Jephte's Daughter

by Naomi Ragen

Hardcover, 1988

Status

Available

Call number

F RAG Jep

Genres

General Fiction

All Topics

Fiction

Collections

ADULT COLLECTION, Flag to Weed, Adult Fiction

Publication

Grand Central Pub (1988), Edition: First Edition, 436 pages

Description

The pampered daughter of a wealthy Hasidic businessman, Batsheva Ha-Levi grows up in the affluent suburbs of Los Angeles. But everything changes when she turns eighteen and finds that her loving father has made a secret vow which will shatter her life, forcing her to marry a man she hardly knows and sending her to the exotic, golden city of Jerusalem. On her wedding day, she enters a strange and foreign world steeped in tradition and surrounded by myth. Shackled by ancient rules, she soon understands that to survive she will have no choice but to fight for her freedom, to reconcile her own need to live in the modern world with her ancestral obligations, and to choose between the three men who vie for her body, her soul, and her love. Now a classic listed among the one hundred most important Jewish books of all time*,Jephte's Daughter is bestselling author Naomi Ragen's beloved first novel. With poignancy and insight, it takes readers on a groundbreaking and unforgettable journey inside the hidden world of women in the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community. *100 Essential Books For Jewish Readers, Rabbi Daniel B. Sync and Lindy Frenkel Kanter… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member drinkingtea

This was a good read and gives some insight into an area of society not often seen by outsiders. I noticed some reviews of the book were extremely opposed to this book. Personally, while this isn't the experience of many people, it does invite the readers to look closely at those around them. I do

admit that the protagonist doesn't seem all that likeable, though.

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LibraryThing member LindaWeeks

Although it was interesting to read about Orthodox Jews and their rules and religion I found the writing far to over blown and romantic for my tastes. If I had to read one more description about how sweet, beautiful and spiritual Bathsheva was I think I might have tossed this book across the room.

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