Long before Americans became obsessed with the tribulations of Shtisel’s Giti and Ruchama, Naomi Ragen had already written five novels that pulled back the curtain on the lives and challenges faced by Orthodox Jewish women.
Now she builds on the often-fraught love story of Leah, the newly observant California girl, and Yaakov, the ultra-Orthodox widower she introduced in An Unorthodox Match. Leading readers into the community’s suspicion that Leah is a dangerous interloper, Leah’s own ambivalence about the restrictions imposed on her, Yaakov’s break from his beloved yeshiva and the secret relationship of their troubled daughter, An Observant Wife presents yet another nuanced portrait of an isolated community and the struggles of its female members to breathe.
An American-born novelist, playwright and journalist living in Jerusalem, Naomi Ragen has published 11 novels and a hit play. She is also a dedicated activist for the rights of religious women.
More About Women on the Move: A Virtual Series
Temple Emanu-El’s Stettenheim Library is proud to present its fourth edition of Women on the Move, a series that welcomes female authors to discuss their latest work probing the intricacies of our lives.
The series will be moderated by Zibby Owens, writer and creator of the popular podcast Moms Don’t Have Time to Read Books, one of O: The Oprah Magazine’s favorite book podcasts; journalist Jordana Horn, co-host of the Call Your Mother podcast and contributing editor at Kveller; and Marjorie Shuster, Coordinator of Literary Events at Temple Emanu-El.
Sponsored by The Samuel I. Newhouse Foundation Authors’ Series, honoring Theodore and Caroline Newhouse and Susan Newhouse