Rating: 
Summary: Meet the settlers - so-called obstacles to peace
Review: "We're the settlers," declares one of the characters in Risa Miller's debut novel, Welcome to Heavenly Heights. "The obstacles to peace. This is our home." But these settlers are not exactly what you would have imagined, for they are ordinary people like you and me. They go about their daily lives in a small apartment building located just fifteen minutes north of downtown Jerusalem, maintaining mundane routines that include shopping, cooking, cleaning, studying and praying. And yet these settlers are idealists, American Jews who have fulfilled the commandment of making Aliyah and moving to live in the Jewish State. Three thousand years ago, King David bought the heart of Jerusalem from the Jebusites. "Three thousands later, his descendants were still protecting the investment, building settlements, facts on the ground..." As Risa Miller writes, "Heavenly Heights was the settlement closest to the stars, the crown of the Judean ridge." But this dusty, newly constructed settlement is more than just a neighborhood of apartments, synagogues and mountain views. It is also home. Jews living in the Diaspora saw the residents of Heavenly Heights as "heroes, venturing out on the Green line, protecting Jerusalem, spirited keepers of the flame." If they are heroes, the Orthodox Jewish characters that populate this book are primarily to be commended for adjusting to their surroundings at a difficult time in Israel's history. The horrors of Palestinian violence are just around the corner, yet they influence daily activities in Heavenly Heights. Helicopters hover overhead; tanks crowd passenger cars off the settlement's road; and Israelis pay the very physical price for their convictions and idealism. Strangely, most of the action in this novel takes place "off camera." Characters head to a wedding that is never described; young boys get physically ill at Purim celebrations but their fate is left unstated; and the dramatic conclusion occurs when one of the main characters is back with her family in the United States, possibly permanently. Risa Miller won a PEN Discovery Award for her manuscript before it was published. The book received rave reviews, including in the New York Times, which described it as "understated and ultimately heartbreaking," and an "allusive, graceful novel." The Jerusalem Post, however, found fault with the book and criticized its lack of plot, among other things. Novelist Naomi Ragen wrote that Risa Miller presented "the human side of Israeli settlers as struggling families imbued with idealism and filled with sincere historical and cultural claims to their little piece of the Holy Land." As Ragen pointed out, there is a complex human reality behind the screaming headlines of the Middle East conflict. First-time novelist Risa Miller's acute observation, deft prose and wit succeed in giving the reader a better understanding of the hearts and souls of modern-day Jewish settlers.
Rating: 
Summary: Modern Pioneers
Review: I enjoyed this novel. The characters are pioneers. But rather than place them a century ago or more, they are placed far away from many of us in space ... in the Levant. In the wild, wild, West Bank.
I think a key point is that the reader can empathize with the characters. After all, if some law enforcement personnel were to "clean up" their little neck of the woods, the characters we see would fare well. These are hardworking people who both dislike violence and are hurt by violence. And it makes for an interesting story.
Miller's descriptive powers are excellent. And while it might have been an even better novel had there been some thrilling overall plot line, I thought the book was fine the way it was.
Rating: 
Summary: Expected a Better Read!
Review: I looked forward to the book Welcome to Heavenly Heights by Risa Miller after reading the blurbs on the back of the book. And I fully expected to enjoy this book since it was set in Israel where I have enjoyed visting. Unfortunately I didn't enjoy this book as much as I thought I would and seriously doubt I will suggest it to other readers. The book takes place on the West bank of Israel. There in a volatile setting in an apartment complex known as Heavenly Heights are several American couples who have chosen to make "aliyot" to the promised land. Imbued with a sense of urgency to live in this land some are ill prepared for the reality of the country and their very existence. While the men worship together and seek out jobs, it is the women who form a support group to survive their days and nights in such a viloent climate. The book seemed to me more like interwoven stories depicting each families trials and attitudes rather than one narrative. And while some of the characters and events were more interesting than others, ultimately I felt the book was flat and failed as a good read. This book is the debut novel of Risa Miller who obviously not only has an intimate knowledge of the land but also the feelings of those who emigrate expecting one kind of life and getting something else instead. But I am still not sure why I didn't enjoy this book more. Even now several days after I've finished the book I can't put my finger on it. Perhaps it is the state of world affairs at this time. Or perhaps it is the news of what life is like in Israel today which overshadowed my enjoyment of this book. For sure Ms. Miller fully depicted the difficulties American families have making "aliyot" although in the end I didn't find her characters all that interesting or sympathetic. That said I now ask myself if I would I read this author in the future? I am sure I will since I found the writing was quite good, at times even beautiful. I only hope I find her characters in future novels more compelling since I enjoy character driven novels best.
