Rating: 
Summary: *Great read for commuters*
Review: If you're looking for an entertaining read for your daily commute-this is a good choice. It's a simple story about the struggle of being the newcomer in a closeknit community-not a new theme, but still an interesting one that most people can identify with. If you're at all curious about Orthodox Jewish traditions and culture, this book gives a good snapshot of daily life and issues. A nice quick read. I'll pass this on to my mom and sister.
Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful
Review: From the moment I turned the first page I couldn't put this book down. The characters are beautifully developed. I can't wait for this author's next book.
Rating:
Summary: This is an absolute page-turner!
Review: There must be something to be said about being pregnant and on bedrest ~~ there are so many books out there I would have never dreamed of reading ~~ nor have the time to really appreciate reading ~~ and this book is definitely one of them! This book promises to touch your heart and soul ~~ especially if you like reading books about mothers and daughters. It all begins in Memphis, in an orthodox Jewish community, where Batsheva moves into this tiny and close-knit community. With Batsheva's arrival, the precarious relationships between the Ladies Auxiliary and their daughters are shaken to the core. Their daughters long to be free of the traditions that they deemed to be restricting ~~ and their mothers are just as stubborn as to holding them to the traditions that make them the women that they are. And soul-searching questions have been brought into this book ~~ religious freedom ~~ what exactly is that? The struggles between mothers and daughters ~~ fighting against tradition and beliefs and self, and personal revelations. This is a book that every mother and daughter should read ~~ even if they are not Orthodox Jews. I really enjoyed this book for its witty conversations ~~ how Mirvis takes you into each character's minds and souls as they struggle through each day with new revelations that comes their way. Mirvis brings the age-old questions into mind as you read this book ~~ just exactly what do women want from their lives as they work together in a religious community? What exactly do mothers expect from their daughters? What do their daughters expect from their lives and from their mothers? Mirvis explores those questions thoroughly in this book ~~ and also adds the old-fashioned southern charm and wit into this book! It's a guaranteed read ~~ you will not be able to put this book down till the last page is turned!! 6-26-02
Rating:
Summary: Topics that touch us all!
Review: Although I have grown up as a Conservative turned Reform Jew in the metro-NY region, I can recognize many of characters in this book as Sisterhood and Temple Board members I have known. Ms. Mirvis insightfully portrays the well-meaning yet somehat alienating cliques who believe they know what's best for their community. I also found this book quite educational, teaching me the inner workings of an Orthodox Jewish community. I especially enjoyed reading the Q& A at the end of the book between Ms. Mirvis and the real Ladies Auxiliary, providing further insight into the novel and the author. I am anxiously awaiting her next book!
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating look at Jewish life
Review: I fiund it difficult to give this book a star rating as I would have preferred to give it 4 1/2 stars,rather than 5. A convert to Judaism,Batsheva,a young widow and mother of a small daughter, arrives in a very tightly knit community in Memphis Tennessee. Her more liberal outlook and her growing closeness to their daughters makes waves and causes unease among the older women in the group.This is virtually all that this book is about!I found the descriptions of the way of life practised by these Orthodox Jews to be fascinating,particularly the cleanliness rituals and the formalised way of food preparation but it all seemed to fizzle out in the latter half of the book.I've given it a 5 as I continued to pick it up and read with interest until the end.
Rating: 
Summary: Who wants to read a bad book? Well, I can recomend this one
Review: Tova Mirvis is a bad writer. I can't believe it took her three years to write this piece of trash. I normally hate books about religon and this was no exception. Judge that as you will. A stupid woman wants someone to tell her what to do and so she moves to the Jewish community where her dead husband grew up. But she is too free. She wears her hair too long, she takes joy from simple things, she doesn't wear shoes. So the women are cruel to her and exclude her. They blame her for the community's coming apart. Instead of Batsheva, the excluded woman, taking a stand against this women and their pathetic, redundant, lives, she continues to live in the community and allow them to treat her badly in the name of God. Also,I could just hear Tova Mirvis screaming, "I'm a Jew, look at my extensive knowlege of Hebrew and Jewish customs." Plus the only reason she got published was that she was her agents intern for a few years. Good writers sometimes waste their whole lives trying to get published. This book is like the plague. Aviod at all costs.
Rating: 
Summary: Is Life this Dull
Review: I began reading this book hoping to learn something about the life of an Orthdox Jew and in the end I did. However, there was nothing really driving the story and it was tedious to finish because there was nothing to look forward to. The characters showed the flaws of us all but they were unrealistic in many ways. I found it hard to believe that a communty like this really exists.
Rating:
Summary: Better than root canal
Review: This book was selected by a local community group for a review session.Prior to attending the review, I thought it was one of the most poorly written books I had ever read. The characters seemed unreal, the plot contrived and the writing tedious at best. The book provoked an intense range of emotional responses from the women in the book club.They clearly saw aspects of themselves and their neighbors in the characters. The confrontation between tradition and modernity, as well as the duplicitous face of communal kindness, are strong thematic tensions in the book. Based on information shared at the book review,these tensions mirrored people's own experiences. Reluctantly, I admit the book is useful in touching on truths that would otherwise remain unexplored.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic look at these women's lives
Review: This was a very compelling read, straight from the beginning. It was a book that provoked a very physical reaction in me - the desire to dialogue with the characters and ask them why or to try and show them more directly how insular or hypocritical they are being. Bonus: I learned a lot more about Jewish holidays, too. Interestingly, the issues I had with the book were addressed in the reader's guide. Primarily, I wanted to know more about the men in the novel. They are virtually undeveloped. It irritated me that young men, in particular, were completely left out of consideration when the women discussed their daughters' behaviors. As if the boys had nothing to do with things. But I understand that leaving them out was done quite purposefully - I just can't help wanting to remind the players that it takes two to tango. All in all, a lovely read and one I would highly recommend.
Rating: 
Summary: An OK book
Review: The theme of a conservative community whose balance is upset by a newcomer is a popular one...probably because it makes for good, if not profound, story telling. The idea that ritual without meaning is pointless is hardly news, but it doesn't hurt to point it out again. This book isn't brilliant, but the writing is acceptably competent. A friend commented that it reads like a long magazine story. I'd have to agree.
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