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A review by qtpieash3
The Shiksa Syndrome by Laurie Graff
2.0
It took me awhile to get into this one, with all the Yiddish words being tossed around and references to Jewish culture. Graff included a handy "Yiddish glossary" in the back that I felt like I was flipping to every couple of paragraphs. This is nit-picky, but I didn't think there were enough pages separating the last few pages of the story and the glossary. While I'd be flipping to the glossary, I'd inadverently catch a few words in the last pages and had pretty much figured out how the ending was going to do down.
"The Shiksa Syndrome" tells the story of Jewish New Yorker, Aimee. As the story opens, she's breaking up with Peter, her non-Jewish boyfriend due to their religious differences. Aimee feels as if she is under pressure to find a Jewish guy and is frustrated that they all seem to be more interested in "shiksas" or non-Jewish women. After an impromptu makeover, she meets Josh, who is seems to be the perfect Jewish guy. Due to her appearance and the way they initally meet, Josh thinks Aimee is a shiksa, a charade she knowingly keeps up. The story continues from there.
The book started dragging for me about halfway through. I thought the charade with Peter went on way too long. Aimee makes some important realizations about herself and her relationship with her religion as the story progresses, but they really lost a lot of their weight because while she knew what she should do, it took her forever to do it. I found her charade a bit off-putting as the story progressed; it escalated from a lies of omission to flat out whoppers when Josh surprises her with a trip to her "hometown" of Scranton. It also seemed like she enjoyed playing someone else too much, but was too selfish to stop.
I particularly liked the relationship between Aimee and her real shiksa friend, Krista. The juxtaposition of their situations was an interesting contrast and their relationship felt very real and natural to me. Krista's reactions to Aimee's situation were very plausible given their relationship and ones I could see happening in real life. I especially liked a twist late in the book regarding the two of them.
Overall though, this one was just ok. I feel like Graff could have delved deeper into the heavier themes of the book without taking away the overall lighthearted feel of the book. As it is, though, 2 stars.
"The Shiksa Syndrome" tells the story of Jewish New Yorker, Aimee. As the story opens, she's breaking up with Peter, her non-Jewish boyfriend due to their religious differences. Aimee feels as if she is under pressure to find a Jewish guy and is frustrated that they all seem to be more interested in "shiksas" or non-Jewish women. After an impromptu makeover, she meets Josh, who is seems to be the perfect Jewish guy. Due to her appearance and the way they initally meet, Josh thinks Aimee is a shiksa, a charade she knowingly keeps up. The story continues from there.
The book started dragging for me about halfway through. I thought the charade with Peter went on way too long. Aimee makes some important realizations about herself and her relationship with her religion as the story progresses, but they really lost a lot of their weight because while she knew what she should do, it took her forever to do it. I found her charade a bit off-putting as the story progressed; it escalated from a lies of omission to flat out whoppers when Josh surprises her with a trip to her "hometown" of Scranton. It also seemed like she enjoyed playing someone else too much, but was too selfish to stop.
I particularly liked the relationship between Aimee and her real shiksa friend, Krista. The juxtaposition of their situations was an interesting contrast and their relationship felt very real and natural to me. Krista's reactions to Aimee's situation were very plausible given their relationship and ones I could see happening in real life. I especially liked a twist late in the book regarding the two of them.
Overall though, this one was just ok. I feel like Graff could have delved deeper into the heavier themes of the book without taking away the overall lighthearted feel of the book. As it is, though, 2 stars.