FEATURED JOBS
Comments (2)In early 20th-century Jerusalem. the Ottoman Empire is on its last leg, Europe is suffering from the Great War and Esther, a “Jerusalem maiden,” is living in a brightly colored world that her religion and ultra-Orthodox family do not allow her to paint. A marriage to a “modern Jew” and a trip to Paris force Esther to encounter the discrepancy between living life as a pious Jewish woman and pursuing her dreams. Talia Carner’s depiction of a Haredi girl seeking to follow her passions, while beautifully written, is also extremely one-dimensional.
In Esther’s world, ultra-Orthodox Jews know no pleasure. Men learn while women work, producing children and praying non-stop that one will be the Messiah. Esther does not want to be a part of this life; she only wants to paint the beauty that is so absent from the life of her parents and peers.
Carner provides the potential for a great novel here. However, the extent to which her characters are caricaturized is reprehensible; there is no nuance in the individuals portrayed. Esther is the only woman with any depth, and even she only has one desire throughout the novel—freedom. While Esther is meant to be a sympathetic character, I tend to empathize with her brothers and husband, who want her to be practical. Their exaggerated distaste for her talent makes the novel all the more unbelievable.
Talia Carner is a good writer who knows how to use words effectively. However, her one-sided portrayal of the Haredi community of Israel is weak; the book is compelling, but missing the nuance that would have made it a truly great novel.