Hush by Eishes Chayil - Reviews, Discussion, Bookclubs, Lists

Mar 30, 2012 Emily May rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya-na, 2012

I was going to go to bed and write a review in the morning but I can't sleep because this book has affected me so much. I'm really quite disturbed and upset by this so if you're looking for something light and easy: stay away from Hush.

The first piece of advice I would give someone who's going to read this book is to stick with it. I normally find that my initial instincts are correct when reading a novel, if I struggle to get into it in the first few chapters I often never do. However, though...more

I was going to go to bed and write a review in the morning but I can't sleep because this book has affected me so much. I'm really quite disturbed and upset by this so if you're looking for something light and easy: stay away from Hush.

The first piece of advice I would give someone who's going to read this book is to stick with it. I normally find that my initial instincts are correct when reading a novel, if I struggle to get into it in the first few chapters I often never do. However, though I was immediately turned off by all the confusing Jewish terms I'd never heard of and found it difficult to connect with the story and narrator at first because of this, I quickly got used to it and Hush turned into a novel I won't be forgetting any time soon.

This book is about a strict Jewish community where keeping up appearances is what matters most and what happens behind closed doors stays there unless you want to bring shame upon your family. What I didn't know at first is that Eishes Chayil grew up in such a community and has experienced the lifestyle first-hand, the story is actually loosely based on what she witnessed herself as a child (read the afterword). I recently keep finding these novels where the author really knows what they are talking about and it does make all the difference to the story, everything is more detailed, more easily imaginable.

The story reminded me a lot of Speak, but it was more frustrating, more upsetting even, because the protagonist and the victim wanted and tried to speak out. They told people they should have been able to trust - parents, teachers, etc. - and were told to be quiet, were accused of lying because the truth would mean scandal for the family. I was horrified by how many adults failed a nine-year-old girl, how if they'd just put the child's pain before their desire for a squeaky-clean reputation she would still have been alive. Parts of this book felt like the narrator and myself were screaming at the other characters who just put their fingers in their ears and refused to listen.

This is a sad, sad book about guilt and misunderstandings, and those things you tell yourself you don't understand but fear you understand all too well. There's a letter near the end of the book written by the protagonist to her friend who died and it's one of the saddest things I've ever read. I could cry again just thinking about it. The reason this got four stars instead of five is because there were a few parts in the middle that could have been cut out or shortened (like the beginning of Gittel and Yankel's married life) and because I wasn't keen on the beginning. But these are small matters and I highly recommend this book to anyone who isn't afraid of an emotionally challenging read.
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Jul 01, 2011 Kaethe rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: age-ya, cats, domesticity, fiction, friendship, kids, parenting, realistic, sisters, social-issues, strong-smart-female-protagonist, contemporary

This is a great big old mess, but I'm going to go ahead and post it anyway.

It's going to take me a while to sort through all my thoughts about this one. first thing: wow, great job with writing about children who are childish, and easily distracted by shiny things; and also writing about teen agers and newly weds and old marrieds and making them all sound right.

About halfway through the book I was so gutted I didn't know if I could continue.

Great job describing a very specific culture that would...more

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Jan 11, 2012 Emilie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 12, queen-of-bedlam, ya, shakespeares-sister

the chassidic community in the book (like most people) don't want to see or know the truth about devory. when her mad behavior forces them to notice her, they do not ask, what is happening with this girl? instead, they ask, what is wrong with this girl. they tell themselves it's not happening or we can make it go away if we stay silent. they tell themselves that they suffered pain and assume hers must be the same pain and they justify not trying to understand her by condemning her expressions of...more the chassidic community in the book (like most people) don't want to see or know the truth about devory. when her mad behavior forces them to notice her, they do not ask, what is happening with this girl? instead, they ask, what is wrong with this girl. they tell themselves it's not happening or we can make it go away if we stay silent. they tell themselves that they suffered pain and assume hers must be the same pain and they justify not trying to understand her by condemning her expressions of pain and blaming her for not being able to handle her pain the way they think they handled theirs.

it doesn't occur to them that her pain is not their pain, that they don't know what she is going through. but they don't want to know anyway, because it hurts too much. keep it quiet, if you don't talk about it and don't make us listen then it's not happening. they have enough to deal with with the bad things they already know about.
when devory begs gittel and gittel's parents to let her spend the night & not make her return home and locks herself in their bathroom, they don't pay attention other than to think, what a strange and dramatic girl she is...

they judge and assume and they don't listen thinking it will make her problem go away. it works. devory kills herself. and they don't talk about that either. it's like she never was.
gittel finds devory hanging in her bathroom. (i disliked that devory hung herself in gittel's bathroom and i didn't quite believe that devory would do that. but i do believe that it would feel that way to gittel and this is gittel's story really.)

