Lovingkindness

by Anne Roiphe

Book Overview

From the acclaimed author of "Fruitful" comes a novel of the love between a mother and daughter. Annie Johnson has worked hard to raise her daughter, Andrea. She is shocked, therefore, when... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0446673889
• ISBN13: 9780446673884
• Release Date: October 1997
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.62 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.2" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

Loving Kindness or manipulation?

This a great story about a Mother and Daughter and what could possibly happen when Mom has her own hopes and dreams for her daughter. Having a teen-age daughter, I found some of my own fears, hopes and dreams in this book. It is an interesting view of a Jewish Yeshiva and how when a child is faced with wanting freedom from their parents how this restrictive refuge can allow freedom. A very intersting book and I highly recommend it.

mildly interesting

Not a masterpiece, but I was able to keep reading it without feeling totally bored to death. I thought the depiction of Orthodoxy was somewhat one-sided but not completely negative; I know a few baal teshuvot (though admittedly no one from the kind of environment described in the book) and I can't imagine anyone refusing to be called by their English name or similar foolishness. (But then again, Andrea and her fiance were so messed up before they became Orthodox that they might be atypical). But the "us against the secular world" attitude that Andrea expresses does ring true to some extent. The book also struck me as part of a common trend of our time- the failure of ultraliberalism seems to have bred a resurgent ultraconservatism, whether in religion or politics.

Quite a literary achievement!

This book is beautifully written.The author captures the essence of the mother-daughter relationship.I would recommend this book to all mothers with daughters.

Breathtaking

This book shines. It is a book about the love between a mother and daughter, about the obstacles on the path to perfect understanding between them, about the ways in which children disappoint and delight their parents. Both the mother and the daughter are completely believable. It is impossible to predict what will happen to them after the book's end. The writing is wonderful, almost lyric. The characters are fully drawn. The plot is entirely organic, with no disruptive elements. The story is firmly rooted in the second half of the 20th century, in the evolution of American Jewry and the haredi response to it. The booked moved me deeply. There is nothing to disappoint in this book, except that it ends.

A tender, provocative exploration of feminism and Judaism

Both a heartwarming and heart-wrenching novel of a mother-daughter relationship in turmoil. Sometimes Annie's '60's feminism is exasperating in light of the difficult teen years her daughter experienced. Then again, one can sympathize with a mother who only wants what is best for her only child. This novel is a beautifully written and tender exploration in the relationship of these two. It also incorporates so much of the Jewish American agenda of the past thirty years. An excellent read!