Unorthodox by Deborah Feldman- Here's the thing this book wasn't really bad and it was informative, it just wasn't quite what I expected it to be. It is a true story of one woman's "escape" from a strict orthodox community. The way the book is described though is that it will be the story of her escape and her life after her escape. The way the story is told however, is more linear and the so called escape happens in a few paragraphs and then we don't learn much about her getting out. I did learn things I had never known, things that made me rethink the way I have viewed the orthodox Jewish communities. Growing up I lived in an area that had quite a few orthodox Jews. Outside of the longer skirts and other differences in dress I never really paid much attention as these seemed like happy good families. The story Feldman paints does not match with my own views. I've always struggled a bit with religion but felt that for some people it is a good thing. At the same time I've always believed that religion in extreme forms is not good for anyone. Though I hadn't applied it to the orthodox communities, this book reaffirmed that belief. I'm glad that Feldman stood up and made good decisions for herself and her child and chose the life she wanted. I'm not sorry I read the book, I just feel like it could have sent a more powerful message then it did.
Another Piece of my Heart by Jane Green- An interesting take on what makes family a family. This is the story of a stepmom attempting to integrate into a ready made family with two teen girls. One of the girls takes to stepmother just fine and the other struggles with adolescence and wrecks havoc on the families. The biological mother struggles with addiction which the oldest child later has to confront as well. The stepmother, Andi, has also wanted to get pregnant but been unsuccessful in having her own biological child. In the meantime the oldest daughter, Emily, becomes pregnant adding a whole new dimension to the family. I have to say that while the book sometimes lost my interest, the unique concept kept me coming back. The one thing that confused me, was that this was a book I was listening to but then due to the big move I made this month, I had to start reading too to make sure I finished before everything had to be returned, in the disc version the bio mother has one name and in the book version the bio mother has another. I kept getting confused when I went back on forth on who Janice/Brooke was until I finally confirmed what I started suspecting, not that I was forgetting the characters name, but that in each format it was different.
Black Water by Joyce Carol Oates- Not my favorite JCO book. This is the fictionalized account of a senator crashing his car in a river with a young girl who gets trapped inside and drowns when he walks away unharmed. At least I think that's what happened. To be honest the way it was written, with the character telling one thing but then later saying no that didn't happen left me way confused. Still a big JCO fan and will continue reading her novels, but am glad this one was very short so that I didn't waste too much time on it.
The Outside World by Tova Mirvis- This book has been on my list for quite a while and was a really good read even though it wasn't quite what I thought it would be. It tells the story of two Jewish families in different sects with varying degrees of faith. Each family gets to share their side of the stories. In the women's story she is a young adult wanting more then to get married and start a family as her orthodox peers and family want her to do. In the man's story he is a young adult living with his liberally religious family and wanting more from his religion. I won't give away the surprise part but the two find each other in Israel and decide to marry. The ways in which the family must come together and form a new family keep the reader interested to find out how the story will end. The story is told through both the main characters perspectives and both of their mothers mostly. The fathers though and siblings are randomly given a voice in some chapters as well which was somewhat unique. Really liked this author and her style and am sad to know she only has one other book so far for me to read.
Between Here and April by Deborah Copaken Kogan- This is the second book I've read by this author and I really like her. This is the story of motherhood told in a whole new way and exploring post part-um depression and not so joyous moments of motherhood. The main character begins to have flashbacks of her best friend in first grade who she had mostly forgotten about after she disappeared a few months into the school year. The main character now has two daughters the same age as her best friend and her sister were when they disappeared from school overnight never to return. Very quickly, as in I'm not giving any big secret away here, the reader learns the girls were murdered by their mother and it was not discussed at the school or in the main characters home. She then explores how these things happen, how it has affected her life, her own role as a mother and wife and daughter. She also must explore the mental health system somewhat and the way times have changed since her childhood and how the mental health system is now compared to then, for better or worse.
A quote from the book that struck me: " 'Think about it this way. We do not judge someone who do something crazy to end his physical pain. A soldier who cut through his own leg to release it from under the rubble. A person who must eat the raw flesh of the dead in order to survive. Heroes, we call them... But when a person do something crazy to relieve mental pain we judge. We say bad person. Evil, cowardly person. Maybe a little sympathy for the suffering, yes, but we say, I never do that. I am better than that. But maybe somewhere deep inside we want to do that same thing. To end it. To find peace.' "
Personal Velocity by Rebecca Miller- This book too has been on my list for awhile, but I have to say it also wasn't really what I expected nor did it live up to it's advertised greatness. It is a novel of short stories about women and their lives. As the reader we learn "secrets" about the women or details of defining moments in their lives. I liked the style of writing and I liked that there were some links to the other stories in a story before or after, I guess perhaps this book was just oversold though. It became a movie, has "Washington Post best book of 2001" all over it and perhaps I just expected more. I liked the writing and the stories were okay, but I felt myself waiting for them to get "great." I may give the author another chance as I definitely see her talent as a writer, perhaps this book just wasn't my cup of tea.
