A review by ljjohnson8
The Orchard by David Hopen

4.0

The buzz I read said this was 'The Secret History' set in the world of Jewish Orthodoxy. A simplistic description but not off-target. I really liked this book. Anything I write needs to be exponentialed (I might have just made up that verb): it's a philosophy deep-dive (times 5), a wrestle with faith (times 10), a tragedy about grief and alienation (times 20). It's also the story of Ari, a teenager from the very insular world of an Orthodox Jewish community in Brooklyn, who is thrust into a much more secular society of less religious Jews in a wealthy community in Florida. Ari is befriended by 4 other young men at his yeshiva high school and a charismatic rabbi singles them out for - well, I think that's the question here. What does Rabbi Bloom single them out for? This is an engrossing, intellectual, sometimes challenging read and a very impressive debut novel.