Pearl Abraham se sumerge en la intrincada interacción entre tradición y modernidad, explorando la búsqueda de identidad dentro de la diáspora. Su prosa disecciona magistralmente profundas emociones y tensiones culturales con aguda perspicacia psicológica. Abraham interroga temas de fe, familia y pertenencia, a menudo iluminando las vidas interiores de personajes que navegan entre mundos dispares. Ofrece a los lectores una rica exploración de las experiencias de aquellos que se esfuerzan por reconciliar su herencia con su presente.
A modern-day young man becomes obsessed with the life and teachings of the legendary nineteenth-century Chasidic master Nachman of Bratslava, a kabbalist, storyteller, and charismatic spiritual leader who developed a cult following, in a novel intertwined with a translation of Nachman's Yiddish tales, including his "Tales of the Seven Beggars." Reprint.
Deena, who defied the wishes of her father, a Hasidic scholar, to marry the non-Hasidic Daniel, must come to terms with betrayals, the nature of commitment, and her own spiritual needs and values. Reprint. Tour. NHT.
From Publishers Weekly: Abraham shows strong talent in her debut novel, the story of a young girl's coming-of-age in an ultraorthodox Hasidic home. The reader soon cares deeply about narrator Rachel, the eldest of six children, who yearns for some of the forbidden fruits of the secular world. Her rebbe father is another endearing character; he dreams of establishing a major synagogue and learning center even while he desperately looks for a 10th man for a minyan for his sparse congregation. Most of the story takes place in a suburban community that receives an influx of Hasidim in the summer months; for the rest of the year, the rebbe's family is the neighborhood curiosity. Rachel is a dutiful child who tries hard to please her mother, an angry woman who belittles her husband's dreams and wants to be part of one of Brooklyn's larger Hasidic enclaves. Rachel's glimpses of the larger world come from casual and often uncomfortable encounters with non-Jews and secular Jews in her town, but especially from romance novels, which she reads secretly. Her seemingly flagrant behavior (she refuses to wear seamed, opaque stockings, opting instead for seamless, and will not wear a cover-up over her bathing suit while teaching young girls to swim) brings shame to her family and endangers a marital opportunity for her brilliant younger brother.