NATIONAL BESTSELLER - "A richly textured portrait . . . an intimate
look at a closed Orthodox community."--Los Angeles Times Book
Review
NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST - A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK
It is 1976. And the tiny upstate New York town of Kaaterskill Falls is
bustling with summer people in dark coats, fedoras, and long, modest
dresses. Living side by side with Yankee year-rounders, they are the
disciples of Rav Elijah Kirshner.
Elizabeth Shulman is a restless wife and mother of five daughters; her
imagination transcends her cloistered community. Across the street
Andras Melish is drawn to Kaaterskill by his adoring older sisters.
Comforted, yet crippled by his sisters' love, he cannot overcome the
ambivalence he feels toward his own children and his young wife. At the
top of the hill, Rav Kirshner is nearing the end of his life. As he
struggles to decide which of his sons should succeed him--the pious but
stolid Isaiah or the brilliant but rebellious Jeremy--his followers
wrestle with their future and their past.
With this community, Allegra Goodman weaves magic. The nationally
bestselling author of The Family Markowitz crafts a tale of family and
tradition--one that confirms this author's place as a virtuoso of her
generation.
