Sunday, January 30, 2005

The Observant Reader

Wendy Shalit writes an interesting piece in today's New York Times about the spurt, in recent years, of literature about the Haredi community. Her basic thesis is that some of the most successful books -- eg. Nathan Englander's For The Relief of Unbearable Urges , books by Tova Reich and Tova Mirvis -- are written by people who purport to be insiders, but have in fact left the fold or perhaps never even really belonged in it. As a result, they portray the community rather negatively, and without any really idealistic characters. She asks:
What is the market for this fiction? Does it simply satisfy our desire, as one of Mirvis's reviewers put it, to indulge in ''eavesdropping on a closed world''? Or is there a deeper urge: do some readers want to believe the ultra-Orthodox are crooked and hypocritical, and thus lacking any competing claim to the truth? Perhaps, on the other hand, readers are genuinely interested in traditional Judaism but don't know where to look for more nuanced portraits of this world.
Shalit contrasts this to Welcome to Heavenly Heights by Risa Miller and Seven Blessings by Ruchama King, both of which came out a couple of years ago. Writes Shalit:
Like Miller, King doesn't shy away from the problems that affect her world, but she also captures the subtlety and magic of its traditions. In particular, she convincingly describes the sublimated excitement that characterizes ultra-Orthodox dating as tiny gestures take on heightened meaning.
I think that Shalit is perhaps oversensitive here to the books being written by the Mirvises and Englanders of this world. I don't think you can read either of their books without gaining the impression that this is a world they both do -- in vastly different ways, and certainly vastly differently to the way Shalit does -- care about. (I can't comment about Tova Reich whom I've never read.)
In any case, the crux of Shalit's argument is that one portrayal is more 'real'/'authentic' than another. On this I disagree with her. As a Ba'alat Tshuva, she -- and Miller, and King -- see this community in a very different way to the way others who were either born and bred in it, or who grew up in close proximity see it. This does not mean one is 'wrong' and one is 'right.' People simply experience reality differently, and they're entitled to write about it as they see fit.
You could also ask to what extent any author portrays any community / experience 'realistically.' Does John LeCarre portray the spy world "realistically"?? Does Jilly Cooper portray the racing world "realistically"?? Did Bashevis Singer always portray the Shtetl world "realistically"?? I doubt it, and I'm not sure this is a valid criterion for measuring these books.
In any case, I should add that both Englander and Mirvis are, in my opinion, highly overrated, but Risa Miller and Ruchama King were downright awful. Their books had no real plot or tension; they were held together, barely, by the kind of 'atmosphere' which Shalit seems to laud them for. If you haven't heard of them, there's a reason for that. I'm sure there are many people out there who will happily buy more 'realistic' (and by that, Shalit means 'sympathetic') books about the Haredi world if only those which do come out were a little more gripping.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think miriam is making a good point--the BT experience and the FFB experience are equally valid paths, and different, and BOTH should have a chance to explain their experience in literature. I read wendy though as saying that Englander and company were NOT writing about their experience but about a different community. Don't know if that is true though because I haven't read all these books. I've read a few of these books and it is just so much negativity, I couldn't get into them. The Orthodox characters were too cardboard because they were always depressed or bad people. I'm going to read King & Miller now and see if their different perspective makes a more interesting read. For now I agree half with Miriam and half with Wendy.
--RachelB

Anonymous said...

