Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots

This is supposedly a memoir about a young Hasidic Jewish woman who leaves the Hasidic community and becomes 'secular', if you will.  There is some controversy about the book and its veracity.  I didn't realize that until after I finished it today.  I have been trying to just read books without gathering any external information that may mar my reading experience. I try not to read any reviews or press about the book until I've finished.

With that being said, frankly this book bored me.  I wanted to like it.  I wanted to cheer for the woman who felt trapped by tradition and was barred from getting a 'real' education.  I thought based on the title that maybe something crazy happened that caused her to make the break and obtain her freedom, but nothing really happens.  She is married off at age seventeen and the marriage has problems and she leaves.  I'm oversimplifying it, but that's because prior to age seventeen absolutely nothing of interest happens in this book. She goes to school, but sneaks secular books like Pride & Prejudice and Little Women home to read.  Honestly, even after she gets married, not much happens. She and her husband argue a lot and have some sexual problems, but nothing glaring that hasn't happened in other bad marriages. If the author wasn't Jewish the book would just be about a woman who vaguely divorces her husband.  She doesn't offer many details about how exactly she escaped this Hasidic world.

After finishing the book, I started to read the reviews and found out that there was controversy about the book.  There were some reports that parts of the book were fabricated and she only wrote the book so she could fund her escape from the Hasidic community.  I read these claims and since I didn't like the book, I simply didn't care if the story was true or not.  I feel like the book is so boring it has to be true because if you're going to make something up, wouldn't you make it interesting?  You can definitely skip this one.

The Devil in Pew Number Seven

I have mixed feeling about this book. The message is a good one. It is about the power of forgiveness.  Throughout the book, I would vacillate between thinking the family was crazy for staying put in that Podunk town and thinking all the townspeople were just plain crazy.

This is a true story about a family of four who is terrorized by the man who lives across the street from them. The father in the family is the pastor at the local church and the man who lives across the street from them is a mentally disturbed power hungry man of influence.  Basically when the townsfolk really start to appreciate the pastor and care less about this other crazy man, he tries to assert his authority by setting off explosives in the family's backyard and riddling their car and house with bullets on occasion.  This madness goes on for about five years before finally someone dies. In the midst of all this destruction and chaos, the pastor stays put because he believes the Lord has led him to preach in this town and he does not want to abandon his flock.  Meanwhile, the psychological damage to his wife, son and daughter is outlined in great detail by the author (who happens to be the daughter all grown up now).

I understand the power of forgiveness, however the willingness of the father to keep his family in harm's way ultimately leads to death, loss and grief.  I kept wondering if he knew that it is possible to forgive an individual from a distant location.  You can pray for your enemies while residing in another state.  I felt like so much of the sorrow in the story could have been prevented if he packed his family up and left.  I'm reminded of the parable about a farmer who was caught in a flood. He prayed to God for help or a miracle. The waters were not too high yet and a friend rode by in a boat. He offered a ride to man. The man replied that he had prayed to God and was waiting for a miracle. The friend rode on.  The waters continued to rise until finally the man was on his roof. He continued to pray to God for a miracle.  A helicopter flew by to survey the area and noticed the man on his roof. The occupants of the helicopter threw a ladder down and told the man to climb up.  The man refused, saying that God was going to save him.  The helicopter flew away.  Eventually the man was swept away by the floodwaters and drowned. When he reached Heaven, he was angry with God.  He told him he prayed and prayed but God never saved him.  He was accusatory and asked God why didn't he help him or save him. God simply said, "I sent you a boat and a helicopter".

That's what I thought about when I read this book. The signs were there.  The opportunities to leave were there.  I guess one could say that God was trying to tell them to get the hell out of that town. The pastor believed God was telling him that there was more work to be done in that community.  This was the mid-1970s and I wasn't there so who know what God put on that man's heart.  I do believe though, that I would not have allowed my young children to be terrorized with explosions and gunshots if I could help it. I would have packed my family up, thanked the Lord that we all got out alive and prayed for that crazy man to be healed. I would have been praying in a safe non-bullet riddled location though!

Overall, the book was interesting but it went on little too long.  I don't highly recommend it, but if you are interested in stories about forgiveness and mercy pick it up.

All That I Need

I just found out recently that Francis Ray died.  When I heard that, I impulsively bought one of her books for my Kindle.  I rarely buy romance books. I usually pick one up at the library when I need a break from the "serious" books.  Anyway, I recently took a trip to Los Angeles and this worked as a quick plane book.  One that could be completed in two round trip flights lasting approximately 5 hours each.

I think I may have read this book too soon after this one. I really can only read a book like this on average about once per year.  Or, if I read more than one per year, the first one has to be in January and the second one around November/December.  It's only been four months.  Not enough time has passed for me to appreciate the cheesy romance this time around. It was the same predictable story.  I outlined the formula  plot for you in my previous review of Francis Ray's work, but it never hurts to go over it once more.

