THE MARRYING OF CHANI KAUFMAN by Eve Harris

June 25, 2014

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I found this book on the long list for the Mann Booker prize in 2013 and it was published here in the U.S. by Grove Press in April.

I always find books about the Orthodox Jewish community fascinating, it’s a whole different culture from anything I’ve personally experienced. This story is set in London, which adds another layer to the story.

Chani Kaufman is getting married. She’s 19, she’s had three dates with Baruch, who is looking for a wife before he goes off to Jerusalem to rabbinical school. Baruch comes from a very wealthy family, but Chani does not. Her father is a good man, a rabbi himself, but of a small congregation.

Baruch’s mother is none too pleased with her son’s choice. She wants him to find a rich girl to subsidize his studies, and to keep things on an even playing field. But Baruch sticks to his guns and Chani thwarts her future mother-in-law’s plans to end the relationship.

The book is about these families, and also about the Rebbetzin that Chani is studying with. She is a deeply unhappy character, and the book moves between these various characters and  their families, as well as moving back and forth in time, but it is always interesting and easy to follow. Definitely for fans of Naomi Ragen’s books or The Innocents by Francesca Segal.

6/14 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

THE MARRYING OF CHANI KAUFMAN by Eve Harris. Grove Press, Black Cat (April 1, 2014). ISBN 978-0802122735. 384p.

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THE SISTERS WEISS by Naomi Ragen

January 28, 2014


Ragen goes back to her roots, Ultra Orthodox Jewish family stories, this time using Rose and Pearl Weiss as her vehicle.

Growing up in the ultra Orthodox Jewish community in 1950’s Williamsburg, Brooklyn, the sisters Weiss paths diverge as they become young adults. Rose, the elder sister, meets a young French girl at school, and a visit to their home changes her life forever. Rose is headstrong and by chance, finsd her calling in life as a teenager – she wants to become a photographer. Her community, her family, her Rav (rabbi) all reject this choice for her. They forbid her from seeing her new friend and send her off to live with her Bubbee (grandmother) and force her to attend a Satmar school. The Satmar’s are even more religious and don’t really believe in educating women; they consider that they are there to learn to be good Jewish wives and mothers before they are married off.

But Rose is rebellious and in her isolation learns to lie to her family. They decide the only solution is to marry her off at age 17, the usual age girls marry in that community. They even let Rose choose her husband, but at the last minute, she decides she cannot live that life and runs away. She loses touch with her family for the next forty years, which is her biggest regret in life.

The story then moves ahead to Rivkah, Pearl’s daughter, who is in a similar situation to that of the aunt she’s never met, and their worlds collide with some devastating effect. Rivkah finds a box hidden under her mother’s bed with a letter from this exiled aunt, and a newspaper clipping about her photography award.

Rivkah can’t bear to go from being someone’s daughter to someone’s wife, so she runs away, first, to the cousin she’s never known, and then to her aunt. But she learns that there are no easy answers, and that all choices come with consequences and responsibility.

Naomi Ragen grew up in this community and currently lives in Israel, so is accustomed to the lifestyle; she’s lived it. She is intimately familiar with the difficulties, and the blessings, that have kept her people going for so long, and likes exploring all sides in her stories.

The characters are well developed, the culture interesting and I learned a lot. This is a fast read, albeit not an easy one. This is a family I won’t soon forget.

01/14 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

THE SISTERS WEISS by Naomi Ragen.  St. Martin’s Press; First Edition edition (October 15, 2013). ISBN 978-0312570194. 336p.

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