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Saturday, June 2, 2012

The Romance Reader and Reading Pearl Abraham


    

      In American Taliban Abraham writes that John Parish “ introduced himself to himself.” In The Romance Reader, Rachel has, in a way, done this as well. As the narrator detaches from her community, as she peels away the layers of religion, marriage and seamed stockings, she begins to gain a true understanding of herself. At the novel’s close, Rachel is on her way to what Abraham calls “Gnosis,” the “deep, internal, imaginative knowing of oneself.” Although Rachel has not yet reached this state at the end of The Romance Reader, her rebellion and determination to find freedom indicate she will get there one day.
The author hopes that all younger generations are given the opportunity to achieve “Gnosis.” She described her fear, saying that we may not get the time we need to reach internal understanding. When the John Walker Lin story first appeared in 2001, Abraham feared that “Gnosis” would no longer be possible. She worried that Lin’s story would keep young adults from setting out on their own and seeking knowledge and power. Abraham turned these reservations and suspicions into fuel for her book, American Taliban.
 Perhaps the author’s conviction and devotion to the idea of “Gnosis” stems from the importance it played in her own life. It seems that to create characters who achieve or will achieve “Gnosis,” a writer must have experienced the phenomenon herself. Abraham has. Her attachment to freedom probably comes from the lack of it that she had as a child.  Stifled by the parameters of her religion, Pearl was emerged in the conventions of her family’s belief system. “In life, we are always emerged in something, but being emerged in anything doesn’t lend itself to self discovery,” Abraham said. She seems to have found “Gnosis” in college, when she had distance from the Jewish community and room for exploration.
In Shoshana Ziblatt’s review, “‘The Romance Reader’ Reveals Dreams, Tensions of a Chassid,” the author states that “Pearl Abraham’s first work of fiction, leaves the reader wondering where the author's identity ends and the main character's begins. And therein lies its success” (Ziblatt). Rachel and Pearl are plagued by the same dilemmas. Both vacillate between family and the desire for freedom. It was surprising that even now, decades later, the tension between the author’s past and present still feels palpable.
Although Pearl outwardly protested the stringencies of the Hasidic community, she also stated that the culture is “not based on corruption but on beliefs.”  In Shoshana Ziblatt’s review,  the author states that Abraham belongs to no “ organized branch of  Judaism, but still feels what she calls the "internal rhythm" of Chassidic culture.” Pearl still clings to the romantics of her religion; “Sunsets on Friday nights mean something to me, certain religious days of the year mean things to me," she said (Ziblatt).
The author approached religion with what seemed to be a newfound practicality.  She discussed religion as fiction, explaining that “it begins with a vision by some leader. If it is true enough, it gets picked up.” She also noted that the founder of Hassidism was a fiction writer himself.  These ideas harkened back to some of Nicole Krauss’ statements. Krauss remarked that God was the greatest created character of all. Abraham also defended religion, stating that modern society tends to blame it too much. She acknowledged that religious convictions can be limiting, but this might not always be the case, “sometimes it is just an easy fault.”
Pearl Abraham’s personality was, perhaps, the greatest surprise this year. Areyah Lev Stollman was soft-spoken and self-aware, just as I would have envisioned an adult version of his protagonist. Nadia Kallman was slightly eccentric but filled with the same enthusiasm that permeated in The Cosmopolitans. Nicole Krauss was careful with her words and spoke in the same lyrical style as The History of Love. Although Pearl had biographical similarities with Rachel, and although both strived for the same goals, their personalities varied significantly. While Abraham has said that "Rachel is impulsive in a way [she] is not” and that she is “not so courageous,” the opposite seemed to be true (Ziblatt). Perhaps it came with life experience, but Abrahm seemed devoid of  insecurities and comfortable with her place in the modern world.
It has become abundantly clear that compassion is one of the most important qualities a writer can have. Stollman stated that the empathy he uses with his patients translates in his writing as well. Kallman said that her own similarities with her characters allow her to write with a deeper understanding. Krauss remarked that writing is the road she takes to empathy, which leads to better writing. Abraham would probably agree with all three. She believes that an author must “have a kind of love and understanding for every character she creates.” Rachel’s mother is a fierce, strong woman trapped in a Patriarchal society. Pearl said that as a writer, she loved writing the mother’s character the most. She was an antagonist for Rachel, but she suffered too.
At one point in the evening, Abraham quoted her mentor E.L. Doctorow, who said that a writer “ knows best when he knows the least.” I believe this true. However, Abraham’s The Romance Reader seems to negate this idea. Pearl’s novel is compelling, poignant and ultimately successful but didn’t she use the what she new and had lived to create her story?



Ziblatt, Shoshana. "’The Romance Reader’Reveals Dreams, Tensions, of a Chassid." The Jewish News Weekly of Northern California (1995): 1-3. ProQuest. Web.

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