It's true that Shalit, as a ba'alat teshuva (returnee to the faith), may perceive Orthodoxy in an idealized fashion, or at least in a manner colored by its novelty to her. However, this does not render Mirvis, Englander, or any other author who grew up with some experience of Orthodoxy a better judge -- certainly not of haredim, when these authors grew up in Modern Orthodox circles. Shalit's six-year encounter with ultra-Orthodoxy trumps Mirvis and Englander's sharply limited experience with ultra-Orthodoxy -- contrary to what these authors seem to think, growing up Modern Orthodox does not give you an inside view into haredim. Mirvis (whose writing I find mediocre, by the way, especially in her second book) is Modern Orthodox and does not appear to have any inside knowledge of the Boro Park world. While all Orthodox Jews may appear alike to an outsider, insiders are aware of the subtle and not-so-subtle differences in mindset and lifestyle which characterize different Orthodox subgroups. On reading Mirvis's "The Outside World," it was clear to me that she was simply projecting her own misconceptions about Boro Park onto some highly contrived, one-dimensional characters that she created for this purpose. This was confirmed when I read that Mirvis was dismissive of the need to do research for this book. While I did not grow up in Boro Park, I have always had friends and family members who lived there and participated in that society. It was clear from reading "The Outside World" that Mirvis doesn't have a clue. I would hardly say that "everyone" in Boro Park has a TV sequestered in their bedroom, smuggled in in an air-conditioner box. In addition, presuming to describe "everyone" in Boro Park with the same broad brush is misguided at best, and libelous at worst. Certainly, Jews in Boro Park are not perfect and hypocrisy abounds there, as it does in every society. To suggest that they're all alike, though, and all guilty of the same hypocritical deeds and choices, is at least as small-minded as Mirvis would like to believe Boro Park Jews are. In sum, I think it's highly presumptuous for any author to write about a given group without experiencing their mores firsthand. Although a Modern Orthodox upbringing does provide an author with detailed knowledge of Orthodox practices and rituals, it does not guarantee an ability to portray unfamiliar Orthodox subcultures in a convincing manner. In another example (coming from a different vantage point), Pearl Abraham's first book "The Romance Reader," depicting the Hassidic society in which she grew up, was far more authentic than her second book, which depicted "Misnagdish" Orthodox Jews, a group with whom she was clearly unfamiliar.

Jack Steiner said...

Non religious Jews cannot stand to see a frum Jew who derives satisfaction and thrives from her connection to God.That is one of the dumbest and most idiotic remarks I have ever read. It is similar to saying that single people hate happily married people and it has about as much truth to it as that does.

Anonymous said...

a good amount of chasdic FFB. Would love to be seculer. Some feel, like they have no choice being Frum. Either they feel it would break up the marrage, which it would. Others that are single don't have the guts to take the plunge in bening seculer.

I am a BT came from in 1996 when i was 26. I live in boro park. Sinced I moved here. I see alot not so kosher busines dealings and behavor within the "frum" world.

Yes, there are alot of good and bad people in all walks of life. But, just by having a beard and praying doesn't make you a "frum"?

There are times, I think. If I knew back then how the orthodox people act. I would not been BT. I would have said Hell NO! There is so much bull shit being orthodox.

Here is an expamle... For a chassdic kid to go to school some schools the parents has to sign a form stating that they have NO TV or internet in the house. But most "frum" people lie on it. Now you tell me if that frum.


I also seen a lack of respect for the rabbi's not just local. But like bobav and satmar and other groups going though a self serving power struggle over money.

THAT IS NOT FRUM.

the shaigetz said...

I personally have never yet seen Charedim portrayed truly and objectively by anyone on the outside. I doubt that most of the inaccuracies are deliberate though and they are rarely malicious.

I believe that much of the criticism of those that are sometimes less than positive is also unjustified. If a community is going to cut itself off from the outside world it has to expect speculation as to how they tick.

The more valid criticism is of those portraying themselves as insiders and 'in the know' when it is obvious they are neither. I suspect this happens partly because as a group we are so fragmented and the chinks that allow peeping through are so far between that all portrayals are by neccessity going to be flat or one dimensional. Most of those who are close to one or two Charedim think they have unravelled the pattern when in fact it is more than likely that whoever it is they know is not a representative sample. Futhermore Chassidim have a tendency to generalise. Where an educated christian might say "I happen to believe that God allows capital punishment" a Chassid with the same view might say "We believe..." and probably never mention that many Chassidim might disagree.

I, as an unofficial spokesman for Chassidim in the goyishe world have been confronted with the most ridiculous statements that other Chassidim have made in the name of the community. When you bear in mind that the talkers are already a misrepresentative sample...

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