by Ruchama King-Feuerman
NYRBLit (e-book only), 203 pages
All great movies are, at the core, love stories. And it follows that all great novels are also love stories. And it is for this reason that novels written by Orthodox Jews about Orthodox Jews have been noticeably absent even with the astonishing modern rise of Orthodoxy in North America and Israel. How is a talented author supposed to plum the depths of the male and female heart without succumbing to descriptions of physical love that are considered holy and deeply private? Modesty is a mitzvah. But the modernist novel has become an ocean of nihilistic physical sensuality.
Enter the courtyard of Ruchama King-Feuerman, a fine novelist who just happens to be Orthodox. Seraphic Secret greatly enjoyed her 2004 novel, Seven Blessings, and has been eagerly looking forward to her next offering. The long wait has been worth it.