THE BOOK FAIR
READ AND FULFILL YOUR LIFE
Naomi Alderman
disobediance
Author: Naomi Alderman
Published: 2006
Genre: Novel
Cover: E-Book
Pages: 240
Review:
Naomi Alderman resided within the Orthodox Jewish Community of Hendon, England, the same locality the author chose for her book. An unknown narrator and Ronit, a young woman born into the Orthodox community of Hendon, tell the story, which moves back and forth in time.
Ronit Krushka, a willful, wayward young woman, resides in NYC for some years having left the Jewish Orthodox community of Hendon, England. Although Ronit, a lesbian, leads the secular lifestyle she chose, she finds it lacking in fulfillment. After Ronit’s father, Rav Krushka , a pillar of the Hendon Orthodox community, with whom she has not spoken for years, passes away, Ronit decides to return to Hendon for the funeral. Her return rocks the Orthodox community.
The story unfolds a love triangle. The author equivocates in boxing in the self-sufficient community as intolerant and self-righteous and addresses the incompatibility of a secular lifestyle in a religious community. The novel reads quickly and is interspersed with many beautiful passages based on the Bible.
righteous.
The
LIAR'S GOSPEL
Author: Naomi Alderman
Published: 2013
Genre: Historical Novel
Cover: E-Book
Pages: 261
Naomi Alderman’s fictional account of the life of Yehoshuah (Jesus) spans the latter part of his life and the time of his death. The descriptive, graphic novel incorporates the tale of Yehoshuah, as the Messiah, into the history of the Jews during the long period of Roman oppression. The story, a mix of fact and fiction, uses Jewish sources from the works of Josephus and the Talmud, and as well, stories from the New Testament.
The book opens with Pompey’s siege of Jerusalem, in 63 BCE and closes with the destruction of Jerusalem and the exile of Jews to other lands, by Hadrian, in the latter 130’s, CE. The story is narrated in four parts by Miryam, Iehuda from Qeriot, Caiaphas and Bar-Avo (Barabbas).
Alderman’s fictional and non-fictional figures characterize human qualities, both admirable and disdainful. Ms. Alderman’s unconventional approach concerning religious aspects, although troublesome for some, portrays a realistic view.
The novel, of Jewish history, is told from the Jewish perspective. The Liar’s Gospel refers to not only the stories told of Yehoshuah after his death, but also of the conflict between Yehoshuah and Iehuda (Judas).