Welcome to Litsy!

I first heard about this novel on Bookworm with Michael Silverblatt back in February. Sthers translated the novel from French to English herself. She‘s also adapted and directed the film version! Really enjoyed this funny, yet at times heart-wrenching epistolary novel. #witmonth #saturdayreading

Ok so I read the pre-release version, so I can only speak to that. I‘m sure that once it was released there were many changes to it, but the version I read was just dumb. It was so 2-dimensional and was trying so hard to be deep but it just didn‘t. It was an easy read, because the entire thing is written through letters and emails, but it just wasn‘t good.Especially the ending where it forced a big event but didn‘t wrap up the book properly.Meh...

5🌟This book sucked me right in. I absolutely loved how it is done in letter form. Through these letters and emails we get an inside look at a family of four all living very different lives, attempting to accept one another. Throw in religious beliefs and everything gets more complicated. The character study here is facinating!! Each one offered something different. The writing is spot on! I laughed and cried. A very poignant read.

Plan to try to knock these 2 books out between tonight and tomorrow. Anxiously awaiting my copy of Crooked Kingdom so I can continue that!

I read this in the original French. There were some funny parts, some heartbreaking parts, but it just didn‘t quite come together for me. It didn‘t really feel like a complete book. I‘m very curious to see how they turned this into a movie.

Thank you #NetGalley for an ARC of this original story. David, a retired NY cardiologist flees his ex wife & 2 grown kids to become a pig farmer in Israel. YES, YOU read that correctly. Told through letters & emails this epistolary novel at once witty & ridiculous follows the family & one hippie Rabbi as they come to terms with their current life situation. Insightful social & political commentary wrapped in a bite size treat. 3/5 stars