Allegra Goodman, author of Intuition and Paradise Park, explores the interrelated lives of three Orthodox Jewish families in her first novel, Kaaterskill Falls. I enjoyed the novel's depiction of Elizabeth Shulman, devoted wife and mother of six daughters, who chafes against the rules and norms of her community. The tension between brothers Isaiah and Jeremy Kirshner as they grapple over who will step into their father's shoes and lead the Rav's community is palpable. Goodman also paints convincing portraits of two teen girls who begin to develop their own ideas about how to live within their closed world: Rachel Melish befriends a sassy, feminist Arab girl and Chani Shulman dreams of visiting Israel. The novel is full of interesting characters, but the story moves slowly and ultimately, I read hoping that the characters would burst out of their shells and take more action. Nonetheless, the novel is subtle and convincing in its depiction of its world.
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