The Romance Reader by Pearl Abraham Search Amazon for other books by or about Pearl Abraham. Rating: Reviewed by: Shana Mauer

The Romance Reader is a novel about a young woman growing up in a Chasidic community. The back jacket informs us that the novel's author, Pearl Abraham, is herself a product of the Chasidic world. In general, such interesting autobiographical information tends to recommend a work such as The Romance Reader. One begins the book anticipating a titillating view of a closed world that is hostile to the gaze of outsiders. However, in this instance, such expectations are unfulfilled and The Romance Reader disappoints. Where one would hope to encounter an intimate look at the specific idiosyncrasies of Chasidic adolescents, their family, and community, nothing more is offered than a cursory whitewash of that world, an account that could be easily gleaned from any encyclopedia or text on Jewish culture containing the most basic overview of life within the confines of Chasidic Judaism.

Rachel, the teenage heroine of The Romance Reader is a tortured soul, at odds with her strict, rigid life as a Chasidic girl. To add to her cultural burden, her father is a rebbe, a rabbinic figure who insists that his family uphold the additionally stringent behavioral norms of a rebbishe family. Rachel's mother is both a severely disgruntled woman and devout keeper of tradition. She is venomously bitter about her life, vast brood, and dreamy, scholar husband, and feverishly zealous in her effort to observe and enforce the rules of Chasidic life. Though she relentlessly bemoans her own circumstances, she is ruthless in her effort to ensure that Rachel follows the religious path that has been set out for her.

One of the book's strengths is its well-defined characters. Rachel, her parents and her best friend Elke are vividly portrayed. Their conflicts capture a sense of authentic drama and poignancy. However, the venues that are meant to offer Rachel genuine escape, reading and swimming, both of which are considered risqué pastimes for a Chasidic girl, are given short shrift. It is not enough for Rachel to simply read Wuthering Heights and then fantasize about her employer, sauve Mr. Gartner. The connection between Rachel's appetite for literature and appetite for life is too superficial. Instead of exploiting the richness of Rachel's intellectual and imaginative life to add a layer of depth and complexity to the plot, Abraham has chosen to use the broad trope of 'forbidden texts' to simply represent the alternate universe Rachel is prohibited to explore.

Rachel's other expression of freedom, swimming, is likewise developed with a lack of depth. The descriptions of Rachel's pool outings read like excerpts from a young adult's novel. The concept that water, a different element, can provide Rachel with a forum for self-expression and autonomy is well conceived. Yet, the execution of the theme is faulty. Rather than adding texture to the novel, swimming, for the most part, only adds substance to the storyline.

Unfortunately, the most fascinating part of the novel is also its conclusion. When Rachel finally succumbs to her parental pressure and agrees to marry Israel Mittleman, she is subsequently tested in ways that force her to assess the strength of her character and the tenacity of her will. The results are gratifying, but not entirely satisfying. At the end of the book, Abraham gives us too sketchy a picture to determine whether Rachel's courage has been a solitary act of resistance, or proof that she and her family have truly disembarked from a journey that has given them greater understanding and self-knowledge.