The Rabbi's Daughter
by Reva Mann
List Price:
Our Price: $8.51
You Save: $6.49 (43%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $1.95 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Reva MannEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2008-09-30
ISBN: 0385341431
Number of pages: 368
Publisher: Dial Press Trade Paperback
Book Reviews of The Rabbi's Daughter
Book Review: raises interesting questions, but could have been better
Summary: 3 Stars
There are some important questions raised by the story, such as: What does it mean to find balance in one's life? balance between rules and freedom, balance between our roots and our personal nature? balance between old and new? etc. It looks at the place of compassion, kindness, forgiveness in our lives. It asks us to consider self-absorption and it's impact, regardless of how that self-absorption exhibits itself. It seems that everyone in this book is self-absorbed, not just the author.
The writing at the beginning of the book is quite poor. Only later on did it flow better.
I found it hard to deal with the graphic sexual descriptions, whether these were of sexual relations or sexual fantasies. It distracted me from the other aspects of the developing story. But, perhaps, that is just a reflection of how sexual feelings and urges were found by the author to be distracting. I would have liked to recommend this book to friends or my daughters, to use as a starting point for discussion on the questions above; however, given the sex in the book, I will refrain from doing so.
I feel badly for Sam given the exposure of his sexual preoccupations. Even with us not knowing his true identity, he knows it and I can only imagine what it must feel like for him to see himself described so on the typed page. On the other hand, perhaps Reva asked his permission and he gave it.
Regarding whether or not her children will read the book at some future time - I imagine the same dilemma occurs for actors and actresses who appear nude and in erotic scenes in the movies. I wish that people behaved more modestly. I don't find that graphic sex or eroticism advances the theme or plot or character development of any book or movie. It is gratuitous.
I am not sorry that I read this book. I just wish that it had been written better.
Summary of The Rabbi's Daughter
In this honest, daring, and compulsively readable memoir, Reva Mann paints a portrait of herself as a young woman on the edge?of either revelation or self-destruction. The daughter of a highly respected London rabbi, Reva was a wild child, spiralling into a whirlwind of sex and drugs by the time she reached adolescence. But as a young woman, Reva had a startling mystical epiphany that led her to a women?s yeshivah in Israel, and eventually to marriage to the devoutly religious Torah scholar she thought would take her to ever greater heights of spirituality. But can the path to spiritual fulfillment ever be compatible with the ecstasies of the flesh or with the everyday joys of intimacy and pleasure to which she is also strongly drawn? With unflinching candor, Reva shares her struggle to carve out a life that encompasses all the impulses at war within herself. An eye-opening glimpse into the world of the ultra-Orthodox and their elaborately coded rituals for eating, sleeping, bathing, and lovemaking, as well as a deeply personal rumination on identity, faith, and self-acceptance, The Rabbi?s Daughter is at its heart a universal story, a journey toward redemption that is an unforgettable read.Memoirs Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Memoirs Books
Kingdom of Fear: Loathsome Secrets of a Star-Crossed Child in the Final Days of the American Centuryby Hunter S. Thompson
Penguin Books, Limited (UK); Published: 2008-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.11
Price in other shops:
Never Have Your Dog Stuffedby Alan Alda
Arrow Books; Published: 2007-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.59
Price in other shops:
The Hunger: A Story of Food, Desire, and Ambitionby John DeLucie, Graydon Carter
Ecco; Published: 2009-05-12; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $1.77
Price in other shops:
Brotherhood of Warriors: Behind Enemy Lines with a Commando in One of the World's Most Elite Counterterrorism Unitsby Aaron Cohen, Douglas Century
Ecco; Published: 2008-04-29; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $6.82
Price in other shops:
Not Lost Forever: My Story of Survivalby Carmina Salcido, Steve Jackson
William Morrow; Published: 2009-10-06; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $4.99
Price in other shops:
Unlocked: The Life and Crimes of a Mafia Insiderby Louis Ferrante
Harper Perennial; Published: 2009-02-24; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.98
Price in other shops:
Writing Places: The Life Journey of a Writer and Teacherby William Zinsser
Harper; Published: 2009-05-19; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $4.08
Price in other shops:
Got the Life: My Journey of Addiction, Faith, Recovery, and Kornby Fieldy
William Morrow; Published: 2009-03-10; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $3.98
Price in other shops:
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life (P.S.)by Barbara Kingsolver, Camille Kingsolver, Steven L. Hopp
Harper Perennial; Published: 2008-04-29; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.72
Price in other shops:
The Ride of My Lifeby Mat Hoffman
It Books; Published: 2003-09-16; Paperback; Book
Best price: $15.95
Similar Books and other products
The Invisible Wall: A Love Story That Broke Barriersby Harry Bernstein
Ballantine Books; Published: 2008-02-12; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.14
Price in other shops:
Women's Minyanby Naomi Ragen
Toby Press; Published: 2006-03-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.44
Price in other shops:
Sima's Undergarments for Women: A Novelby Ilana Stanger-Ross
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 2010-05-25; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.45
Price in other shops:
The Passionate Torah: Sex and JudaismNYU Press; Published: 2009-06-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $19.54
Price in other shops:
The Saturday Wifeby Naomi Ragen
St. Martin's Griffin; Published: 2008-10-14; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.20
Price in other shops:
Sotahby Naomi Ragen
St. Martin's Griffin; Published: 2009-09-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.00
Price in other shops:
Infidelby Ayaan Hirsi Ali
Free Press; Published: 2008-04-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.96
Price in other shops:
Beyond the Veil, Revised Edition: Male-Female Dynamics in Modern Muslim Societyby Fatima Mernissi
Indiana University Press; Published: 1987-04-22; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.58
Price in other shops:
The Outside Worldby Tova Mirvis
Vintage; Published: 2005-05-10; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.54
Price in other shops:
Unchosen: The Hidden Lives of Hasidic Rebelsby Hella Winston
Beacon Press; Published: 2006-11-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.89
Price in other shops: