I have had this book on reserve at the library for almost nine months and was often tempted to buy it. I'm glad I didn't. I liked the author's first book, The Romance Reader, and hated the second,Giving Up America. So I thought I'd give her another chance. What a waste of time!

The book is in two parts. The first part relates the struggle of a young Chassidish boy, Joel. Joel is attracted to the writings of another Chassidic sect--Rav Nachman of Bratslav, a 19th century mystic whose influence is thought to be harmful. For Joel it is. His difficultues dealing with his sexual urges cause him to try and conjure up, for want of a better term, a female golem using kabbalistic meditations. While meditating inside a rain pipe, a storm breaks and Joel is drowned.

Part 2 concerns Joel's nephew, JoelJakob, who abandons Judaism all together (much like the author) to pursue science. His project at MIT involving a female robot--much like the uncle's golem. The plots never seem to go anywhere. There is a lot of storytelling by different characters, in a style similar to Rav Nachman's stories. But nothing seems to connect. The book includes a new translation of his most famous story, The Seven Beggars.

Anyone interested in Rav Nachman would do better to read Rabbi Arye Kaplan's translation of the complete stories. This book is a mishmash that never gells into anything.

Abrahams book is a fascinating look into a world of the magic and the mundane. A world where letters compose stories yet are stories to themselves. At times I felt as though each sentence
were bursting with shades of meaning beyond the story itself.
A wonderful book from a wonderful, talented writer.