Disobedience: A Novel
Amazon.com Review: Disobedience is Naomi Alderman's richly told, endearingly evocative tale of two women and the choices they make as they come to terms with their identities in a traditional Orthodox Jewish community. In this groundbreaking debut, Alderman puts her characters to work, forcing them to confront issues of rebellion, isolation, loneliness and self-acceptance in a place where deviating from the norm often results in cold stares and hushed whispers at the kosher butcher shop.
Ronit Krushka is a lapsed Orthodox Jew, who fled the confines of Hendon, England, and her traditional upbringing for a secular lifestyle on Manhattan's Upper West Side. When her father, the community's revered Rabbi passes away, Ronit returns home to retrieve her mother's precious Shabbat candlesticks, and to revisit her troubled past. She reconnects with Esti, a former lover, whose choices have left her unsure and unfulfilled. As Ronit and Esti navigate through the demons of their past, each woman is forced to decide what kind of life she wants to lead, and with whom she wants to share it.
Alderman alternates between a lyrical and familiar style, introducing each chapter with a page of religious commentary that relates directly to the novel. While the commentary is interesting, readers may find themselves skimming it as the plot thickens and these introductions become more like diversions from the story's main message. Still, interruptions aside, Disobedience marks an important debut, and one that extends outside the lives of these characters to personify the struggle between conformity and individualism for everyone who has felt like an outsider. --Gisele Toueg
Product Description: A FINALIST FOR THE NATIONAL JEWISH BOOK AWARD FOR FICTION
A FINALIST FOR THE SAMI ROHR PRIZE FOR JEWISH LITERATURE
For Ronit Krushka, thirty-two and single, who lives on Manhattan's Upper West Side, Orthodox Judaism is a suffocating culture she fled long ago. When she learns that her estranged father, the preeminent rabbi of the London Orthodox Jewish community in which she was raised, has died, she must return home for the first time in years.
There, amid the traditional ebb and flow of the community, Ronit reminds herself of her dual mission: to mourn and to collect a single heirloom -- her mother's Shabbat candlesticks. But when Ronit reconnects with her complex and beloved cousin Dovid as well as with a forbidden childhood sweetheart, she becomes more than just a stranger in her old home -- she becomes a threat.
Set at the crossroads of tradition and modernity, of personal desires and the demands of God, Disobedience is about the importance of moving on and what we lose when we do -- and it is about the tendency toward disobedience that we all possess.
Subjects: English First Novelists, Popular English Fiction, Fiction, Fiction - Religious, Christian - General, Literary, Fiction / Literary, Religious - General, England, Jewish families, London,
Interesting
I enjoyed this book and read it in one sitting. It discusses lesbianism and Orthodox judaism. How can one be true to oneself and to ones faith? Is it possible to do both? How can we live with our choices? What about parents with different beliefs? How can an Orthodox father relate to a non-Orthodox lesbian child?
It is an interesting book about the choices we make and religious faith. I was once a very devout catholic and I find books and novels about fervent believers interesting, especially when they consider GLBT issues. Speaking as a non-jew I believe this book is fairly respectful of Orthodox judaism.
I think even those less interested in GLBT issues will find this interesting as a novel whose main subject is the relationship between a father and child. They will also learn more about Orthodox jews and their beliefs and day to day life.
I'm making this sound like a dry textbook or treatise but it isn't. It is an interesting, well-written novel whose subjects are those I've mentioned above.
Disobediance
Although the writing is old fashioned by current American standards, I could not put this book down. I was driven to read it to the end, and then felt a loss when it was over. The ending perhaps is a little syrupy, and they lived happily ever after, each one making a compromise. It doesn't feel totally real, but it did touch me quite deeply.
A Fictional Showcase Reflecting the Depth of Jewish Culture and Compassion
Such a complex novel full of twists and turns! Just when I though I had things figured out plot-wise, something completely unexpected comes along! The fact that this book was written by an author who understands Jewish culture, having grown up in an Orthodox community in Great Britain no less, makes the reading all the more interesting. I see a kalaidescope of elements in this fictional work that I see among the community of people I know in real life.
Reading this book, I observed compassion carefully woven into the story on many fronts, from Ronit's father who comes to understand that Ronit is not happy growing up in an Ultra-Orthodox setting and makes a special allowance for her...to Ronit's understanding of the impact her actions can have on the lives of other people...to friend Dovid, who loves Esti as she was made--and Esti, who can love Dovid and Ronit both with such sincerity.
Naomi Alderman has also bridged an important gap. I noted that while many things she wrote could have come right out of Rev Krushka's bestseller and helped make me simply feel at home (observe the different fonts), they also served to introduce the uninitiated to important aspects of the Jewish cultural viewpoint vital to grasping the plot and its fascinating conclusion. Compassion and depth are two of these, briefly...if you are in the market for something unique and different imbued with the spice of life, please don't hesitate to pick this book!
I could not put Naomi's book down til I finished it.
Naomi's book answered many questions about my own sexuality. From my background comes homosexuality and bisexuality. Not by me but from members of my own family. I have had many questions about my own sexuality that Naomi's book answered for me. I appreciate Naomi for her willingness to write a novel exposing the issues of these things that most people are not willing to talk about. It takes courage to speak out and I give Naomi much credit for stepping out of the norm.
Well written but should rate either 3 plus or 4 minus!!
I found this to be an engrossing read. It explained some areas of "orthodoxy" that were unknown to me. I really liked the way in which the author explained "silence." Found the characters [except those like Hartog, etal.] rather likable -- enough so that I cared about them, as well as what would happen in their lives. I really liked Esti & that she had spoken to Ronit's father -- that's all I can say without spoiling the book. It validates/reinforces the importance of our choices, and the impact of same in our lives, as well as in the lives of others. There was, at least for me, something missing. There is potential here & I would consider reading more of this author's work. This is an engrossing read which should satisfy many.
