The family novel is back!
Some themes in Jewish fiction come up again and again. One
year, for example, nearly every new novel involved computer
hacking. Another year, every other novel included Middle East
intrigue.
Readers still reminisce about a type of novel last seen about
eight years ago, the family novel. It was the type of novel
about people like you and me: with husbands, children,
parents, and friends; comfortable, homey settings; and real-
life plots that contained insights we could use in our own
lives. For many, the family novel was the epitome of truly
Jewish literature.
This year, a talented author responds to the wishes of many
by delivering a juicy, 446-page family novel called
Tightrope. Leah Fried's richly detailed story centers
around a new kalla who's just learning the ropes:
balancing her marriage, child raising, career, and social
life, as well as getting along with her new mother-in-law.
Every woman can relate to young Riki Abramson and her day-to-
day discoveries of talents and abilities she never knew she
had. In familiar, everyday scenes, we watch Riki set up
house, take care of her husband and baby, meet other young
marrieds, and teach high school girls. Her broadening
experiences help her better understand her own mother's and
grandmother's life choices. Throughout, the descriptions and
place settings are realistic, colorful, and down-to-earth.
Marrying the youngest Abramson son also means that Riki has
become part of another family that has its own standards and
expectations. Her new mother-in-law, Sima, the respected
director of a nursing home, enjoys a wonderful relationship
with her other daughter-in- law. Yet somehow, she and Riki
fail to click. Outside the relationship, each woman is
competent, confident and well-liked, which makes their
misunderstandings even more frustrating. With great care and
sensitivity, Tightrope explores issues like hurt,
healing, and personal growth, and the courage needed to bring
families together.
One of the novelist's master strokes is the way she jumps
back, forth, in, and around conversations and events to
reveal the positive intentions behind both Riki's and Sima's
actions. This technique allows readers to see both sides of
the picture long before the protagonists do, and thereby
benefit from the chizuk each woman receives.
Like concentric circles rippling outward from a stone tossed
in a pond, Mrs. Fried compares and contrasts the Abramson
family dynamic to that of other mothers, daughters, mothers-
in-law, and daughters-in-law. The nursing home setting offers
a perfect foil to Riki's and Sima's home lives, as its
elderly residents are also parents and in-laws. Some have
harmonious relationships with their children; others struggle
for mutual understanding. Here, too, the author's probing of
each character's inner world adds texture and depth to this
well-rounded family novel.
In an engaging subplot, Riki's husband arranges for her 17-
year-old brother to learn b'chavrusa with one of
Sima's nursing home residents, to help bolster the boy's self
confidence. All but abandoned by his children, the elderly
Mr. Schiller has become overly dependent on his personal
caregiver and is nearly swindled out of his savings.
Through this subplot, Sima learns the hard way that
appearances are not always what they seem: a dedicated
caregiver can be a professional swindler, and an adolsecent
unsure of his own potential can be a clever and resourceful
talmid chochom in the making. This insight paves the
way for her reconciliation with Riki, and the hope that each
will begin to appreciate the other for who she is, rather
than what she wishes the other would become.
Seasoned with wise advice we real-life characters can apply
to our own family relationship, Tightrope promises
many hours of reading entertainment. The satisfying
conclusions of this book are that all shidduchim
(between families as well as individuals) are truly made in
Heaven... and that every relationship can be a source of
blessing and mutual reward.
