The Believers--Zoë Heller
As you may have discovered here, often these reviews are merely a summation of what has been posted over several days or weeks. Last night I finished reading Ms. Heller's book and find myself today with the task of rendering some synopsis of my experience which will translate my delectation and delight or my onerous task into a distillation of recommendation.
Let's dispense with that immediately--Ms. Heller's book is one of the best recent books I have read in the past year. (I don't want to try to compare it to Mrs. Dalloway, Ulysses, or The Sun Also Rises, all rather daunting companions in the literary way.) I think I say enough when I note that while it hasn't replaced Yiyun Li's The Vagrants in my affections, it has certainly risen to thosse heights--heights marked by a desire to reread the book almost immediately to catch what wasn't caught the first time through.
The story, such as it is, is simple enough, Audrey Litvinoff's husband Joel has a stroke in the courtroom as he is preparing to defend a person accused of planning a domestic terrorist attack. Audrey and Joel are classic radical left adherents, supporting causes such as a Palestinian homeland (one thinks instead of rather than in addition to the nation of Israel) and classically "left" causes even if they have ceased to function in any meaningful way to contribute to social justice (the Democratic Party in this particular instance.) Thereafter ensues almost no hilarity and a progressive (pardon the pun) erosion of the understanding they all had of what constituted their family life. Audrey, Rosa, Karla, and Lenny are the wife and children of Joel; Hannah is his mother; Jean is the friend of Audrey and a staunch supporter. All of these characters and others are mixed together in a delectable stew of revelation and a deep study of the human heart and the human capacity to change and to believe. At the end of the story it appears that two characters have made choices that will make their lives and the lives of those around them better, and two have chosen pathways that are likely to end in heartache and despair, if not worse.
Each of the characters comes to the table with the troubles that they have forged for themselves or inherited from their generous parents' cornucopia of Jellybyism. Rosa is having a crisis of faith in the causes that she has so staunchly defended throughout her life and is beginning to discover the meaning of being Jewish--that is, not merely a scion of a Jewish line, but an adherent of the Jewish faith. Karla is struggling with a marriage that doesn't fit well. Lenny is a slacker and a drug addict whose life is one continuous relapse, fueled, in part by his mother's lack of any boundaries, and Audrey has her life with Joel to fuel her angst, anger, anguish, and ultimately her joy. Each of these characters is a believer in one thing or another. Audrey believes in her liberal causes (sort of) but ultimately is a believer in Joel (and this is probably one of the most touching parts of the book), Rosa is growing into becoming a believer in the Jewish faith, Lenny is a believer in laissez les bon temps roulez, although, again, not really--he is probably the closest to an agnostic in the family, and Karla is a confused mixture of belief in whatever the closest person to her is believing at the moment--a sort of Zelig among believers. In the course of the book we see how the belief system of each of these persons changes (or does not change) to the betterment (or detriment) of the person involved.
One of the things that most impressed me about the book is how Ms. Heller was able to take a thoroughly unlikeable character like Audrey and turn her into a person for whom one feels great compassion and to some extent, for me at least, admiration--particularly as regards her conduct in her marriage. Another powerful impact on me was the accuracy with which Ms. Heller chronicles some of the aspects of reentering (or entering for the first time) into faith--how easy some things are to grasp--a certain level of intolerance with one's previous life--and how difficult are others. I found this interesting because in my personal history I've spent a lot of time moving from one faith to another. The most recent, and I hope permanent transition, was from my childhood protestant faith into the Catholic Church. I joined the Church and spent 11 years fighting all the doctrine and dogma that my humanism and my secular experience taught me. I spent longer than that coming to terms with an approach to the Blessed Virgin, and so when I read of Rosa's struggles, they resonate for me in a remarkably true-to-life fashion.
Rosa's judgmentalism as typified here is revealed as she begins to join the Orthodox; however, we are to discover that it is an ingrained personality trait stemming not from religious training, but from her early political indoctrination. However, once she has determined right or wrong, everyone around her is expected to toe the line. And here, we begin to see the transmutation of right and wrong into a new understanding. As a classic "liberal" Rosa should have been neither shocked nor particularly concerned about how her roommate and brother carried on. But as she begins to understand that there is a system of belief that transcends personal pleasure, she becomes intractable on her new discovery.
Heller also records with remarkable aplomb the reactions of those around Rosa to her conversion experience.
What is interesting here is the truth of the situation. Even if it were not religion, it is the perception of those outside of the experience that religion is the cause for the central ills that they are experiencing. One person's choice in religious matters ends up coloring another person's perception of the convert either (if one is religion favorable) positively or negatively. That is, even if Rosa's grumpiness is merely Rosa in this situation, it is immediately attributed to "her religion." This seems a very common phenomenon as well.
One last instance with Rosa on conversion:
And this is the kind of support one can count on when making the journey of faith. It is one of the reasons that Jesus advised that we would have to leave brother and sister to move forward in faith. "He who sets hand to the plow and looks back is unworthy of the kingdom." Because, in fact, he or she will never make it. The common experience of the convert is the necessity of dying to self and opening to God, which demands much from all around.
