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redwrapped 's review for:
Shmutz
by Felicia Berliner
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
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
Everything about Schmutz subverted my expectations (in a good way!) and here's why:
Schmutz is not at all what the easy assumption is, believing that it's a comedy about a young woman addicted to porn. Reading the blurb and seeing the pastel innuendo cover, I quickly imagined the situational comedy, dirty jokes, and generalized schmutz. But instead, Schmutz is a coming-of-age novel rife with honesty and denial, and filtered through the conscience of a young woman discovering and refining her sense of identity and sexuality through the internet and a porn addiction. It has so much heart and spirit in it, and is actually a portrayal of a bittersweet initiation into "true" adulthood, i.e. handling college and feeling overwhelmed, juggling a job and an abusive boss, navigating complex relationships, finding your purpose as a young adult, and exploring personal identity.
The power of the book is that it is not exploitative or written to court attention through scandalous and/or morally objectionable content, due to the Orthodox religious overtones and setting of the book. To Berliner's credit and writerly gravitas, this is written with grace and respect to the Hasidic community and their religious and cultural practices, and with a thoughtful depiction of porn and addiction.
It isn't sexless, it isn't a melodrama centered around nothing but female objectification. It isn't crass without reason, but it isn't purely virginal and guileless. It doesn't ask the young woman to choose either her love of God or sex, employing a fatalistic Madonna-whore complex. It doesn't focus on male or female pleasure, but the space in between and what pleasure asks and gives to either participant. It asks questions of honoring your family and trying to choose what path you want to take, and Raizl is faced with those questions and decisions throughout the book.
The only qualms I have with the book is that the end felt a little too quick and that we didn't see enough of the mental and emotional ramifications on Raizl from her addiction. All addictions are harmful, and I was curious to see how much porn had warped Raizl's expectations of sex and body image, which was explored somewhat but not fully.
I would have liked more development, a bit more soul-searching from Raizl to determine whether she should marry or not. I wouldn't call a book that ends with a wedding a comedy, but the beginning of a drama. Ultimately the end felt "wrong" because on a personal level I don't really approve of Raizl's decision to marry, but the end is realistic and that is probably more important than my personal fulfillment. That is what happens all the time, whether the young woman chooses marriage or is pushed into it by overzealous parents. Raizl wants to and ultimately chooses to, but she is asked to sacrifice much of her autonomous, non-Hasidic identity to marry.
This was a lovely book, and in conclusion, I'm very happy that it was nothing like what I imagined Schmutz would be like.
Thanks to Atria and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Schmutz is not at all what the easy assumption is, believing that it's a comedy about a young woman addicted to porn. Reading the blurb and seeing the pastel innuendo cover, I quickly imagined the situational comedy, dirty jokes, and generalized schmutz. But instead, Schmutz is a coming-of-age novel rife with honesty and denial, and filtered through the conscience of a young woman discovering and refining her sense of identity and sexuality through the internet and a porn addiction. It has so much heart and spirit in it, and is actually a portrayal of a bittersweet initiation into "true" adulthood, i.e. handling college and feeling overwhelmed, juggling a job and an abusive boss, navigating complex relationships, finding your purpose as a young adult, and exploring personal identity.
The power of the book is that it is not exploitative or written to court attention through scandalous and/or morally objectionable content, due to the Orthodox religious overtones and setting of the book. To Berliner's credit and writerly gravitas, this is written with grace and respect to the Hasidic community and their religious and cultural practices, and with a thoughtful depiction of porn and addiction.
It isn't sexless, it isn't a melodrama centered around nothing but female objectification. It isn't crass without reason, but it isn't purely virginal and guileless. It doesn't ask the young woman to choose either her love of God or sex, employing a fatalistic Madonna-whore complex. It doesn't focus on male or female pleasure, but the space in between and what pleasure asks and gives to either participant. It asks questions of honoring your family and trying to choose what path you want to take, and Raizl is faced with those questions and decisions throughout the book.
The only qualms I have with the book is that the end felt a little too quick and that we didn't see enough of the mental and emotional ramifications on Raizl from her addiction. All addictions are harmful, and I was curious to see how much porn had warped Raizl's expectations of sex and body image, which was explored somewhat but not fully.
I would have liked more development, a bit more soul-searching from Raizl to determine whether she should marry or not. I wouldn't call a book that ends with a wedding a comedy, but the beginning of a drama. Ultimately the end felt "wrong" because on a personal level I don't really approve of Raizl's decision to marry, but the end is realistic and that is probably more important than my personal fulfillment. That is what happens all the time, whether the young woman chooses marriage or is pushed into it by overzealous parents. Raizl wants to and ultimately chooses to, but she is asked to sacrifice much of her autonomous, non-Hasidic identity to marry.
This was a lovely book, and in conclusion, I'm very happy that it was nothing like what I imagined Schmutz would be like.
Thanks to Atria and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.