A small, close-knit Orthodox Jewish community in London is the setting for a revealing look at religion and sexuality in Alderman’s frank yet heartfelt debut novel, Disobedience. The story begins with the death of the community’s esteemed rabbi, which sets in motion plans for a memorial service and the search for a replacement. The rabbi’s nephew and likely successor, Dovid, calls his cousin Ronit in New York to tell her that her father has died. Ronit, who left the community long ago to build a life for herself as a career woman, returns home when she hears the news, and her reappearance exposes tears in the fabric of the community.
For me, this book happened to be a case of expecting one thing and obtaining something completely different. For, from the blurb and the trailer for the movie based on this book, I got the impression that this book was primarily about a lesbian relationship in an orthodox Jewish setting. However, it turned out this book was primarily about religion.
This is not primarily an LGBTQ book. This is a book about what it is like to be a part of a tight-knit religious community with strict rules. It is about the struggle between your personal desires and that of the community you belong to.
This book does a pretty good job in portraying two women who had undertaken two very different paths in life. I did feel that Esti’s character was a it underdeveloped, though.
I initially found the writing style a bit tedious. There seemed to be a lot of purple prose, as well as a lot of terms related to Judaism peppered in the text which not everyone would understand. However I eventually got used to it.
Overall, it was an interesting read. There was initially a bit of dissonance with regard to what I was expecting, and what actually turned out, but overall, it was a good read.
Rating:4/5
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