The Marrying of Chani Kaufman

By: Eve Harris

Narrated by: Jan Cramer

Perhaps the most surprising and intriguing novel on the Man Booker Prize longlist, The Marrying of Chani Kaufman is a debut originally published by a small independent Scottish press that is already garnering significant attention worldwide.

London, 2008. Chani Kaufman is a 19-year-old woman, betrothed to Baruch Levy, a young man whom she has seen only four times before their wedding day. The novel begins with Chani standing like a "pillar of salt", wearing a wedding dress that has been passed between members of her family and has the yellowed underarms and rows of alteration stitches to prove it. All of the cups of cold coffee and small talk with men referred to Chani’s parents have led up to this moment. But the happiness Chani and Baruch feel is more than counterbalanced by their anxiety: about the realities of married life; about whether they will be able to have fewer children than Chani’s mother, who has eight daughters; and, most frighteningly, about the unknown, unspeakable secrets of the wedding night.

As the book moves back to tell the story of Chani and Baruch’s unusual courtship, it throws into focus a very different couple: Rabbi Chaim Zilberman and his wife, Rebbetzin Rivka Zilberman. As Chani and Baruch prepare for a shared lifetime, Chaim and Rivka struggle to keep their marriage alive. And all four, together with the rest of the community, face difficult decisions about the place of faith and family life in the contemporary world.

©2013 Eve Harris. Recorded by arrangement with Grove/Atlantic, Inc. (P)2014 Audible Inc.

Great listen

Good story. Wonderful characters. Interesting to listen to. Definitely recommend. Wish the narrator would slow down just a bit. But still really enjoyed.

Interesting insight into another way of life

The story takes you through various aspects of Jewish haredi lifestyle giving a deeper understanding of its religious context. It also reveals the underlying complexity of relationships as they live within the constraints of the community and their own desires for individual freedom of thought and action.

Great Story! Horrific Narration.

Loved the book but almost quit because of the horrible narration. She reads as if there is no punctuation - one continuous run on sentence. I was able to get through listening to it at .90x speed.

Susie....UES

What fun to read especially if you understand the true dynamics of the inner workings of the cultural settings of their homes !the nuances are amazingly beautiful correct.

So great, it heeds perfection

The reader did really well making the world of the main characters real. The story is one of different perspectives and is very clear on the change in who/when/where. However, through no fault of their own, the reader mispronounced the letters “ch” to make a “sh” instead of its throaty pronunciation in various words/names. In these cases, my brain was taken out of the well established world of the story to then figure out what these words were supposed to be. After a while, I got used to it.

View and evolution of an unfamiliar culture

This was a book club book, and I surprisingly thoroughly enjoyed it! It's about different generations at different times of super religious Jews, and how they change over time. Some go from total non-believers to super believers and back again, and how different people's experiences affect their friends and societies and the whole base of their individual beliefs and societies. I founded and changed Some of my own beliefs about this group of people. Despite the impression that are unwavering, Their lives are affected by Personal experiences and those of their loved ones.

Very good all around!

Interesting,, well-written, and performed!
Thanks to the author, narrator and audible for this good book and performance.

Kol hakavod

Wonderful story and I just loved listening to the British pronunciation of Jan Cramer. Great telling of a cool story.

Thought Provoking

I think this book deserves a Part Two. It would be so interesting to know what happens to these characters in their futures.

Easy to read

Different and fun to read! My Jewish background helped me l understand the book! Enjoyable!