the book is really about gittel and not devory. and i'm ambivalent about that. it's not really devory's story, but in a certain way it plays that it is. but it's really about gittel and how witnessing what happened to devory affects gittel. and i'm cool with it being about gittel. what makes me uncomfortable is the ways in which it sometimes feels like it thinks it's devory's story.

gittel and devory are so close they are almost like sisters. this is part of what was heartbreaking. the sister who didn't want to know the truth about her beloved, even when she saw it for herself. (one night when gittel is spending the night at devory's house, in the dark, and assumed to be asleep, gittel watches as devory's brother rapes her. gittel pretends she doesn't see. and she pretends she doesn't know.) gittel doesn't listen. she doesn't listen to what she doesn't want to hear. a part of me hates gittel for this. later, gittel takes on devory's trauma and her own, for witnessing devory's trauma, and her guilt and the silence that becomes her own kind of madness that she needs to listen to. a part of me is really uncomfortable with that kind-of conflation, but at the same time, it's a trauma to witness a trauma. and it does push gittel on her own journey of finally paying attention to what she is being told about the world and everyone in it. and the gittel character who is the author stand in (eishes chayil says she witnessed a girl being sexually abused as a child and knew another child who committed suicide and so the book is semi-autobiographical.)

i really liked learning about chassidic jews. i really like the way the author weaves in the yiddish that gives a real feeling for the speech patterns and the way the language itself is so specific to the identity and the chosen separateness of this community and it's connection to the past (mostly, yiddish is not a spoken language any longer). i think the reviewer who says that the take away is that sexual abuse occurs more in communities like this one is missing the point and is utterly wrong. it is not that it happens more, and that kind of illogic is exactly part of the reasoning that makes it so difficult for the chassidic people to speak about these issues to people outside their community. they are trying to protect themselves. which is pretty understandable when you think that this is a community in which everyone has at least one aunt or mother or grandfather who was murdered in a concentration camp. a part of them is always waiting for it to happen again.

they don't feel safe, and they try to carve out a safe space by creating an insular world. and they tell themselves (like honestly, most people do, it's just that most people have a bigger insular world and one that is more modern) that danger comes from the outside. how many rape prevention conversations focus on stranger danger, when most rapists are someone you know. so anyway, i liked devory and the goy (ex) madwoman in the attic character quite a lot (and the but-what-if-it's-not-kosher-enough-kosher-candy) more than gittel. but i really liked learning about chassidism from gittel, and i liked watching gittel change. it interested me to learn that in a way, i don't exist for the chassidics; i am neither jewish nor goy (non jew).

i respect eishes chayil (who revealed her real name in 8/11 to be judy brown) for writing this, because breaking silence is hard. and because part of writing this book meant not being a chassidic jew anymore and that was a big part of her identity.

eishes chayil means woman of valor. in the chassidic culture, it's used to signify a woman who behaves according to the principles and laws that end up meaning a woman who follows all the rules set up by all the men in power and keeps silent to protect her community. the author took this name and inverted it, as she sees herself as a woman of valor protecting her principles and protecting children through speaking out. (less)

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May 08, 2013 Kylee added it

The book I read was "Hush" by Eishes Chayil. The authors purpose of writing this book was to inform people what really happens in communities and to make people aware of what the effects could be is you don't stick to what you believe in.

The theme of this book was to speak up and if you believe that what you're doing is the right thing, don't allow anyone to tell you otherwise. I believe this is the theme because the main character, Gittel, is forced to keep quiet about about a crime being commi...more

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Mar 12, 2013 Readnponder rated it 4 of 5 stars

(This YA book should be for mature teens as there is sexual abuse as well some marital bedroom scenes deeply impacted by sexual abuse.)

Set in a Hassidic Jewish community in NYC, Gittel witnesses her best friend, Devory, being sexually abused by Devory's brother during a sleep over. She tells her parents, who promptly tell her she must be mistaken and it's best to forget the whole thing. But Gittel can't forget, neither can Devory, who not long after hangs herself in the bathroom at Gittel's home...more

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Oct 06, 2012 Alisa rated it 5 of 5 stars

I have just finished reading "Hush". Twice. Written as a YA book, it should be required reading for every leader of such a religious community who is charged with the well-being of children,. The author's pseudonym, Eishes Chayal, is well chosen. It means "woman of valor", and she is. She has risked the wrath of the Powers That Be of her community to knock a huge hole in the wall of silence that they use to protect themselves against the evils that are not supposed to happen in a holy community....more I have just finished reading "Hush". Twice. Written as a YA book, it should be required reading for every leader of such a religious community who is charged with the well-being of children,. The author's pseudonym, Eishes Chayal, is well chosen. It means "woman of valor", and she is. She has risked the wrath of the Powers That Be of her community to knock a huge hole in the wall of silence that they use to protect themselves against the evils that are not supposed to happen in a holy community. The story is placed in a fictitious Chassidic enclave in Borough Park in New York City, but it could happen anywhere that people believe that their faith keeps them safe from the evil human beings are capable of.

