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3.59 AVERAGE
3.59 AVERAGE
Thank you to Goodreads and the publisher for allowing me to review this book.
This book was a strange read. At times hard to follow, and a story never really ends up developing. Basically, just the same day over and over again, then quickly ends with a wedding with no actual resolution.
This book was a strange read. At times hard to follow, and a story never really ends up developing. Basically, just the same day over and over again, then quickly ends with a wedding with no actual resolution.
dark
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
(think my other review got deleted :()
this book was peculiar but it gave me a lot to think about. should the mc have stayed in her religious environment? i don’t know. it shows both good and bad in being religious or secular and the mcs conflicting desires and the impact her life and addiction has on her.
She breaks the rules of her traditional jewish sect but it serves her well i think. the book i think promotes having flexibile attitudes to life but recognises its not possible for everyone.
she doesn’t want to leave her community but equally strives for more freedom in her religion. i felt for her. this book did lull in the middle but it didn’t bother me. i do think her addiction wouldn’t be so bad if she wasn’t in her community but i suppose thats just how her life is. her community is her priority at the expense of any other of her desires, and this is what she battles with
this book was peculiar but it gave me a lot to think about. should the mc have stayed in her religious environment? i don’t know. it shows both good and bad in being religious or secular and the mcs conflicting desires and the impact her life and addiction has on her.
She breaks the rules of her traditional jewish sect but it serves her well i think. the book i think promotes having flexibile attitudes to life but recognises its not possible for everyone.
she doesn’t want to leave her community but equally strives for more freedom in her religion. i felt for her. this book did lull in the middle but it didn’t bother me. i do think her addiction wouldn’t be so bad if she wasn’t in her community but i suppose thats just how her life is. her community is her priority at the expense of any other of her desires, and this is what she battles with
Meh.
Shmutz was my first foray into reading about Hasidic Judaism. I know very little about Judaism and Hasidic Judaism even less so. Reading Shmutz definitionally means learning about Hasidic culture, which I found fascinating.
When I remove Hasidism from Shmutz, though, there was not a lot there for me to chew on. Raizl is addicted to porn. She watches it, again and again. She promises she won't. She breaks her promise. She chafes against marriage because she feels so weighted down by her dirty secret. She feels like a failure of a Jew and starts breaking rules of her religion and community, because if she's already committing one sin, why not another? What's one more?
I think the exploration of what makes someone turn away from a tightly-knit, rule-bound community is a deeply interesting topic. Raizl's consumption of bacon-egg-and-cheese sandwiches and jean-wearing make total sense to me; she was already sinning, for one, and the secular world presented a tempting world seemingly far less devoid of rules and therefore shame and obligation--a welcome respite from a world where everything is prescribed and dictated, and the wrong step means shaming both yourself and your family.
However, I found the porn addiction boring. It reflected the nature of an addict's behavior accurately, I guess--engage in the behavior, feel shame, swear it off, fall back into the pattern, rinse and repeat. But reading her engage in the behavior over and over and the ensuing shameful rumination nonetheless felt repetitive and got dull.
I also found Raizl's decision to get married and re-commit to her community a bit ... abrupt? I mean, I get it; I've also made very abrupt major decisions before to stop doing harmful thing X or to start doing helpful thing Y, after struggling for a long time to finally just do it. Not every decision someone comes to is a long, drawn out process where the ramp to improvement is a gentle predictable slope. Sometimes it's a 90-degree angle. Still, 90-degree life decisions don't make for very satisfying reading, or at least this one didn't. I finished the book and was left with this feeling of, "Well, okay?"
I dunno, I don't have opinions on her decision either way, but I just didn't think it was as interesting an emotional growth journey or analysis of what it means to be Hasidic as it could have been.
Shmutz was my first foray into reading about Hasidic Judaism. I know very little about Judaism and Hasidic Judaism even less so. Reading Shmutz definitionally means learning about Hasidic culture, which I found fascinating.