I could go on and on about Rosa. Most of the passages I have marked out are moments in her faith journey, which makes up one of the most interesting strands of the interwoven lives of these characters. But another beautiful observation comes with Karla and her relationship with Khaled.
This comes as a powerful salutary reminder: as bad as things may sometimes seem and as unjust as some actions taken are--we are free to point out, protest, and eventually undo those actions. We do not simply disappear upon protesting. In this way, Ms. Heller points up a very nice contrast between this world and the world of Li's The Vagrants.
One final note that compares two believers.
Out of context, this statement is a stark revelation of Audrey's character, but in context it is a touching and beautiful revelation of Audrey's capacity for unconditional love. I encourage you to read this wonderful book and find out why.
I don't think that it is possible for me to recommend this book highly enough or to thank those whose consistent advise pushed me toward reading it. Get it yourself and find out why this is one of the best books of the last decade.
*****--Highest recommendation
Let's dispense with that immediately--Ms. Heller's book is one of the best recent books I have read in the past year. (I don't want to try to compare it to Mrs. Dalloway, Ulysses, or The Sun Also Rises, all rather daunting companions in the literary way.) I think I say enough when I note that while it hasn't replaced Yiyun Li's The Vagrants in my affections, it has certainly risen to thosse heights--heights marked by a desire to reread the book almost immediately to catch what wasn't caught the first time through.
The story, such as it is, is simple enough, Audrey Litvinoff's husband Joel has a stroke in the courtroom as he is preparing to defend a person accused of planning a domestic terrorist attack. Audrey and Joel are classic radical left adherents, supporting causes such as a Palestinian homeland (one thinks instead of rather than in addition to the nation of Israel) and classically "left" causes even if they have ceased to function in any meaningful way to contribute to social justice (the Democratic Party in this particular instance.) Thereafter ensues almost no hilarity and a progressive (pardon the pun) erosion of the understanding they all had of what constituted their family life. Audrey, Rosa, Karla, and Lenny are the wife and children of Joel; Hannah is his mother; Jean is the friend of Audrey and a staunch supporter. All of these characters and others are mixed together in a delectable stew of revelation and a deep study of the human heart and the human capacity to change and to believe. At the end of the story it appears that two characters have made choices that will make their lives and the lives of those around them better, and two have chosen pathways that are likely to end in heartache and despair, if not worse.
Each of the characters comes to the table with the troubles that they have forged for themselves or inherited from their generous parents' cornucopia of Jellybyism. Rosa is having a crisis of faith in the causes that she has so staunchly defended throughout her life and is beginning to discover the meaning of being Jewish--that is, not merely a scion of a Jewish line, but an adherent of the Jewish faith. Karla is struggling with a marriage that doesn't fit well. Lenny is a slacker and a drug addict whose life is one continuous relapse, fueled, in part by his mother's lack of any boundaries, and Audrey has her life with Joel to fuel her angst, anger, anguish, and ultimately her joy. Each of these characters is a believer in one thing or another. Audrey believes in her liberal causes (sort of) but ultimately is a believer in Joel (and this is probably one of the most touching parts of the book), Rosa is growing into becoming a believer in the Jewish faith, Lenny is a believer in laissez les bon temps roulez, although, again, not really--he is probably the closest to an agnostic in the family, and Karla is a confused mixture of belief in whatever the closest person to her is believing at the moment--a sort of Zelig among believers. In the course of the book we see how the belief system of each of these persons changes (or does not change) to the betterment (or detriment) of the person involved.
One of the things that most impressed me about the book is how Ms. Heller was able to take a thoroughly unlikeable character like Audrey and turn her into a person for whom one feels great compassion and to some extent, for me at least, admiration--particularly as regards her conduct in her marriage. Another powerful impact on me was the accuracy with which Ms. Heller chronicles some of the aspects of reentering (or entering for the first time) into faith--how easy some things are to grasp--a certain level of intolerance with one's previous life--and how difficult are others. I found this interesting because in my personal history I've spent a lot of time moving from one faith to another. The most recent, and I hope permanent transition, was from my childhood protestant faith into the Catholic Church. I joined the Church and spent 11 years fighting all the doctrine and dogma that my humanism and my secular experience taught me. I spent longer than that coming to terms with an approach to the Blessed Virgin, and so when I read of Rosa's struggles, they resonate for me in a remarkably true-to-life fashion.
from The Believers
Zoë Heller
"Hey," Lenny said. He gave a sleepy, childlike wave and walked into the bthroom.
"Hey," Rosa repeated mechanically. It was years since she had had occasion to witness he brother's near nakedness. The revelation of his bony, yellow chest and emaciated pin legs was almost but not quite as distressing to her as the apparent fact that he had spent the night with her roommate.
"So," she said, looking at Jane.
Jane cringed. "I hope you don't mind, Rosa, it was just--"
"Please! You don't need to justify yourself to me." Rosa turned and walked briskly back to her bedroom. At the door she glanced around at Jane, who was standing where she had left her, staring abjectly at the floor.
"Jane?"
"Yes?"