Without spoilers, the story shows what happens when abuse is denied, when the victim is told they are crazy, are inventing lies to break apart the community, when witnesses are terrified to speak because they will receive the same treatment. They are denied even the words with which to talk about what happened to them, as if denying the existence of the words - rape, sexual abuse - will mean that they don't exist within the community. There is warmth and love and safety, but the safety, at least, is an illusion. The modern world is dangerous, and so they will stop time in the 19th century, will not speak the name "Jesus" or the word "Christmas". And when the victim of abuse commits suicide, her name is never spoken again, photographs of her are destroyed and no one visits her grave....and her best friend is only told she must forget about it all.

It was a punch in the gut for me, personally, because those communities are familiar to me, because while I do not live that life it remains part of the fabric of my family. I have a young cousin currently studying at an Ultra-Orthodox yeshiva. His father is my father's younger brother; my aunt and uncle live in a Chassidic community near Pittsburgh. I was visiting friends in another such community when the rebbetzin (rabbi's wife) quietly checked herself into an alcohol rehabilitation program. When word got out, as it does in small closed communities, her husband was summarily dismissed from his position at the demand of, as a friend of mine put it, a small-souled man more concerned with reputation than her well being who had a rabbinical degree to give him authority. "If you have to make a decision, you ask your rebbe" she told me, "and then do what he says even if it breaks your heart." Neither Gittel nor the author keep silence when they are told to. This book is a tribute to such courage.(less)

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Sep 28, 2012 S.B. Lerner rated it 4 of 5 stars

I found this story of sex abuse in an Orthodox community very interesting.I know little of such a community, so the getting insight into the details of her life was fascinating.
It's written from one POV but in alternating time periods. One is that of a young girl, the other about ten years later, when she is graduating high school. I gave it four stars rather than five because I had trouble with the last section of the book when the young woman really falls apart. The writer did a much better j...more

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Jul 02, 2012 Susan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya

Very interesting book set in Borough Park, Brooklyn. Although the code of silence in the Chassidic group was extreme, it got me thinking about how we all tend to overlook things happening around us because they are too painful to bear. In a situation like the community depicted, the danger of reporting abuse is great because if you are shunned, you have nowhere to go - your schooling, job, religious community, etc. are so isolated that members have few skills that are transferable to the outside...more

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May 05, 2012 Sara rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya-fiction

In this novel, the author uses the unique voice of a young Jewish girl to address a shameful incident which is subsequently covered up by the close-knit religious community in which she lives. Through flashbacks, letters, and narrative, seventeen-year-old Gittel describes the guilt she feels over the death of her friend Devory at age nine, and the events which led up to and followed it. As Gittel finishes school and prepares for her marriage, she becomes increasingly haunted by her childhood fri...more

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Jan 17, 2012 Katie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Hush is a rich and gritty novel about the effects of keeping secrets in a Chassidic community.

Through flashbacks and present day reflections readers get a glimpse of the ripple effect of sexual abuse and suicide within the Chassidic community. The author is unapologetic in the description of the abuse and the criticism of a people who would rather hide such travesties than disgrace a family name. However, through the every day life of the main character we also see the richness of their beliefs...more

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Nov 17, 2011 Ann rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: slis-5425

This was a hard story to read, and it must have been a hard story to write – but I applaud the author for doing so, especially as is is her religion she was decrying. Sexual abuse happens everywhere, but it seems to proliferate in small, closed-in communities, because no one is informed, no help is allowed from outside – and no one talks about it. And breaking the taboo of silence is so hard for anyone in those communities – forget peer pressure, when the whole community is against you, it is a...more

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Nov 10, 2011 Cornmaven rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: hs-adult, adult, high-school

An interesting expose of the insular world of Hasidic Judaism (I'll use the gentile spelling). Written with a pseudonym, the author takes great pains, I think, to prove that she knows what she is talking about in terms of how ultra-orthodox Jewish communities operate. And therein lies the rub. I think it is quite OK to provide enough detail for non-Jews to understand the mindset. I have a particular affinity for Judaism in most of its forms, and read a lot of novels focusing on the faith. It is...more An interesting expose of the insular world of Hasidic Judaism (I'll use the gentile spelling). Written with a pseudonym, the author takes great pains, I think, to prove that she knows what she is talking about in terms of how ultra-orthodox Jewish communities operate. And therein lies the rub. I think it is quite OK to provide enough detail for non-Jews to understand the mindset. I have a particular affinity for Judaism in most of its forms, and read a lot of novels focusing on the faith. It is clearly important to understand the foundation of many Jewish practices, as well as the current teaching about continuing ritual as a way to set oneself apart and preserve the community. But I think some of the tension of the story got lost in the details. Some of the author's narration went on far too long.

