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A review by kayla_clark_
Shmutz by Felicia Berliner
4.0
WHAT a unique look into the juxtaposition of online pornography & a purity-obsessed culture. It made me think about how hard it is to find that middle ground of comfort in your own sexuality, but within the bounds of this oppressive, patriarchal organization. This book is also is an interesting commentary on 2 things - 1. you cannot block out the modern world in favor of tradition, now matter how hard you try, and 2. Your sexual and spiritual sides do not need to be at odds, they can work in tandem. The story was fascinating and I loved our heroin, Raizl.
I have two knocks -the pacing was a little off sometimes, so some of the characters fell a little flat. Second, there were no footnotes - only a Glossary at the back of the book. I loved the injection of Yiddish and thought that made the book so authentic and beautiful. However, because I read it on a Kindle I couldn't hop back and forth between the glossary and my page, so the Yiddish words left me lost. (I am familiar with a lot of them, but there were entire phrases and sentences of Yiddish, and I would have loved a footnote for the Kindle.)
I have two knocks -the pacing was a little off sometimes, so some of the characters fell a little flat. Second, there were no footnotes - only a Glossary at the back of the book. I loved the injection of Yiddish and thought that made the book so authentic and beautiful. However, because I read it on a Kindle I couldn't hop back and forth between the glossary and my page, so the Yiddish words left me lost. (I am familiar with a lot of them, but there were entire phrases and sentences of Yiddish, and I would have loved a footnote for the Kindle.)