From a Sealed Room

This is a beautifully written, lyrical first novel portraying three Jewish women and their lives moving from Poland and the holocaust years, to Israel and to New York, and back again. Ms Kadish waves a complex and moving story which encapsulates much of modern Jewish history and geography. While reading it, one feels as though one were actually walking along the pink and gold stoned byways of modern Jeusalem and walking through the Polish countryside during the middle years of this century. The first read is a sensual and emotional experience. The second read makes one even more aware of the poetry in Ms Kadish's words. This is not an easy read, but is well worth the time spent. This is a writer from whom I am sure we will hear again.

A great book, really hard to put away. It's difficult to describe it with a few words. Read it and judge for yourself.

This book grips the imagination with it's powerful writing and compelling story. Characters are fully developed, and Kadish manages to get deep into their psyches. I was especially impressed with how she developes at least a half-dozen life stores in 300+ pages, making each realistic and meaningful. This is certainly only the first novel from a great new talent. A must read!

Desert Storm is over and all the Israelis feel they can safely leave their sealed rooms that protected them from scud missile attacks. Though the Hussein threat seems to be over, Israeli Tami Shachar still struggles with personal battles. She is drifting away from the three people she cares most about in the world. Tami feels alienated with her spouse and mother, and perceives her son feeling that way towards her.Tami's American cousin Maya goes to Jerusalem University because she feels that's how she can finally cement a relationship with her mother. She lives in a very religious part of the city with Gil, who takes out his memories of his military time on the West Bank on Tami. Living below Maya is Holocaust survivor Shifra, who sees the American student as some sort of savior. The lives of these three women have intertwined as each struggles with modern questions of identity and healing. If they can break out of the sealed rooms of their minds, they may find personal salvation.FROM A SEALED ROOM is a tour-de-force novel that provides the reader with an insider's glimpse into the personal problems confronting Israeli and American Jews. The characters are all fully developed and their interplay provides the impetus to the novel. Rachel Kadish brilliantly provides an emotionally poignant debut novel that will be talked about for years to come.Harriet Klausner

This book is about so some very big themes, and it rises to the occasion as few books could. Kadish uses the voices of three women -- a young American trying to find her own voice against the background of a dominant, ambitious mother; a middle-aged, somewhat dreamy Israeli emotionally cut adrift from her family; and a delusional yet visionary old Polish immigrant to Israel -- to explore the problem of making room for the past without crowding out the present and the future. All the characters in her book are rich and well drawn, but these three women, painted in exquisite detail, wrestle with their humanity in a way that will blow you away. I was stunned and moved to tears by the subtle and increasing profound returns of themes: how to be honest with oneself and others in a complicated world, how to live with the pain of the past without losing touch with the present, how to love through fear and anger, and more. Give this book time. It is a work of real artistry and deep wisdom. It deserves all the attention it might get, if not more.