When I remove Hasidism from Shmutz, though, there was not a lot there for me to chew on. Raizl is addicted to porn. She watches it, again and again. She promises she won't. She breaks her promise. She chafes against marriage because she feels so weighted down by her dirty secret. She feels like a failure of a Jew and starts breaking rules of her religion and community, because if she's already committing one sin, why not another? What's one more?
I think the exploration of what makes someone turn away from a tightly-knit, rule-bound community is a deeply interesting topic. Raizl's consumption of bacon-egg-and-cheese sandwiches and jean-wearing make total sense to me; she was already sinning, for one, and the secular world presented a tempting world seemingly far less devoid of rules and therefore shame and obligation--a welcome respite from a world where everything is prescribed and dictated, and the wrong step means shaming both yourself and your family.
However, I found the porn addiction boring. It reflected the nature of an addict's behavior accurately, I guess--engage in the behavior, feel shame, swear it off, fall back into the pattern, rinse and repeat. But reading her engage in the behavior over and over and the ensuing shameful rumination nonetheless felt repetitive and got dull.
I also found Raizl's decision to get married and re-commit to her community a bit ... abrupt? I mean, I get it; I've also made very abrupt major decisions before to stop doing harmful thing X or to start doing helpful thing Y, after struggling for a long time to finally just do it. Not every decision someone comes to is a long, drawn out process where the ramp to improvement is a gentle predictable slope. Sometimes it's a 90-degree angle. Still, 90-degree life decisions don't make for very satisfying reading, or at least this one didn't. I finished the book and was left with this feeling of, "Well, okay?"
I dunno, I don't have opinions on her decision either way, but I just didn't think it was as interesting an emotional growth journey or analysis of what it means to be Hasidic as it could have been.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
fast-paced
Diverse cast of characters:
No
The hook of the book makes it seem like it'll be a more moving and/or interesting book than it actually is. Was disappointed
Shmutz is the story of Raizl, a young Chasidic Jewish woman in New York, who finds herself addicted to porn while trying to find a husband, carry a job, and complete a college degree. It's a concept unlike any other book I've read.
I thought Berliner did a great job creating a flawed, multi-faceted character, whose struggle and hope in her faith was very relatable. I think the story of someone losing their religion while in a sort of crisis is an obvious story— not a bad one, just one I've read— and I liked to read how Raizl was able to co-exist with her faith and addiction. I myself am not religious, but a story that concludes that sinners and faith are not mutually exclusive, that imperfection does not mean that you must abandon your values or your culture, is one that is so necessary for so many.
The one thing I kept thinking over and over while I read the book was that Berliner relied on the audience knowing more about Judaism, Chasidism, and Yiddish than was probably appropriate. As a reader of this book outside of New York's Jewish culture, I found myself needing some more guidance. However, I don't think it took away from the whole of the story.
I thought Berliner did a great job creating a flawed, multi-faceted character, whose struggle and hope in her faith was very relatable. I think the story of someone losing their religion while in a sort of crisis is an obvious story— not a bad one, just one I've read— and I liked to read how Raizl was able to co-exist with her faith and addiction. I myself am not religious, but a story that concludes that sinners and faith are not mutually exclusive, that imperfection does not mean that you must abandon your values or your culture, is one that is so necessary for so many.
The one thing I kept thinking over and over while I read the book was that Berliner relied on the audience knowing more about Judaism, Chasidism, and Yiddish than was probably appropriate. As a reader of this book outside of New York's Jewish culture, I found myself needing some more guidance. However, I don't think it took away from the whole of the story.
reflective
medium-paced
I loved Raizl. I loved this book. Actually holistic depiction of Chasidic communities juxtaposed with a young girl exploring her sexuality and feeling caught between fantasy/desire and the expectations of the life she is destined to have. Great mix of sensual moments and genuine, heartfelt reflections that felt wholly relatable.