Diana Bletter

Four women have found themselves immigrating to Israel, some from idealism, some for love. They come together in a bond that helps them adjust to a culture that is very often not easy. All four join the local hevra kadisha, a burial circle. Being Jewish, I am familiar with the tradition and the blessing one derives from helping someone that cannot return the favor. Upon death, the “burial circle” lovingly and reverently prepares the body for burial. The body must be cleansed and wrapped; and the body is not to be left alone before burial. One cannot perform this precious ritual without being changed themselves.

We slowly get to know these four women: Lauren who moved to Israel after falling in love with an Israeli man, Emily who follows her best friend Lauren there, Aviva whose work brought her there and she chose to remain, and young idealistic Rachel wants to change the world. Some find more than they expected, and some are very disappointed.

The story covers a period of six years. The gaps sometimes confused me, but not horribly so. I just had to look back to the previous chapter for the “date stamp”. Each chapter does begin with a date and year so that helps. I could see the evolution of the characters and how well they did, or did not, adjust to their new homes. I found the varying reactions of the characters to their new home to be very realistic. Israel is a difficult country to adapt to. Life there is difficult. But life there also has its incredible moments that you would not exchange for anything. The women there must be strong and must adapt to loss. Our four women experience many losses – loss of loved ones, loss of innocence, loss of hope, loss of home. I have known women like all four of them.

There is a wonderful variety of “supporting characters” to the story. These characters bring in the elements of multi-cultures, of Holocaust survival, of fatigue from life itself. Some are able to handle the stresses, some cannot. It is a realistic look at people striving to survive under often soul-destroying conditions.… (mehr)

A Remarkable Kindness, a book about 4 Jewish American women who live in a small village in Northern Israel, initially felt fairly shallow and flat to me. It seemed as if I was reading "chick lit" Israeli-style, which in of itself is not bad, but the characters were not particularly interesting. There were several whirlwind romances, affairs etc. told in a superficial style that I found unappealing. However, as I continued the characters became more complex and I became more engrossed with the stories of each women, especially Aviva who was written with greater depth.

Each woman was impacted by the war. They all handled their grief, loss and trauma differently but yet were connected to each other by it as well. Their biggest bond was being part of a burial circle, a ritual where dead bodies are prepared for their funerals. They are washed and tended to with love and care and because the village is so small, the women know the dead intimately. I loved how they took care of the dead but also each other. It was very moving.

Lastly, I did not like how Arabs were portrayed. There was not one complex character who was Arab and they were portrayed fairly negatively which is unrealistic and unfair.

Thank you Edelweiss for giving me this opportunity to review this book for an honest opinion.… (mehr)