Rating: 
Summary: dispelling the rave
Review: I read about Miller's book in The Washington Post's Book World. They gave it a good review and I am always interested in worldview-broadening stories. However I found the Heavenly Heights main character, particularly her disdain, unsympathetic. I found the vast quantity of similes and metaphors distracting. While Miller's descriptions were beautifully written, she often put them to work on things that weren't integral to the story, which left me feeling as though I didn't know what was important or what she was trying to say with these elaborate descriptions.
Rating:
Summary: A Land With People; A People Without a Land
Review: Many reviewers have praised Ms. Miller for creating a non-political novel which avoids controversy, while focusing on character, the joys of religious observance and the beauty of spiritual journeys. These reviewers viewed the lives of the settlers from Heavenly Heights as being divorced from the conflict between the competing nationalisms of Palestinians and Israelis. They understand the Palestinian/Israeli conflict as tragically intruding on the settlers' innocent religious celebrations and mundane but heroic daily lives. This is a misreading of the novel.Ms. Miller's novel although emphasizing the non-political gives plenty of indication as to the political beliefs of her group of immigrants. Mike belongs to the YESHA Council, which is a right-wing group that supports increased settlement and actively opposes any future compromise with the Palestinians. Also, the rebuilding of the Temple on the site presently occupied by the mosque known as the Dome of the Rock is a recurring motif of the novel. Sandy placed a picture of Jerusalem with the Dome of the Rock erased and a rebuilt Temple penciled in on a hospital bulletin board. The artist Dan'il whose house in the town of Hebron was a station on the group pilgrimage to the Tomb of the Patriarchs painted a picture depicting Jerusalem with a rebuilt Temple. The destruction of the Dome of the Rock is often mentioned as the one act which could cause an immediate total war between Israelis and Arabs. In the Middle East talk about rebuilding the Temple is akin to talking about bringing a bomb on an airplane, nobody can feel comfortable that it is just idle talk. Furthermore, the 500 Jewish residents of Hebron, who live among a population of 30,000 Palestinians, and who constitute one of the most militant and provocative settler communities are described in the novel as "the ligature of the entire enterprise of Eretz Yisrael." Tova calls the settlers of Hebron heroes who are, "suffering for their ideals, for everyone's ideals."Although, it may be convenient to think of Miller's book...as a novel about deeply religious people embarked on a spiritual quest tragically obstructed by the base nationalisms of two warring peoples, this is a mistake. Those who are knowledgeable about the realities of the region will recognize Miller's characters are part of a group whose project is not only religious but political and nationalistic. Their goal is to create Israeli sovereignty over greater and greater portions of the land they see as given to the Jewish people by God. In attempting to achieve this goal they are obstacle to the creation of a viable Palestinian state and thus a serious impediment to any future peace. Just as the current Likud government of Israel disingenuously claims that the occupation and expansion of settlements are unrelated to Palestinian violence and a future peace agreement, Miller's book falsely gives the impression that the urge to create settlements is a spiritual activity which is unrelated to the displacement and disruption of millions of Palestinian lives. Despite its spiritual and non-political veneer, in the end, this book which glorifies the settler enterprise is actually a deeply troubling literary endeavor...
Rating:
Summary: glimpse into the lives of Israelis
Review: Reviewed by Judy Doenges
Sunday, January 12, 2003; Page BW10 Risa Miller's first novel, Welcome to Heavenly Heights is a story of community. In Israel's West Bank, several orthodox Jewish families from America have settled to make aliyah, a return to the land. Among them are Tova and her husband, Mike, who leave their upper-middle-class life in Baltimore for an apartment in Heavenly Heights, hard by the Jordanian border. Tova and Mike and their three children immerse themselves in the lives of the complex's other residents and attempt to adjust to ever-circling army helicopters and bomb searches. Miller depicts their marginal existence in remarkable prose: The blue Judean sky is like "an eye restraining itself from tears." Miller's fine writing contrasts the emigrants' religious rituals with the stark life outside their homes. There's devotion in almost every moment of the settlers' days; even starting life over in Israel is a sign of religious dedication. To Miller's credit, the settlers are not homogeneous. Tova's closest friend, Debra, was raised in Appalachia on country music and stories of her absent Jewish father. Now Debra sings twangy versions of spiritual songs. Fiery Sandy has only one child, which makes her an anomaly in the building, and she has difficulty seeing her son for the troubled child he is. Mr. Stanetsky, a Holocaust survivor, is the building's mortgage godfather, a rich immigrant who subsidizes the settlers' payments. The novel doesn't have a plot per se; instead it charts the settlers' emotional and spiritual adjustments to Israel and to their perceived roles as pioneers. However, what Miller's novel lacks in action is more than made up for by her memorable portraits of people out of sync with both the country they've left behind and with the political reality of their new home. Judy Doenges is the author of "What She Left Me"; she teaches at Colorado State University. © 2003 The Washington Post Company
Rating:
Summary: Episodic novel about the lives of West Bank settlers.