Rosa leaned, smiling, against the doorjamb. "I don't want to alarm you or anything, but you might want to get yourself checked out by a doctor. My brother does have quite a history of venereal disease. With that she disappeared into her room and closed her door.
Rosa's judgmentalism as typified here is revealed as she begins to join the Orthodox; however, we are to discover that it is an ingrained personality trait stemming not from religious training, but from her early political indoctrination. However, once she has determined right or wrong, everyone around her is expected to toe the line. And here, we begin to see the transmutation of right and wrong into a new understanding. As a classic "liberal" Rosa should have been neither shocked nor particularly concerned about how her roommate and brother carried on. But as she begins to understand that there is a system of belief that transcends personal pleasure, she becomes intractable on her new discovery.
Heller also records with remarkable aplomb the reactions of those around Rosa to her conversion experience.
from The Believers
Zoë Heller
Rosa gave a little moan of irritation. "You're not Mom's indentured servant, you know."
"Sorry," Karla said, scrambling up.
"Don't say sorry," Rosa snapped.
"Sorry. . . I mean, okay." Karla smiled. "How are you? How was your day?"
"Fine until I got here, " Rosa replied sulkily.
Karla laughed nervously. Religion, she felt, had made Rosa more forbidding than ever.
What is interesting here is the truth of the situation. Even if it were not religion, it is the perception of those outside of the experience that religion is the cause for the central ills that they are experiencing. One person's choice in religious matters ends up coloring another person's perception of the convert either (if one is religion favorable) positively or negatively. That is, even if Rosa's grumpiness is merely Rosa in this situation, it is immediately attributed to "her religion." This seems a very common phenomenon as well.
One last instance with Rosa on conversion:
from The Believers
Zoë Heller
"Yes," Rosa said, that's true. But right now, I'm interested in finding out something about my people and where I come from."
"Where you come from?" Audrey repeated. "Your people? What are you going on about, Rosa?"
"The Jews," Rosa said. "I hate to break it to you, but we are Jewish."
Audrey clapped her hands. "And Mike is a gentile. Should he be thinking about joining the Aryan Nation?"
"So do you actually believe in God now, Rosa?" Mike asked with a smirk.
Rosa paused. When she spoke it was with great self-conscious dignity. "I can't answer that, Mike. Sometimes I do."
"Oh, bloody marvelous!" Audrey exclaimed. "Sometimes you do! What does that mean?"
"You know," Rosa said, turning to her mother. "it would be nice if once in a while you were actually suppotive of something I did or said [ . . .] "
Audrey looked at her with exaggerated astonishment. "What are you talking about? I've never been anything but supportive of my children."
And this is the kind of support one can count on when making the journey of faith. It is one of the reasons that Jesus advised that we would have to leave brother and sister to move forward in faith. "He who sets hand to the plow and looks back is unworthy of the kingdom." Because, in fact, he or she will never make it. The common experience of the convert is the necessity of dying to self and opening to God, which demands much from all around.
I could go on and on about Rosa. Most of the passages I have marked out are moments in her faith journey, which makes up one of the most interesting strands of the interwoven lives of these characters. But another beautiful observation comes with Karla and her relationship with Khaled.
from The Believers
Zoë Heller
"My cousin, he owns a deli in Yonkers," he said. . . "After 9/11, the police came to his home and took him away for questioning. They wanted"--he began to laugh softly--"they wanted to know why he had a picture of the Twin Towers on the wall of his restaurant."
"You're kidding!" Karla said. "How long did they keep him?"
"Oh, not very long. Maybe two days."
"My God, that's terrible!"
"Well, he didn't like it, being put in jail like a common criminal. But there were people who had much worse."
"There's American justice for you."
Khaled shook his head. "You're always saying bad things about America. This is a beautiful country. You don't know."
Karla sat up. "How can you say that after what you just told me?"
My cousin wasn't beaten or tortured. He was set free after two days. In other places in the world, we would never have seen him again."
This comes as a powerful salutary reminder: as bad as things may sometimes seem and as unjust as some actions taken are--we are free to point out, protest, and eventually undo those actions. We do not simply disappear upon protesting. In this way, Ms. Heller points up a very nice contrast between this world and the world of Li's The Vagrants.
One final note that compares two believers.
from The Believers
Zoë Heller
"Mom!" Rosa wirggled with impatience. Sometimes, as a little girl, she had been so desperate to catch her mother's wandering attention that she had actually placed a hand on Audrey's cheek and pushed her head around to face her. "Mom! Are you listening to me?"
"Audrey turned to her. "You want to know what I'd do if the truth revealed itself to me and it wasn't the truth I wanted to find?"
"Yes."
Audrey smiled, "I'd reject it."
Out of context, this statement is a stark revelation of Audrey's character, but in context it is a touching and beautiful revelation of Audrey's capacity for unconditional love. I encourage you to read this wonderful book and find out why.
I don't think that it is possible for me to recommend this book highly enough or to thank those whose consistent advise pushed me toward reading it. Get it yourself and find out why this is one of the best books of the last decade.
*****--Highest recommendation
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