A “stunning” portrait of life and love inside an insular Jewish community that “reads like an Orthodox Pride and Prejudice . . . Rewardingly delightful” (Bust). London, 2008. Nineteen-year-old Chani Kaufman is betrothed to Baruch Levy, a young man she’s seen only four times before their wedding day. All the cups of cold coffee and small talk with suitors have led up to this moment. But the … up to this moment. But the happiness Chani and Baruch feel is outweighed by their anxiety about the realities of married life; about whether they will be able to have fewer children than Chani’s mother, who has eight daughters; and about the frightening, unspeakable secrets of the wedding night.
Through the story of Chani and Baruch’s unusual courtship, we meet a very different couple: Rabbi Chaim Zilberman and his wife, Rebbetzin Rivka Zilberman. As Chani and Baruch prepare to share a lifetime, Chaim and Rivka struggle to keep their marriage alive—and all four, together with the rest of the community, face difficult decisions about the place of faith and family in the contemporary world.
Longlisted for the Man Booker Prize and selected as an Amazon Best Book of the Month, The Marrying of Chani Kaufman is a “deeply melodic and exciting” story that “will resonate with readers from all backgrounds” and “linger after the last page” (Publishers Weekly).
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Found the time frames a little hard to follow. Enjoyed the book. Thought the ending was weak.
wonderful to review customs of other religions and cultures
Immersive and enlightening. Portrays a lifestyle and community little known to many.
Easy interesting read
Great read. Very informative
A worthwhile and fascinating peek into the unknown world of an ultra Orthodox Jewish community in London.
Just loved how the author peeled back the characters ultimate goals.
If you want to learn about Orthodox Jews, this fits the bill.
I learned so much and came to love the characters
Very informative on the Jewish way of life.
I learned something about being Jewish. So many things I did not know it was very enlightening.
I’m hesitant to write a review for any book I read during COVID19 isolation, but the fact that I finished this book at all bodes well for it and leads me to give 4 instead of 3 stars. Reading has actually been difficult for me during this time, and I’ve abandoned or started and not finished so many books! This one was so intriguing. It drew me into a world that fascinates me and put me deep inside of it, feeling connected to the people and the culture while also seeing it from the outside. It was a unique feeling to read it and feel both included and yet an outsider, so kudos to the author for that. The book felt like an experience, yet deeply personal. The Jewish families and relationships, though part of a world I don’t know, shared universal human experiences through the lens of culture. Hence, the feeling of connection yet wholly other. It was a slow read at times, but that may be in part due to the real-world climate I’m reading in right now. The ending left me hopeful for one relationship but felt unfinished for another key character. Purposefully so, I think, but it feels up to the reader to consider how another chapter or future dot on her timeline would read. In that way, you stay connected to the book for a bit longer after you close it.
I found it very interesting and informative.
It was ok but sort of shallow
I enjoyed this peek inside a deeply religious group I could never have learned so much about without reading this book. The characters were real people with both positive and negative qualities and brought richness to the story. It is told through the eyes of several characters and each one presents a different view of Hasidic Jewish life. Very interesting book.
I read this book during the same time I was watching the series “Unorthodox”. It was interesting and informative but I found the transitions between the younger and older couple’s lives to be abrupt. I think two separate novels, more fully developed, would have been better.
This is a wonderful look into the lives of the orthodox jews, and their customs.
In a sense this is a companion piece to the Netflix movie Unorthodox, which I began, right after reading about Chani and the Rabbi’s wife and her older son.
It offers different views of living in a heavily structural cultural environment…in the middle of today’s world.
This is a lovely, revealing book that I truly recommend. dfk
Interested in other cultural religious practices.
Ended too soon! I got to the last page and … that’s it?! I’d have liked to know what happened next to Chani and to the Rebbetzin.
You learn a lot about the Hasidic world – which is sometimes confusing to non- Jewish readers.