The Marrying of Chani Kaufman
Harris takes readers into the insular ultra-Orthodox Jewish community in London. It is 2008, and 19-year-old Chani Kaufman is about to marry Baruch, a young man whom she has seen only four times. As she stands uncomfortably in the wedding dress used by her mother and her older sisters, she is nervous about what the future holds, especially since her knowledge of the physical aspects of marriage is lacking. Using flashbacks to tell the story of this arranged courtship, Harris contrasts the story of Chani and Baruch with that of Rabbi Chaim Zilberman and his wife, Rebecca, who met at a university in Israel and became observant as adults. While Chani and Baruch begin life together as a couple, Chaim and Rebecca are struggling to maintain a viable marriage. The book introduces readers to a little-known way of life and asks us to consider the role of faith and family in today’s world. Anyone interested in relationships will enjoy this fascinating take on the subject; in fact, Jane Austen fans will find much that is familiar in the well-developed characters and the social conventions they must navigate. --Barbara Bibel