An Unorthodox Match tells the story of Leah Howard. The author begins the “Lola” story with a few pieces of her growing up. so what I found intriguing was the fact that her father, whom she meets just a few times, is Jewish. Her mother was semi jaded and bitter, the author takes care in addressing a lot of that. Now her mother is with Ravi an man from India that doesn’t embrace his beginnings either. They lead a life in California living together and not doing anything to help Lola with her troubles. She was born Lola but changes her name to Leah when she decides to embrace the world of Orthodox Judaism. This is what I found so interesting. Leah’s father was a Jew too and she sort of suddenly embraces this religion because she has always been searching and never belonged to anything.
Leah moves to Boro Park, Brooklyn- the place where I grew up. She is trying to recover from the death of her fiancé. This is the first huge plot twist. The death is finally spoken of. Leah finds a place to volunteer, a purpose, a way to give back, which is a huge part of her religious exploration. Sometimes the rules are not easy to follow. I know a lot of people may not get the book like I did, but growing up around Chassidic Jews, I found it very interesting.
The other component is Yaakov Lehman, a widower who has five children. His wife passed and through the struggles with his Mother-Inlaw, he accepts volunteer help. This part of the story has a lot of DRAMA. His oldest daughter Shaindele is a B*tch. A somewhat troubled teen. This is exposed as well as his wife’s death. HUGE
Will Yaakov and Leah be able to overcome these family obstacles? WOW what a book. I hope that IF you are searching for something to quench your thirst in the heat, you grab this. I totally loved the author’s style, the scenery in Brooklyn and the tale of how the community can help and hurt a person. For me, the book brought back very happy memories.
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Naomi Ragen is the author of many novels, including several international bestsellers, and her weekly email columns on life in the Middle East are read by thousands of subscribers worldwide. An American, she has lived in Jerusalem for the past forty years and was voted one of the three most popular authors in Israel.
The author of several novels such as The Ghost of Hannah Mendes, The Saturday Wife, Jephte’s Daughter, The Covenant, The Sisters Weiss, and The Devil in Jerusalem. Her books are international bestsellers, and her weekly email columns on life in the Middle East are read by thousands of subscribers worldwide. Ragen attended Brooklyn College and earned her master’s in English from Hebrew University. An American, she has lived in Jerusalem since 1971. She was recently voted one of the three most popular authors in Israel.
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