Helpful Score: 4
What an incredible book. I heard about this one NPR and as one who's shunned formal religion, you'd wonder why this book would pique my interest. Yet, it did and I couldn't put it down once I started - save for sleep. I read this in two evenings - about 3 hours in total. Winner is an engaging writer and this is an easy book to read.
With the exception of the first section, Sukkot, the book is broken down in sections named for the seasons of the Christian calendar - i.e., Advent, Christmas, Ephipany, etc... Yet the Jewish holidays are interwoven within and it's interesting to see the parallels and differences between the two religions.
Winner is quite a devout Christian - and at some points I nearly want to choke her and scream, "Will you just shut up about Jesus?", yet it's to be expected with a book like this. I was fascinated by her experiences both as a Jew and a Christian and appreciated getting to know the finer points of Orthodox Judaism, which has always seemed "strange" to me. I equate it with the Hasidim in Lakewood (NJ) or Williamsburg (Bklyn) who seem to live in their own little world. In her book, Winner showed me that an Orthodox Jew does not mean you shun modern society - instead, she moved in the same NYC I did, albeit with a different crowd.
Although I call neither Christianity nor Judaism my religion, I have a greater appreciation for both of them after reading this book. Part of me wishes that Winner had converted to Islam somewhere along the way so I could have in insight into the tenets of that faith as well. I've always been fascinated by religion and how they seem to share similar stories.
All in all - it's a beautiful memoir and I would recommend it to anyone who is interested.
With the exception of the first section, Sukkot, the book is broken down in sections named for the seasons of the Christian calendar - i.e., Advent, Christmas, Ephipany, etc... Yet the Jewish holidays are interwoven within and it's interesting to see the parallels and differences between the two religions.
Winner is quite a devout Christian - and at some points I nearly want to choke her and scream, "Will you just shut up about Jesus?", yet it's to be expected with a book like this. I was fascinated by her experiences both as a Jew and a Christian and appreciated getting to know the finer points of Orthodox Judaism, which has always seemed "strange" to me. I equate it with the Hasidim in Lakewood (NJ) or Williamsburg (Bklyn) who seem to live in their own little world. In her book, Winner showed me that an Orthodox Jew does not mean you shun modern society - instead, she moved in the same NYC I did, albeit with a different crowd.
Although I call neither Christianity nor Judaism my religion, I have a greater appreciation for both of them after reading this book. Part of me wishes that Winner had converted to Islam somewhere along the way so I could have in insight into the tenets of that faith as well. I've always been fascinated by religion and how they seem to share similar stories.
All in all - it's a beautiful memoir and I would recommend it to anyone who is interested.
