You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
middle_name_joy 's review for:
On Division
by Goldie Goldbloom
The question of whether we can ever deeply, thoroughly know another person (or even ourselves, enough to be known) is a theme I've encountered in several of my recent reads. Perhaps that says something about my taste in novels, but it also speaks to a pervasive social isolation felt by many. Surie Eckstein, a matriarch in her Chassidic Jewish community in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, certainly understands the loneliness of secrets, of wanting to be seen for more than what she has always been.
I dare you not to be engrossed by Goldie Goldbloom's earthy prose, her knowledgeable exploration of Surie's darkest thoughts, dreams, and regrets as she keeps a late-in-life pregnancy from those closest to her out of fear of retribution from her community against her bloodline. On Division is an exploration, too, of the Chassidic lifestyle, a tight-knit enclave of tradition and rules and faith, that more and more has reason for unease of the secular world's various temptations. Though we can long for something different in our lives, change often is successful in hard-won small doses.
Surie's (and Goldie's) insider perspective both celebrates the warmth and simplicity of the Chassidic community, while delving into their short-comings, particularly for young people and woman. I felt educated, moved, changed.
I dare you not to be engrossed by Goldie Goldbloom's earthy prose, her knowledgeable exploration of Surie's darkest thoughts, dreams, and regrets as she keeps a late-in-life pregnancy from those closest to her out of fear of retribution from her community against her bloodline. On Division is an exploration, too, of the Chassidic lifestyle, a tight-knit enclave of tradition and rules and faith, that more and more has reason for unease of the secular world's various temptations. Though we can long for something different in our lives, change often is successful in hard-won small doses.
Surie's (and Goldie's) insider perspective both celebrates the warmth and simplicity of the Chassidic community, while delving into their short-comings, particularly for young people and woman. I felt educated, moved, changed.