I liked the back and forth story tactic - telling the tale of the protagonist as a 9 year old, and then as an 18 year old, when she finally gathers enough courage to buck the denials and the power of the rabbinical leaders and speak out. The back notes state that the author experienced an incident almost like the story, and she felt it her duty to show not only the non-Jewish community but Hasidic Jews as well that these things do go on, and they cannot be denied. And that is an important contribution.

There's a glossary in the back as well for Yiddish and Hebrew words. The fear and hatred of non-Jews among Hasidic Jews is evident, and the author does explain why. It was fascinating to see how naive and ignorant the kids are kept of normal things. It was also fascinating to see the paradox of the command to have a lot of children, but restrict sexual relations to once a month, and deny the sexuality of men and women. Also fascinating to read of the belief that there's no such thing as love wrapped up within marriage, that marriage is strictly an officially sanctioned state within which to procreate.

I did wonder, however, if the author's stated intent is to have this story cover all ultra-orthodox Jewish communities and she made up a name for the sect to which her characters belonged, why did she feel the need to write under a pseudonym? The name was cool though, carrying the meaning, "Woman of Valor." And her husband was clearly a character sympathetic to the cause.(less)

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Aug 15, 2011 Jean rated it 3 of 5 stars

Well, this is an interesting book for anyone reading it but particularly for us goyim, to say the least. It is written under a pen name to protect the author and is essentially a revelation of the Chassidim life in NYC . Every aspect of their ghetto life is revealed from prayer, food, schooling, marriage, etc but unfortunately it also reveals the painful aspect when an unspeakable crime is committed in a family. It is hidden from the authorities and the community at large. Ultimately this decisi...more

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Apr 09, 2011 kari rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011, 5-star, ya

This was a very riveting read, but not an easy read, even though the language in some of it is quite child-like. How's that for a conundrum?
The chapters alternate between a time in the narrator's life when she is 8/9 years and and then 17/18 and while that can be confusing, in this case, the switches back and forth are so well done that they aren't jarring, nor will you be thinking I don't want to read this, get me back to the other part of the story. Both present and past stories are strong and...more This was a very riveting read, but not an easy read, even though the language in some of it is quite child-like. How's that for a conundrum?
The chapters alternate between a time in the narrator's life when she is 8/9 years and and then 17/18 and while that can be confusing, in this case, the switches back and forth are so well done that they aren't jarring, nor will you be thinking I don't want to read this, get me back to the other part of the story. Both present and past stories are strong and pull you in.
I picked this book up because it's about the Chassidic Jewish community and I've read another novel about this religious group without too much understanding of their customs (although I liked the other book) and I wanted to learn more about them and the story seemed interesting. All of that proves true for this book. I did learn much more about their beliefs/traditions and the story was great as well.
Gittel witnesses something as a young girl and no one wants to hear about it, even when the community not listening leads to tragedy, still no one will listen and she's haunted by this as she marries and attempts to begin her adult life.
Without spoilers I can't really go into that too much. What the author does so well is make you realize that because of the very sheltered life Gittel is leading, she doesn't have the knowledge or experience to truly deal with what happened. She also shows both the beauty of their lives and how very restricted it is.
Meaning no disrespect to anyone living this life, I imagine for the women isn't very fulfilling. They grow up knowing nothing of the outside world, not even watching television or movies and marriage is strictly for having children. Gittel is disappointed that she doesn't get pregnant the first month of her marriage and compares herself to her various friends who are married a few weeks more or less than she is, but have managed to get pregnant. I felt sorry for her that her husband seems to want love and tenderness with her and she is freaked out to where she calls the rebbe to report him for it. I felt sorry for him as well.
Gittel's voice is both heartbreaking at times and also can be so funny. Her descriptions of her friend, Devory and the things Devory does to try to get help although no one realizes that's what she's doing, will have you hoping someone will pay attention and put the clues together.
There is a glossary of terms and pronunciation in the back of the book which helped a great deal in enjoying the book.
The author writes under an assumed name and I think this allowed her to say what she really needed to say without ostrcizing herself from her community. Truly I hope she has left this place and is raising her children in a more balanced environment. Again, no offense meant, I'd feel the same about anyone being raised in an ultra-religious community that restricts all normal human interactions.(less)

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Mar 25, 2011 nicole rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011

I picked up this book from the middle of my to-read stack last night, after drying the last A Happy Marriage tear from the corner of my eye. Oh look, I said. Some YA will wash that last book out of my system. The first few pages dispelled that pretty quickly. I thought of putting the book aside, for something lighter.

