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bahareads 's review for:
Jerusalem Maiden
by Talia Carner
"The urge to paint was a fountain that coursed through her, her fingers only a conduit to something so big it was hard to imagine her little heart contained it. Surely, this was the work of God. He must be guiding her hand."
Jerusalem Maiden shows the struggle of finding yourself and your way in a culture that doesn't suit who you're supposed to be. Esther, being raised as a Hasidic Jew in Jerusalem, does not live a comfortable life. It's even harder being a female Hasidic Jew than being a male. You have to grow up quick. Your childhood is limited, and your life's work is bare children to hurry the Messiah's coming. The arts are forbidden because they could cause you to stumble by leading to idolization. Esther is a talented artist whose struggle we get to witness in depth throughout the different periods of her life shown to us.
Jerusalem Maiden is a character paced book. We only see through Esther's POV. The pacing is slow, but it fits the story. We grow as Esther grows and learn more as she does. Esther's struggles help highlight the period in which she lives. I enjoyed learning more about middle east, more specifically Palestinian area with the decline of the Ottoman Empire and the rise of British Rule in the area. I rarely read from the points of view of people who were already living in Palestine at that time.
I rarely feel such emotional distress when it comes to characters' struggles, but there were a few points in the book where I almost cried. The ending had me dying on the inside; I thought that it was going to go one way for a hot minute. The epilogue (or last chapter) was very insightful. I would have loved to see and hear more details about the old woman's life, but that's the beauty of the ending. We are left with our imagination to fill in the blanks left behind.
Jerusalem Maiden shows the struggle of finding yourself and your way in a culture that doesn't suit who you're supposed to be. Esther, being raised as a Hasidic Jew in Jerusalem, does not live a comfortable life. It's even harder being a female Hasidic Jew than being a male. You have to grow up quick. Your childhood is limited, and your life's work is bare children to hurry the Messiah's coming. The arts are forbidden because they could cause you to stumble by leading to idolization. Esther is a talented artist whose struggle we get to witness in depth throughout the different periods of her life shown to us.
Jerusalem Maiden is a character paced book. We only see through Esther's POV. The pacing is slow, but it fits the story. We grow as Esther grows and learn more as she does. Esther's struggles help highlight the period in which she lives. I enjoyed learning more about middle east, more specifically Palestinian area with the decline of the Ottoman Empire and the rise of British Rule in the area. I rarely read from the points of view of people who were already living in Palestine at that time.
I rarely feel such emotional distress when it comes to characters' struggles, but there were a few points in the book where I almost cried. The ending had me dying on the inside; I thought that it was going to go one way for a hot minute. The epilogue (or last chapter) was very insightful. I would have loved to see and hear more details about the old woman's life, but that's the beauty of the ending. We are left with our imagination to fill in the blanks left behind.