This epic, enthralling debut novel--in the vein of Nicole Krauss' The
History of Love--follows a postwar love triangle between an American
rabbi, his wife, and a German-Jewish refugee.
Spanning seventy years and several continents--from a refugee's
shattered dreams in 1938 Berlin, to a discontented American couple in
the 1950s, to a young woman's life in modern-day Jerusalem--this epic,
enthralling novel tells the braided love story of three unforgettable
characters. In 1946, Walter Westhaus, a German Jew who spent the war
years at Tagore's ashram in India, arrives at the Jewish Theological
Seminary in New York City, where he meets Sol Kerem, a promising
rabbinical student. A brilliant nonbeliever, Walter is the perfect foil
for Sol's spiritual questions--and their extraordinary connection is too
wonderful not to share with Sol's free-spirited fiancée Rosalie. Soon
Walter and Rosalie are exchanging notes, sketches, and secrets, and
begin a transcendent love affair in his attic room, a temple of dusty
tomes and whispered poetry. Months later they shatter their impossible
bond, retreating to opposite sides of the country--Walter to pursue an
academic career in Berkeley and Rosalie and Sol to lead a congregation
in suburban New York. A chance meeting years later reconnects Walter,
Sol, and Rosalie--catching three hearts and minds in a complex web of
desire, heartbreak, and redemption. With extraordinary empathy and
virtuosic skill, The Beautiful Possible considers the hidden
boundaries of marriage and faith, and the mysterious ways we negotiate
our desires.