But that's the thing with this book. You can't put it aside. You can't pretend that it's just an issue book. The slow unraveling of the story keeps you at a steady, nervous pace un...more

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Mar 09, 2011 Brooke rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book kind of gives everyone a reality check. Bad things happen everywhere, even though they are not always acknowledged. Even in a Chassidic community there are crimes unspoken of. Growing up in this community, the children are completely oblivious to what is right and what is wrong in terms of sexual acts and other adult acts. The parents try to keep those secrets from their children until they are married. But Gittel witnessed an act that had to of traumatized her even though she wasn’t s...more

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Jan 27, 2011 Ariel rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya

Wow, what a powerful read! I could not put it down. There are so many things to love about this book, although the story is very disturbing. It's narrated by a Hassidic girl in New York's ultra-Orthodox community of Borough Park whose best friend commits suicide at the age of 9 because she is being molested by her own brother and no one will recognize or discuss what's going on. The fear is that no one will want to marry anyone from a family that has any eccentric or even mildly nonconformist fa...more

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Jan 19, 2011 Maggie rated it 5 of 5 stars

I do not give many 5s and this one I did not have to think twice about. The story is painful because of the subject matter but is one that must be told and retold and talked about and shared.

The first part of the book is told from a child's point-of-view, when the main character is nine through early teens. The second half of the book is told from her viewpoint after she graduates high school and is married.

At the age of nine, she is witness to her best friend being sexually abused by the brothe...more

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Jan 19, 2011 Jan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: teenbooks, contemporary

After remembering the cause of her best friend Devory's suicide at age nine, Gittel is determined to raise awareness of sexual abuse in her Borough Park, New York, community, despite the rules of Chassidim that require her to be silent.

I found this story to be utterly compelling and I was so fascinated by the descriptions of Chassidic culture and by the appalling and very emotional story of sexual abuse.

The book uses time shifts to simultaneously tell the story of Devory and to explore the narr...more After remembering the cause of her best friend Devory's suicide at age nine, Gittel is determined to raise awareness of sexual abuse in her Borough Park, New York, community, despite the rules of Chassidim that require her to be silent.

I found this story to be utterly compelling and I was so fascinated by the descriptions of Chassidic culture and by the appalling and very emotional story of sexual abuse.

The book uses time shifts to simultaneously tell the story of Devory and to explore the narrator, Gittel’s, unresolved grief at what has happened to her. I felt so emotionally connected to Devory and her desperate attempts at acting out to try to bring her terrifying abuse to light. The author, who is Chassidic, really condemns the Chassidim leadership for trying to cover up what has happened and pretend that all is well in their community, when, in fact, this abuse has happened before. This is reminiscent of the Catholic Church and the similar cover ups that took place. I am always fascinated by books about closed societies, such as the fundamentalist Mormons, the Amish, etc. So that fascination, plus the movingly described tragedy, really hooked me.

The writing is matter of fact, but full of emotion. I loved the description of Gittel’s wedding to a virtual stranger and how she begins to adapt to this person of whom she knows nothing. She is so haunted by Devory and her guilt that she must violate all norms of conduct for a Chassidic woman to bring this tragedy to light. She risks everything to do so…her marriage and her status in Chassidic society. This is also a marvelous coming of age story, shaped by Gittel’s struggle to repress her forbidden memories of Devory and her consequent overwhelming desire to confess and receive absolution from her friend.

This is a powerful book that has the veritas of the author’s own experience as a Chassidic woman and as one who has actually seen this (sexual abuse) happen and is determined to bring it to light, just as Gittel does. The fact that she must write under a pseudonym underscores the restrictions of her society.

Themes in the book: freedom, women’s rights in a rigidly patriarchal and religious society, ability to choose your own destiny, guilt and redemption.
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Jan 15, 2011 SaraK rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This book addresses a topic that definitely needs to be put out there - abuse in a very closed, religious community. But I found some flaws with it.

Warning - spoilers abound.

It was very easy to read, fast moving and compelling. I also was physically bothered by certain things and also very moved at others. When Gittel finally told her father exactly what she saw and he held her and cried, she said it was the first time she was her father cry. And I could feel his pain and his helplessness; he kn...more

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Jan 11, 2011 Joan rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011-favorites, jewish_authors_and-or_interest, ya-books, female-characters, morris-winners-honors

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Dec 22, 2010 bibliophile brouhaha rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: library-book, young-adult-fiction

Do you remember studying the Holocaust in grade school? There was a famous saying that you probably learned:

“First they came for the Communists, but I was not a Communist so I did not speak out. Then they came for the Socialists and the Trade Unionists, but I was neither, so I did not speak out. Then they came for the Jews, but I was not a Jew so I did not speak out. And when they came for me, there was no one left to speak out for me.”