Review: Risa Miller's first novel, "Welcome to Heavenly Heights," is a series of vignettes about a group of people living in the same building on the West Bank. The protagonists of this novel are American Jews who have left the comfort and security of their homes for a precarious existence as settlers in a disputed area of the Middle East. Mike and Tova are one of the couples who make the move. She is a bit skeptical about leaving their comfortable home in Baltimore, but Mike will not allow Tova's qualms to get in the way of his vision for their future. Another settler is Debra, a convert who originally came from Appalachia. She is the daughter of an absentee Jewish father and a non-Jewish mother. Debra loves to sing and her sunny disposition is infectious. Less sunny is Sandy, the mother of an only child, Yossi. Yossi has emotional problems and he is always getting into one scrape or another. Sandy and her husband, Nathan, have their hands full keeping their rambunctious son on an even keel. Miller's book is not political, nor is it linear. There is no plot to speak of. The author acts as a photographer, taking snapshots of the residents of building number four in Heavenly Heights. We get to know these settlers only briefly and we see them as fallible people, each with his or her own issues, who have chosen to risk everything for their ideals. Miller has attempted a difficult literary feat, and she does not completely succeed. The book has an unfinished feel, and there are several sections that left me merely puzzled as to what the author was trying to say. However, Miller does succeed in depicting the tremendous personal sacrifices that the settlers made when they chose to live in Heavenly Heights.
Rating:
Summary: Episodic novel about the lives of West Bank settlers.
Review: Risa Miller's first novel, "Welcome to Heavenly Heights," is a series of vignettes about a group of people living in the same building on the West Bank. The protagonists of this novel are American Jews who have left the comfort and security of their homes for a precarious existence as settlers in a disputed area of the Middle East. Mike and Tova are one of the couples who make the move. She is a bit skeptical about leaving their comfortable home in Baltimore, but Mike will not allow Tova's qualms to get in the way of his vision for their future. Another settler is Debra, a convert who originally came from Appalachia. She is the daughter of an absentee Jewish father and a non-Jewish mother. Debra loves to sing and her sunny disposition is infectious. Less sunny is Sandy, the mother of an only child, Yossi. Yossi has emotional problems and he is always getting into one scrape or another. Sandy and her husband, Nathan, have their hands full keeping their rambunctious son on an even keel. Miller's book is not political, nor is it linear. There is no plot to speak of. The author acts as a photographer, taking snapshots of the residents of building number four in Heavenly Heights. We get to know these settlers only briefly and we see them as fallible people, each with his or her own issues, who have chosen to risk everything for their ideals. Miller has attempted a difficult literary feat, and she does not completely succeed. The book has an unfinished feel, and there are several sections that left me merely puzzled as to what the author was trying to say. However, Miller does succeed in depicting the tremendous personal sacrifices that the settlers made when they chose to live in Heavenly Heights.
Rating:
Summary: glimpse into the lives of Israelis
Review: This was truly one of the best books I've read in a long time - written by an author who likes her characters! I enjoyed spending time with them, felt like I really knew and understood them. Without fanfare, Miller juxaposes the everydayness of being home with children with the danger of doing that on the West Bank in Israel. With surefooted, evocative writing, she tells us why that makes sense. When do we get a sequel? Debbie Goldhair
Rating:
Summary: A realistic portrait of current life in Israel
Review: Through wonderful character development, Risa Miller has managed to capture a realistic view of life in the settlements and all of Israel. I read the NY Times review of this book before my last visit to Israel and on returning read this wonderful book. The people there are so full of life, so committed and are suffering, but in spite of the suicide murderers, they continue to live life. Mrs. Miller so gracefully captures their zest for life and there fear of what may come.
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