I started my discovery of Pear
Abraham's books with the Romance Reader that, due to the frequent mentions in
relation with Unorthodox did not impress me at the first sight. Later, I
discover by myself how much the author of Unorthodox tried to copy some ideas
from this book even though she is centuries of style behind. The story in itself
it is not very sophisticated: Rachel Benjamin, the daughter of a Hasidic rabbi,
grows up and wants to build her independence. As the oldest daughter she is
supposed to be a role model and to marry first, but her hunger for knowledge
and curiosity creates conflicts between her reality and the religious duties
and her imaginary world. Abraham, with a background of Hasidic rebel herself,
gathered in Rachel the seeds of many free-by-heart girls of the 20-21st
centuries fighting with the various pressures of the religious life.
The story of Deena and Daniel
from Giving Up America was more interesting for me. There are not too many characters
here and the intensity of the interior conflict is different: Deena married
Daniel against the warnings of his father, a Hasid from Jerusalem. Daniel
cheats on her and the simple American style - 'I kissed her, so what?' - but
she cannot go further, even though they decided recently to have a house of
their own. The colors chosen by Deena to paint the house are telling a story
about her universe and her longing for a different life. However, what does
this difference mean could be the subject of another book. She does not say she
would like her Hasidic life back, but more than one thing from Daniel's behaviour
alienates her. She is a gentle person that still looks for herself, and the ups
and downs of her inner tensions are more interesting than taking a decision as such.
The talent of the author made an interesting story from a relatively simple
fact and this made me look soon for other books by Pearl Abraham.
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