—Martin Niemoeller

Niemoeller’s immortal and pointed statem...more Do you remember studying the Holocaust in grade school? There was a famous saying that you probably learned:

“First they came for the Communists, but I was not a Communist so I did not speak out. Then they came for the Socialists and the Trade Unionists, but I was neither, so I did not speak out. Then they came for the Jews, but I was not a Jew so I did not speak out. And when they came for me, there was no one left to speak out for me.”

—Martin Niemoeller

Niemoeller’s immortal and pointed statement on the dangers of political and moral apathy could easily be applied to the small, sequestered community that Gittel and her dearest friend, Devory, live in, located in Brooklyn, NYC. This is a community of ulra-orthodox Jews, and reading Hush is like stepping into a world that you know exists, but the customs and beliefs that they practice are, on the whole, far more foreign than familiar. This story essentially is about three things: a beautiful and enduring friendship between two little girls, a community who hurts its most innocent members in a misdirected and fatal attempt at protecting itself, and how ignorance and fear condemns victims, not the perpetrators.

Central to the story are Gittel (the narrator) and Devory. They were born on the same day at the same hospital and have been best friends ever since. Gittel is a wonderful narrator, and the best way I can describe her is that she’s a cross between Scout from To Kill a Mockingbird and Eloise from Eloise. She is spunky, energetic, and makes observations that are profound in the eyes of a nine-year-old, but ironic and whimsical to the reader. Devory is a bit wilder and often acts out. There is a good reason why she does: Devory is being sexually molested by an older family member. Devory does not have a word to explain what is happening to her. She has nothing to call it. Such things do not exist in their world, the world of the chosen people, all of whom are going to Heaven. It’s only when Devory’s behavior deteriorates and Gittel witnesses the abuse that things come to a head.

The story is separated into two sections. In the first section, the narrative flips back and forth between 1999- 2000, when the girls are nine, and 2008, when Gittel is preparing to graduate from high school and looking forward to becoming engaged. Devory is no longer there. Gittel communicates with her by letter throughout the book. It’s the only way she can communicate with Devory. You learn on the first page of the story that Devory is dead.

This is a multi-layered story with no easy answers and many victims. The community is a well-oiled machine, and social reputation and placement are everything. In the everyday status quo, there is a lot of love and security in the community, and you see this especially in the relationship between Gittel and her father. The also pride themselves on taking care of their own and providing for the least of their community. However, they are distinctly uncharitable toward those who do not act in a proper way, come from a family with a bad history, or who could in any way bring shame upon a family or the community at large. Thus, when something shameful happens, it is hushed up rather than dealt with. By default, Devory is condemned to death. People knew something was wrong. Not one person told the absolute truth, but they knew enough to help her if they wanted to admit what was going on. The stakes are high – speaking out against your fellow Jew literally is a horrible sin, an absolute evil. When someone does try to speak out about something, they bring shame upon themselves and their families. At the least, the community will completely ostracize them; at worst, they may be physically attacked. Gittel spends a good amount the book dealing with her guilt, growing to adulthood with her frozen-in-time best friend haunting her dreams and sharing her thoughts.

It’s not all doom and gloom. There truly is a sense of community here, and the friendship that Gittel and Devory have is enduring, charming and a beautiful thing that you will enjoy watching grow. An extremely important person in the story is Kathy, a ‘gentile’ woman who lives in a rented apartment in Gittel’s home. She is the keystone in this story, and if it were not for her, neither girl would have much exposure to the outside, nor would Gittel ever find a way out of her pain. It’s also a fascinating look inside a community that one rarely gets a glance into, and the author is brave for shedding light on it and its darker issues. ‘Eisher Chayil’ is a pen name, and you will learn in the book that it means ‘Woman of Valor’. I’ve read some review where readers think this is pretentious. I disagree – I think the author is stating what she thinks is ‘true’ valor, and this book is her attempt at living up to her own standards. I don’t blame her for not signing her real name to it; in all likelihood, she probably still lives in this community, and she and her family likely would face expulsion from it if she was ever connected with this book.

