nataliedc 's review for:

Shmutz by Felicia Berliner

5.0

emotional hopeful medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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An enthralling story about an ultra-Orthodox 19-year-old girl who develops an addiction to porn and must reconcile her burgeoning sexuality within a family pressuring her to get married and start a family of her own. For a debut novel, the prose was excellent - seriously discussing topics of coming-of-age in a strict household, discovering one's sexuality, and faith, all the while sprinkling in hilarious imaginings of sexual encounters within Raizl's monotonous day-to-day life. I enjoyed the short chapters (titles included!) as well as the lessons in Yiddish from the glossary located at the back of the novel. This story is told with such heart that I couldn't help but feel for Raizl every embarassing, messy step of the way towards her unknown future, heavily relating to her feelings of rebellion in the short moments she is free from her stifling family. I would highly recommend this title and look forward to reading Berliner's future works!