The Ladies Auxiliary

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Summary: Rituals and Rebellion
Review: Rituals can be sources of comfort or isolation. Within Judaism, rituals help unite the community and bring each Jew spiritual satisfaction. However, in Tova Mirvis' "The Ladies Auxiliary," Batsheva is shunned by the Memphis Orthodox Jewish community for cherishing her rituals and denounced for trying to inspire others to follow the Jewish rituals. This book is a good book both for teenagers and adults, because it is important at every stage of life to re-examine what we do and why we place significance on certain actions. The theme of rebellion amongst the teenage girls applies to teenagers of any religion, who do not want to follow rules without being explained their meaning. This book would also be appropriate for couples of different religions or different sects of Judaism, as it would spark a discussion of the differences and similarities in lifestyle and spirituality. On a broader scale, this book could start a great dialogue about tolerance, even within close-knit, homogenous communities. Is there a way to strike a harmonious balance in following rituals, so that they provide for personal growth but remain intact enough to keep a community together? This question is raised and will spark your thoughts while reading "The Ladies Auxiliary."

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Summary: Very good start
Review: The book starts of very well. About halfway into the novel it starts to get SLOW & predictable. I did enjoy the tradition & yiddishkite the book offers.A sweet story!

Rating:
Summary: The Ladies Auxillary
Review: An excellent first effort. Tova Mirvis wrote and entertaining and informative book about the culture of orthodox Judaism. As a teacher in a small evangelical Christian high school, I found the parallels and similarities amazing when Mirvis wrote about the constraints felt by the teenage students. As a Christian, I also found her book informative, especially when she described the many holidays celebrated by the women in this novel. Upon finishing this book, I felt a sense of loss, as it was hard to say goodbye to Batsheva and the others, they had become friends and neighbors. A good read!

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Summary: So, y'all, vat happened to the ending?
Review: Tova Mirvis wrote a wonderful story of an unlikely community to most Jews and non-Jews alike - an orthodox community in Memphis, TN. This may seem like a highly unorothodox place for such a community.

Her female characters are wonderfully crafted and her male characters are just the (intentional) backdrop. Yet three of the main characters, Batsheva, the convert-outsider, Mimi, the rabbi's wife, and Yosef, the favorite son, seem to be out-of-character at the end. It was as if in her book she was performing the mitzvah of only harvesting the grain in most of the field but leaving the crops at the edge for those less fortunate. I got three-quarters of the way through her harvest of ideas, but at the end, I so wanted the edge of her field of dreams.

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Summary: The Best Book I have Read All Year
Review: Very rarely will you find a book that offers insight into the Orthodox community in a positive light. At the same time, the book is honest... it exposes both the positives and the negatives. On top of that, it is a wonderful story.

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Summary: Compelling, well-written story about Orthodox community
Review: It's hard to believe that this is Tova Mirvis' first novel. She has crafted a wonderful story of a community mired in the past, clinging to their traditions in the hopes that they will protect them from damaging influences from the outside world. What they don't realize is that they are driving their children away. Enter Batsheva, who wakes everyone up with her unconventional ways. I didn't want the book to end.

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Summary: A newcomer lends perspective to the Orthodox Jewish world
Review: I found this book to be enjoyable reading for several reasons. Not only is the story of a young widow joining an Orthodox community in the South a unique and compelling one but the traditions and values of the Jewish community were intriquing and interesting to read about. The book revolves around a young widow and her young daughter who have moved to Memphis to begin a new life in a neighborhood where all the Orthodox Jews have known each other for years and years. The arrival of the new woman starts tongues wagging and the other women in the community are particularly intrigued by her rather unique ways of behaving - she manages to remain just within the acceptable boundaries of Orthodox Judaism but barely so. She wasn't raised as an Orthodox Jew but converted before her marriage. Even so, her fervor and passion are actually stronger than many of the women who were born and raised in the Orthodox tradition and they often fall short of her whole-hearted adherence and faithfulness to this way of life. There is a great deal of humor in this book and it is clear that the author is familiar with the lifestyle of Orthodox Jews living in the South, from the women's use of, "Shalom, Y'all" to their frequent discomfort with wearing the traditional long skirts and full-sleeved blouses in the heat. I look forward to reading more of this author's books in the future. This had some of the stiffness and erratic flow of a first novel but even so I found it to be a fascinating book to read.

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Summary: You don't have to be Jewish
Review: This book really spoke to me and I'm not even Jewish. It captures brilliantly the potential for small-mindedness and stunted growth in a tight-knit insular community. Many sub-groups within our society suffer from this problem and serve only to stifle creativity and turn away those who long to be different. I don't think I have ever read a novel narrated in a collective "we" voice such as the one in the Ladies Auxiliary and it succeeds wonderfully. What better way to portray the homogeneous collective opinions of the town than to let it speak for itself? This is a really great novel that brings up interesting questions of outsider vs. insider and tradition vs. modernity. I highly recommend it!

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Summary: Leaves you yearning...
Review: On the surface, this book may be about Judaism in Memphis, but it's equally "about" Catholicism in Calcutta, Hinduism in Halifax or Lutheranism in Lachine.

Whatever your religious background, this book is a lesson in discovering the best of your faith in a small-town (or minority) environment, but also a realistic reminder of the infuriating closed-mindedness that can arise in any tight-knit community.

Ms Mirvis leaves you yearning to take what is wrong with the world and fix it, and she seems to suggest here that change for the better is possible, however difficult it may be to learn from our mistakes.

This book is as anthropologically accurate as it is seamlessly (almost effortlessly!) entertaining. Ms Mirvis shuns tidiness and stereotypes for a book which reveals the true potential of religious faith. A masterful debut indeed.

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Summary: Doesn't live up to its promise
Review: After a fascinating prologue, this book falls flatter and flatter with each succeeding chapter. The characters become two-dimensional stereotypes, the plot slows to a crawl, the humor degenerates into preachiness. This book starts out with great promise but ultimately devolves into mediocrity. Such a shame!