A Town of Empty Rooms
Lately, Serena and Dan Shine are just going through the motions. Their marriage has been suffering since Serena’s father and Dan’s brother both died. Adding to the struggle is their recent exile from New York City to a small town in North Carolina after Serena was caught stealing from her company. In an effort to gain some sense of belonging, Serena becomes involved with the local synagogue, which is led by a charismatic rabbi whose strange behavior both fascinates and concerns her. Dan, too, looks for a way to fill an unexplainable emptiness. He and his son join the Boy Scouts, which is led by his elderly neighbor, who seems friendly enough but becomes overly demanding and subtly discriminatory. Despite being strangers in their own home, Dan and Serena must find a way to close ranks to defend their Judaism in the heart of the Bible Belt. Bender (Like Normal People, 2000) has created complex characters in a novel that provocatively considers our basic need to connect with other people, and how very fragile those connections can be. --Carolyn Kubisz