The Marrying Of Chani Kaufman
Eve HarrisEve Harris’ rich tale about the semi-arranged marriage of two young Jews in London mixes humour with pathos and adds a dash of rebellion.
Twenty-year-old Baruch Levy fell for Chani Kaufman when he glimpsed her in the women’s section at a wedding. Nineteen-year-old Chani has never had physical contact with Baruch, but is bound to marry the stranger. Rivka, the rabbi’s wife, teaches Chani what it means to be a Jewish wife, but Rivka has her own past to think about. Eventually, buried secrets, fear and sexual desire bubble to the surface in this story of liberation and choice.
"Engages from the very first page, slipping the reader deep into the orthodox Jewish community, beyond the rituals and prayers, the constraints and the hair-covering wigs, into the secrets and emotions beneath, illuminating the story of Chani's journey from schoolgirl to bride and revealing the lives of others around her besides. This novel is beautifully done and highly recommended." - Daily Mail (UK)
Eve Harris was born in London to Israeli-Polish parents. Her father moved to England aged 10, and had survived the Holocaust by hiding, hence why ‘we’re no longer a religious family’. She worked first at a Catholic convent school and then at an all-girls’ ultra-Orthodox Jewish school – the experience that lay behind The Marrying of Chani Kaufman. She also wanted to write the book because ‘It can be hard to see ultra-Orthodox Jews as people with the same types of human frustrations you experience.’