This is a well-written book full of the kind of humor that only happens when two worlds collide, and the childish observations that Gittel makes between her world and the modern, secular one will make you laugh. It also has plenty of bittersweet moments, ironical observations and desperate emotions. You will identify with the feeling of friendship, family and community, but will be engrossed and educated in the aspects of another culture. If you like dystopian literature, this may actually be a book for you – even though it is set in ‘real life’, outside influences are carefully controlled, the customs are foreign, the marriages are arranged, and romantic love is a ridiculous notion that only outsiders believe in. There are many Yiddish phrases throughout the book, so please be away that there is a glossary at the end to help you out. I advise reading it before you start the story, and this is most definitely a story worth reading. It’s heartbreaking, poignant and promising, and reaffirms the belief that ignorance and apathy are the enemies of truth and justice.

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Nov 21, 2010 Rachee rated it 4 of 5 stars

What a wonderfully told tale! The book weaves Gittel's story from her youth to her marriage to a proper Jewish man and her decision to step forward and give a voice to her friend's pain. The Chassidic community is presented in a non-judgemental way; the author doesn't seem to blame the community nor does she excuse them. She lets the story unfold and we are able to get a look through the eyes of an innocent child. The narrative drives the book. There are wonderful glimpses into the the insular c...more

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Nov 16, 2010 Bronwyn Parhad rated it 5 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Oct 29, 2010 Sarah BT rated it 5 of 5 stars

Hush is a powerfully haunting book. The author is writing under a pseudonym and by writing this book is giving a voice to all those who have remained silent, and with Hush I believe she does.

The book flashes back and forth between the past and present for the first half, which works really well. You get to understand Gittel and how much keeping silent has tortured her which really makes the reader feel for her and with her. I felt Gittel’s pain and while I might not like that she’s remained sil...more

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Oct 25, 2010 Beth Dailey Kenneth rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: vsba2010

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Probably more 2 1/2 stars...

I wanted to like this book, I really did. As a studious Christian, I was aware of the many sects that out there and knew some about the Chassidic Jews. This book brought me into their homes and their world. I was blown away by their lifestyle and choices.

Devory & Gittel were the best of friends born the same day in the same hospital. But something changed. Devory began to read more and talk less, she disrupted class, caused problems and didn't care. Finally Gittel...more

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Aug 04, 2012 Talia Carner rated it 5 of 5 stars

Simply excellent!
At the start of the novel I was not enamored with the idea of reading a book in a child's voice. But, as I did when reading "Room" by Emma Donoghue, I plowed on and very soon found myself engrossed in strong, detailed and fluid prose.
Eishes Chayil, a pseudo name, taken from the title poem of Woman of Valor, is a magnificent writer. Her ability to get into the emotions of the narrator, the nine-year-old Gittel interspaced with the same narrator's voice at age seventeen, is simp...more Simply excellent!
At the start of the novel I was not enamored with the idea of reading a book in a child's voice. But, as I did when reading "Room" by Emma Donoghue, I plowed on and very soon found myself engrossed in strong, detailed and fluid prose.
Eishes Chayil, a pseudo name, taken from the title poem of Woman of Valor, is a magnificent writer. Her ability to get into the emotions of the narrator, the nine-year-old Gittel interspaced with the same narrator's voice at age seventeen, is simply excellent. The well-crafted scenes and dialogues, and even when she uses exposition to narrate some of the discussions, held me breathless well into the night. The two characters--Gittel, the narrator, and Devory, the girl being raped by her brother whenever he visits from his yeshiva--are beautifully delineated. Devory's behavior, being labeled a difficult, hard to control, and disobedient girl who plays death games when she is with Gittel, and who otherwise buries herself in books and refusing to speak to adults, it very well described. Devory tries to find refuge at Gittel's home, but naturally, Gittel's parents would not have her stay without the girl's mother's permission, which is never granted, sending Devory by force back home, to be molested.
As an author myself with a huge stack of books to read, I rarely go beyond a few pages or a chapter or two before another book hijacks my attention. I am also a slow reader, almost mouthing every word while listening to the music of each sentence and paragraph. Hush kept me reading through two nights!
Child sexual molestation is a subject that is getting more attention in our systems--from schools to media, to police (although our courts, unfortunately, lag far behind while suppressing evidence.) But it is the intimate family setting that is often the hindrance for exposure. In this case, the ultra-Orthodox society closes ranks and refuses to admit to any wrong-doing, and actually punishes those who complain. Punishment in the Chassidic community comes in the form of gossip, ostracism, threats--and most importantly, lowering the family's status when it comes to marrying off their children. The scandal should Gittel expose the repeated rape of her nine-year-old friend by Devory's teenage brother would taint Gittel's family forever and would plummet Gittel's chances of snaring a good match when her time comes in just a few years. And Shmuli, the rapist, is also a talented yeshiva student of the Torah, praised by his rabbi and teachers and revered and admired by his poor parents. Two hours after the police questions him about Devory's death, he is being spirited to Israel, protected by the network of the Chassidic leadership.
Silenced and watching the adults around her deny the cause of Devory's horrific suicide only serves to continue to haunt Gittel's dreams until, upon graduating high school just before her eighteen's birthday, she decides to go to the police. That is where she hears the word "rape" for the first time, a word that sends her into a spin since this is a "goyshe" word (word taken from the gentile, unwelcome, anti-Semite world.)
As an author who's published novels touching on both topics (PUPPET CHILD about our society's failure to deal with child sexual molestation at home, and JERUSALEM MAIDEN about the ultra-Orthodox society albeit 100 years ago) I am delighted that Eishes Chayil wrote this novel, and that she found a publisher to go through with it; all too often, the reason we do not read such books is not because authors do not write about these issue, but publishers are the gatekeepers who avoid tackling the subject.
While I understand why Eishes Chayil did not come forward with her own name and identity--the wrath of the ultra-Orthodox community can be brutal as we've seen with the more recent publication of Unorthodox by Deborah Feldman--I only wish I knew her identity so I can read more of her writing.

