everyday life is regulated by the expectations of holy events - Shabbes, the holidays - there is no clear mention of family reunions around the Shabbes table etc. As for Leah herself, although she is obviously a BT, calling the kids with ´sweetie´ and ´sweethearts´ sounds very goyishe. 

Despite those observations, I fully enjoyed the latest book by Naomi Ragen, for the complexity of the topics as well as for the strength of the writing. An Observant Wife has memorable characters and, as usual in the case of this author, the women, no matter the degree of observance, are strong and can so easily make the world a more nuanced and better place.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Book Review: The Periodic Table by Primo Levi

 

I don´t remember when I´ve read last something written by Primo Levi. I remember only how shaken I was every time by the very easy way to tell stories, terrible stories. There is a detachment in the pace and the voice of the every sentences that one can achieve only after being overrun by the sadness of the world. After all, there is no hope in the world so let´s take it easy and keep writing stories inspired by this cruel world.

The Periodic Table, which I had access to as audiobook, read by the late Neville Jason, was based on the translation from Italian by Raymond Rosenthal. Levi who experienced Auschwitz and shared his experience in the devastating If This is a Man was a chemist by formation. The Periodic Table is a wise chemical thread of stories of Italian Jews, before, during and shortly after the Shoah, mostly from Piedomont, where the author was originary from. Each story is associated with a chemical substance, with the main element of the story emulating the features of the element. 

I´ve listened to the short stories - listening to the audiobook lasted around 3 weeks, because always felt the need to take a break in between readings and think about the essence and message of the account - careful, looking for both the fiction and the historical background - Shoah, local Jewish history. There is no judgement, no screams, no tears. Just the monotous voice - an excellent audio rendition, by the way - and the collection of senteces after sentences making up the collection. Such an art of storytelling is not taught or learnt. It just comes out of, from the deep ends of the being. 

Book Review: City of A Thousand Gates by Rebecca Sacks

For a long time I haven´t devoured a book on a Jewish/Israeli topic with such a pleasure and curiosity...

I´ve spent my every single free time this weekend listening to City of Thousand Gates by Rebecca Sacks, narrated by Lameece Issaq. I am reading a lot of literature produced in Israel or on Israeli/Jewish topics (the regular blog posts on my blog are the testimony), but I´ve been rarely impressed either by the topic or the literary depictions. This book succeeded though to deeply impress me. 

With an impressive cast of characters, covering a wide variety of individualities, among both Jews and Arabs in Israel, City of Thousand Gates brings people together and separate them, following the unknown destiny´s ways.

The cast of characters is impressive: from the West Bank anglos to the Palestinian academic, the bio mom from America married with an Israeli to the young religious teenager freshly engaged that want to have a taste of the secular dating game. There is also Vera, a German journalist interested to report about Hebron and Palestinian topics, that used to snort coke with Israeli in Berlin and moved to Israel for almost the same reasons Israeli are - or used to - moving to Berlin (minus the price of Milky). There are also Palestinians applying for Israeli passport, checkpoints and tattooed soccer players, both Jewish and Arabs.

Sacks spent a couple of years in Israel, particularly the West Bank, and through the characters, their interactions - ways of talking - and the descriptions of their locations I´ve felt instantly back in Israel. This includes also the various ´anglo´ slangs as well as those used in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. There are real people we are talking about, not some dolls-like inanimated golems brought to life for the sake of answering the market requirements when it comes to topics pertinent to Israel. There are all those contradictions, denial - as in living in a place and gently refusing to ignore its realities and hardships - and the humour, the best medicine for the everyday life under those conditions. 

From the literary point of view, the author manages admirably the art of switching POWs and portraying people through their interactions and human reactions. Although the humanity is what makes us all, members of the human race, the specificities of the geography, history - both global and personal - as well as the language make us individuals with special features and particular reactions to life encounters.

Made up of different short stories with characters whose destinies intertwin - after all, it´s a small country - City of Thousand Gates maps the humans of Israel and their everyday existence in a world where history doesn´t let you breath normally. It may turn grotesque sometimes, as in the case of Emily, that shortly after escaping a terrorist attack, makes a selfie at the location of the explosion. But more grotesque is sometimes the view of people from outside, anyone, misreading facts and looking for symbols where there is none.

Rating: 4.5 stars