Boy meets girl; girl is reluctant; girl isn't reluctant beyond page 60; nobody wants to admit they are in love; big argument or misunderstanding; something potentially tragic or dangerous happens; then everyone admits they actually ARE in love...the end!

There you have it again, in a nutshell. This book ended kind of abruptly too because it is part of a series.  The next book in the series is called All That I Desire and the events of that book are foreshadowed towards the end of this one.  I felt kind of "meh" about this installment.  I think I just went for the guilty pleasure book too soon without reading enough heavy/non-fiction/cerebral material prior to picking it up.  However, if you are in the market for a book like this for your summer enjoyment, go for it.

Americanah

I will confess that I am mildly obsessed with this author recently. I subscribe to The New Yorker fiction podcast.  One of the episodes is Adichie reading a story by Jamaica Kincaid. Her voice is mesmerizing.  It's built for story telling. Then I saw a TED talk she gave regarding "The Danger of a Single Story". Again, her voice, combined with the fluidity and beauty of her words, was mesmerizing to me. In March she had a short story published in The New Yorker, which I found out was actually a part of this novel. So, a few months ago in May, I found out she was going to be presenting her book Americanah at one of the Free Library's author events. Of course I went and bought the book and had it signed. She complimented my hair you guys!!!  But I digress. The point is, I am a total fan girl so this review may be skewed.

The book spans about fifteen to twenty years and follows two Nigerians, Ifemelu and Obinze. The two were a couple in high school and throughout their early university days.  However, as political conditions cripple the education system in Nigeria, Ifemelu finds her way to study in America.  Obinze is supposed to follow, but fate places him on a different path.  The two tell their stories in separate interwoven chapters and the common thread is that they have never forgotten one another.  But is this a love story? In some ways, yes.  As you read it though, you realize it's so much more. The themes that Adichie touches upon are black hair, immigration struggles, internal transitions, race, and fidelity.  The love examined is both the love for one another as well as the love of one's country. The work is beautifully written. It's lyrical and introspective.  The observations are poignant and sentimental. I greatly enjoyed the book, but again this may be because I already loved the idea of it from the beginning.

Here is a link to The New Yorker story if you want to get a taste of her writing.
Here is a link to the Free Library podcast from her Author Event.
Here is a link to her TED talk: The Danger of a Single Story.

Murder in the Yoga Store

This book was so disturbing. I had not heard about this real-life case, but the book popped up on my "Best Books (so far) in 2013" list on Amazon.  It was only $2 for Kindle so I downloaded it and read it.  It is a short book, probably better listed as long-form journalism, coming in at close to ninety pages.  Since I was not familiar with the crime, the entire story and all the details were new to me. I was disgusted by the brutality of the crime. I was saddened by the motive, which was completely and utterly  asinine!  I already hold a very fragile faith in humanity and this just made me shake my head.  Stories like this make you want to give up on people and live off the grid.

The story outlines the murder of a young woman in a Lululemon store in Bethesda, Maryland in 2011. Bethesda is a pretty affluent part of Maryland so it was a crime that shocked that community and had people living in fear.  After the initial shock of the crime, the investigation and its results just add salt to the wound.  If you delve deeper, there is also something to be said about how humans do not connect with one another anymore. This particular crime was overheard by employees at an Apple store next door and they did not even bother to call 911.  I was disgusted all over again when I read that part of the story.  If you have a strong stomach and an interest in the law and forensics this is a quick read, but it may haunt you for a while.

The Writing Life

This book was discussed in a weekly newsletter I receive via email from this awesome website. If you have a chance, you really should peruse the offerings there and support it. Anyway, I really do enjoy reading about writing and the process of writing. This book came to me at just the right time in my own writing life.  I have an unfinished work that has about 25,000+ words so far. However, I haven't added to it in at least two months and I fear it is languishing into nonexistence. So to read this book where the author so accurately describes the inner turmoil of writing was refreshing for me.  I can't really explain a synopsis here because the title is basically what the book is about. Anyone who has ever written will understand that the writing life can be filled with varied experiences and this book describes some of those experiences. I would only recommend this book if you are interested in writing or the psychological aspects of writing.  I got the book from the library, but I enjoyed it so much that I'm contemplating adding it to my personal bookshelf. Below are a few quotes that I stood out to me for various reasons.

"People who read are not too lazy to flip on the television; they prefer books. I cannot imagine a sorrier pursuit than struggling for years to write a book that attempts to appeal to people who do not read in the first place."

"There is no shortage of good days. It is good lives that are hard to come by.  A life of good days lived in the senses is not enough. The life of sensation is the life of greed; it requires more and more.  The life of the spirit requires less and less; time is ample and its passage is sweet. Who would call a day spent reading a good day? But a life spent reading - that is a good life."

"How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives."

The last quote was the most profound for me right now as I observe my writing/reading life and my daily life merge.