The Ladies Auxiliary

by Tova Mirvis

Book Overview

Batsheva is an unforgettable character, one who makes her claims on the reader's heart from the first page. The Ladies Auxiliary , beautifully and skillfully told, shows what happens when the outside... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0345441265
• ISBN13: 9780345441263
• Release Date: September 2000
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Length: 338 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.5" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

This is an absolute page-turner!

There must be something to be said about being pregnant and on bedrest ~~ there are so many books out there I would have never dreamed of reading ~~ nor have the time to really appreciate reading ~~ and this book is definitely one of them! This book promises to touch your heart and soul ~~ especially if you like reading books about mothers and daughters. It all begins in Memphis, in an orthodox Jewish community, where Batsheva moves into this tiny and close-knit community. With Batsheva's arrival, the precarious relationships between the Ladies Auxiliary and their daughters are shaken to the core. Their daughters long to be free of the traditions that they deemed to be restricting ~~ and their mothers are just as stubborn as to holding them to the traditions that make them the women that they are. And soul-searching questions have been brought into this book ~~ religious freedom ~~ what exactly is that? The struggles between mothers and daughters ~~ fighting against tradition and beliefs and self, and personal revelations. This is a book that every mother and daughter should read ~~ even if they are not Orthodox Jews.I really enjoyed this book for its witty conversations ~~ how Mirvis takes you into each character's minds and souls as they struggle through each day with new revelations that comes their way. Mirvis brings the age-old questions into mind as you read this book ~~ just exactly what do women want from their lives as they work together in a religious community? What exactly do mothers expect from their daughters? What do their daughters expect from their lives and from their mothers? Mirvis explores those questions thoroughly in this book ~~ and also adds the old-fashioned southern charm and wit into this book! It's a guaranteed read ~~ you will not be able to put this book down till the last page is turned!!6-26-02

Life among Southern Jews

This was truly a memorable read made all the more so since a few weeks after reading this book, I listened to the author speak about this book in person.Like the characters from The Ladies Auxiliaryairy, Tova Mirvis was raised in the Orthodox community of Memphis, Tennessee. And like some of the younger characters from this book, the reader wonders how much Ms. Mirvis questions the way she was raised among Orthodox Jews and their strict compliance to their religion.The Ladies Auxiliary opens as the women of a suburban Memphis community prepare for the Sabbath or Shabbat, the holiest of days among Jews the world over. Into their midst, arrives Batsheva, a new neighbor. For this is no ordinary new arrival, but the young widow of a former resident of the communtity who comes with a daughter. As if that doesn't set them apart enough, Batsheva is also a convert. Almost from the beginning Batsheva seems different than the other women. It is almost as if she forgets everything they hold in high regard. How can a young woman question what the Laws of Moses and study of Torah (which only the men can do)has taught these women? Batsheva sets herself apart from the religious women and this community in the manner of her dress, compliance to certain household traditions and her attitude towards the other women. But worst of all, Bartsheva goes so far as to question rituals in the synagogue and a woman's right to participate in services. What Batsheva fails to realize is that in her own way she's having an effect on some of the congregation particularly the young Orthodox women she teaches. More importantly, the Rabbis son home from his Rabbinical studies for the summer, spends way too much time talking to Batsheva. Its only a matter of time before he also begins to question these religious ways, his interest in becoming a Rabbi and his ability to faithfully lead a congregation. And what the ladies of the auxiliary gradually suspected about Batsheva is happening before their eyes. Not only is Batsheva questioning their ways but somehow beginning to change their children and even themselves. And they cannot allow this to continue. Finally, how Batsheva with her visions of growth and change, and the ladies auxiliary with their time honored traditions will finally come to terms with each other is the stunning climax of this book. This is the first book by an author who certainly knows her material first hand and gives life to her characters. The ladies of this community are microcosms of many women each of us may know. They interfere, they're concerned, they tell tales, they mean well while they hurt other women, they want to eat foods which their religion forbids, they're funny, overwhelmed by their husbands and children, witty and humorous, repressed and sometimes sad. You can laugh at them, nod you're head in agreement with them or astonishment at their views, you may even know them or you may even be them. But you will never forget them or Batsheva. For it is

honorable protagonist confronts conflicted community

The Ladies Auxiliary is cause for rejoicing. Tova Mirvis has permitted us to examine the delicious strengths and corrosive weaknesses of the tightly-knit Jewish Orthodox community of Memphis, Tennessee. Her atistry derives from the multiplicity of voices and perspectives used in detailing the heroic struggle of the novel's protagonist, Batsheva, to gain a sense of spiritual peace and community while exhibiting behaviors which go against the grain of an established, and ultimately, oppressive community.Mirvis writes with extraordinary insight and compassion, both for Batsheva (whom she clearly respects) and the community (whose stability and values she admires and whose unwillingness to engage in self-examination she condemns). Batsheva's quests for belonging and religious authenticity become scapegoats for the other women in the community, who feel threatened by Batsheva's religious spiritualism and her uncanny ability to communicate with their daughters.Those who extol ritual over authentic spiritual commitment may be uncomfortable with this novel. Mirvis herself writes about Orthodox Judaism's move to the right and warns self-satisfied members of her community that repressing young women's desires to know more of the world has more dangerous consequences than permitting them the right of discovery. Those who see themesleves in the Memphis community will receive the greatest pleasure, for the author has written a particular novel with universal implications. Rest assured, you will immediately call other family members even before finishing this wonderful novel and urge them to savor the many gifts of Tova Mirvis.

This one's for the book clubs

I LOVE this book. My book club read it and we had a great discussion. I could identify with all the characters. They are all amazingly well-developed and each one is unique and comes to life. The plot -- a convert moves into a close and insular world -- was fun and filled with suspense. I read it in one sitting because I couldn't want to put it down, (even though my husband kept asking me when I was going to be done reading!)What made it even more interesting was that I have a friend who lives in the Memphis Orthodox Jewish community, where the novel is set, and she said it's exactly like the way Tovah portrays it in the book. Apparently, the people my friend knows there think they can figure out who all the ladies are. Maybe, but I think I know them too in my own community in New Jersey.

A Touching Tale for Readers of All Backgrounds

With a stunning, lyrical clarity, Ms. Mirvis elegantly depicts the unspoken forces and complexities that govern life within the vastly stratified orthodox community. Those in the know will immediately relate to her dead-on portrayal of the archtypical (and not so typical) citizens of such a community, but Mirvis' greater accomplishment lies in the fact that the book has not been written for the "insider." Rather, the story is told in such accessible terms that its characters and setting are appealing to readers of any background. By succeeding in this manner, she has elevated her novel well beyond the "Jewish Writers" genre, to something far more universal.