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Jun 23, 2012 Abbie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Very well done.

This book does everything it's meant to, and its effective. The issues are there but are not everything, are suspenseful(ish) but not cheaply so.It certainly doesn't put the Chassidic Jews in a particularly positive light, but then - it isn't meant to. The writing is pleasantly invisible.

The book is quietly educational, and in a fun way, and it is so strange to think of a life so different from ours existing in our time. The references to Bloomies and Oprah were incredibly jarrin...more

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Apr 24, 2011 Minli rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult, yay-diversity, contemporary, book-club, made-me-think, made-me-cry

Hush is not something I would have picked up on my own, and I was hesitant going in because the subject matter is one of my triggers. However, I'm really glad I read it, so I have the upcoming book club to thank.

Gittel grew up in the Chassidic Jewish community in Borough Park, Brooklyn, which is steeped in millennia of tradition. Now seventeen and in her last year of school, she's expected to become a wife and mother, but her past still haunts her. When Gittel was ten, she was in the same room w...more

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Apr 15, 2010 Sarah rated it 5 of 5 stars

I really got lucky on this. I was going to ask someone at my former employer to send me their ARC when they were done. Apparently, my order for this (placed months ago) wasn't canceled so it showed up at my house yesterday.

I got through the first 50 last night and covered another 15 this morning - it's that hard to put down.

I have always thought the plot device of jumping between the past and present can be very useful when done well and the author uses it beautifully to unfold her story.

I have...more I really got lucky on this. I was going to ask someone at my former employer to send me their ARC when they were done. Apparently, my order for this (placed months ago) wasn't canceled so it showed up at my house yesterday.

I got through the first 50 last night and covered another 15 this morning - it's that hard to put down.

I have always thought the plot device of jumping between the past and present can be very useful when done well and the author uses it beautifully to unfold her story.

I have a feeling that this will be one that really sticks with me (the way Sarah's Key, This Gorgeous Game and similar books where the author creates a sort of feeling even when writing about a pleasant moment where you think "this simply cannot end well").

Finished it this afternoon:

My introduction to Jewish families in literature was when my mom read me the All of a Kind Family books when I was little. I LOVED the stories of Ella, Hennie, Sarah, Charlotte, Gertie (and Charlie!) and their lives in turn-of-the-century New York. And I suppose I have read my share of Holocaust types of stories over the years too. And I remember a Seder at our church when I little. So I would say I had at least enough knowledge of Jewish practice to understand the basics, even though I didn't know the details of how Chassid families practiced their faith. This story lifts the veil on the inner workings of modern families in this very conservative/orthodox branch of Judaism.

I can't say enough about how well the author did in not losing her way in keeping her story lines distinct and yet interwoven as she jumped back and forth in her time line. She didn't lose sight of the story she needed to tell about about the stigma of sexual abuse within her community by going into too much detail about how the faith is practiced in the community. And she didn't spend so much time on the details of the lifestyle that she lost site of sexual abuse issue.

I think it can't be easy to write an "issue" book and still tell a beautiful "coming of age" sort of story. It was funny when it needed to be. It was absolutely heartbreaking at times. And all of it beautifully and respectfully written.

I really admired how the author didn't make fun of the beliefs or practices she knew growing up. Any "sect" is, I think, easy to reduce to cliches and certainly her frustration with secrecy and denial could have influenced her to present her characters in a negative light. Instead, I felt I truly understood why the characters made the choices they made, even if they wouldn't have been my choices.

Ah, I think I should have waited a day to write this! I feel a little scattered in my thoughts. This is not an easy book to read, but also not an easy book to put down. I am looking forward to seeing it released later this year and I hope it reaches those who need to hear its story.

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