What do you think?
Rate this book
Olive Days
A smoldering novel about an exhausted young mother in an Orthodox Jewish community of Los Angeles whose quest for authenticity erupts in a passionate affair following a night of wife swappingRina Kirsch is an exhausted young mother and Modern Orthodox Jew in the Pico-Robertson neighborhood of Los Angeles. Dutifully keeping to the formidable expectations of a traditional household connects Rina with generations past and those to come. But a contradiction burns at her Rina is an atheist. She is also stymied in her life and marriage.Hoping to reinvigorate their relationship, Rina’s husband convinces her to partake in a night of wife swapping with other Orthodox couples. Rather than preserve her marriage, however, the swap plunges Rina down a heady path that begins with a rekindled passion for painting and culminates in an intoxicating affair with Will, her married Mexican American art teacher. Clandestine rendezvous and stolen moments of ardor awaken Rina to an existence beyond the confining parameters of tradition, offering a glimpse at the possible life she left behind in the olive groves of her youth. As the blush of erotic thrill comes into sharp contrast with the complications of living a secret life, Rina must decide if it’s worth sacrificing everything she’s ever known to fully inhabit the uncharted landscape unfolding before her, one where her needs take precedence.Told in the fevered tenor common to both lust and religious devotion, Olive Days is an unforgettable story of the agonizing choices women make to balance duty against desire.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published September 10, 2024
145 people are currently reading
7242 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 136 reviews
November 29, 2024
Jessica Emerson’s writing is good but the story of Olive Days — about an exhausted, young Orthodox Jewish mother of two, who begins an affair with her art instructor — was not one I connected with.
I don’t need to like all the characters in a story to enjoy it, though I prefer to have someone to root for or see character growth, which I couldn’t find here. Rina was frustrating throughout the book, in both her thoughts and actions, and she never grew on me. I didn’t care for the men in the story either. After such a long journey, the ending also felt underwhelming. I wanted more from Olive Days, it’s safe to say this wasn’t for me — 2.5 stars
I don’t need to like all the characters in a story to enjoy it, though I prefer to have someone to root for or see character growth, which I couldn’t find here. Rina was frustrating throughout the book, in both her thoughts and actions, and she never grew on me. I didn’t care for the men in the story either. After such a long journey, the ending also felt underwhelming. I wanted more from Olive Days, it’s safe to say this wasn’t for me — 2.5 stars
April 25, 2024
Olive Days is a story of loneliness and the forbidden lusts that simmer beneath the rigid traditions of Orthodox Judaism. Emerson crafts a haunting portrait of Rina, a woman plunged into quiet fury after her husband pressures her into a night of wife swapping. Through Rina's smoldering point of view we see a woman's heart divided between lust and duty, alienation and longing, in a heartbreaking novel that will resonate with anyone who has ever wished to be known.
September 29, 2024
Nope. Not my bag of tea. Two stars only because I stuck it out to the end and even the end annoyed me.
September 9, 2024
I really liked this book, fell into it quickly and become completely immersed. The writing is excellent, the characters flawed and real, the southern California setting rendered so artfully, you can smell the ocean's briny tang and feel the warm autumn winds. I was rooting for Rina and Will and their doomed love affair, and loved the open-ended ending. 4.5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
October 22, 2024
I felt like this book was well written but I just could not get behind the plot. Nothing about it made any sense and nothing about Rina’s characterization made any sense and the various details were simply not true to the life I know. I am a sucker for any book about Orthodox Jews but this book was overly salacious, simplistic and even silly. Rina may be an overwhelmed unhappy martyr but that doesn’t have much to do with her religion. Also, books that glorify and romanticize infidelity are just not it.
September 28, 2024
Mesmerizing, so well crafted, a complete surprise. Stayed up late to finish which I rarely do. This one will stay with me.
October 4, 2024
I needed some time to digest this book. I usually speed read, but Rina’s character arc required me to put it down to think. She is morally gray and utterly real. I am writing this review to process my thoughts.
There were times when I connected with Rina, and others when I felt like I was watching from afar. At first I mistook this for choppy writing, but I think it has more to do with how connected or disconnected Rina felt with her true self in that moment. Upon that realization, I understood how much skill it takes to emulate such complex emotions.
I also found it fascinating that Rina and Will were foils of one another, Rina tied down by her Jewish traditions and Will liberated by the conversion process. I really liked Part II, which was written in Will’s POV, because it showed how much he connected to the Jewish faith. Rina was under the impression that he was converting for her, but he was truly converting for himself. He loved Rina and loved that she introduced him to a new way of life. And yet, the events of Will’s chapter were what doomed them.
As a romance reader, my favorite chapters were the ones where Rina and Will felt the most connected. I loved their trip to Big Sur where they experienced a semblance of what their life together could be. So when the tide turned and Rina decided she could no longer be with Will (at least for the time being), I was heartbroken. I was heartbroken that she made him go back to his loveless marriage, that she wasn’t liberated from her duties as an Orthodox Jewish housewife. Rina was stuck in a loveless marriage and had two other men pining over her, yet chose to stay. After two years of sin (which she says she doesn’t believe in) she found her line. She chooses the moral high ground even at her own expense. A heartbreaking choice, but one I respect.
I was frustrated, but understanding, that the ending was open ended. Rina went through that entire journey for her life to remain the same, but was so emotionally different. The story wasn’t really about her and Will, it was about her like as an Orthodox Jewish woman and the freedom of choice. At the end, she understood that she had a choice between her Orthodox life and a life with Will, and she chose the former. Who knows what she might choose in the future?
While not I would normally read, I appreciated the beautifully written prose was and the thought provoking story. Don’t read this for escapism, read it for an emotional journey.
There were times when I connected with Rina, and others when I felt like I was watching from afar. At first I mistook this for choppy writing, but I think it has more to do with how connected or disconnected Rina felt with her true self in that moment. Upon that realization, I understood how much skill it takes to emulate such complex emotions.
I also found it fascinating that Rina and Will were foils of one another, Rina tied down by her Jewish traditions and Will liberated by the conversion process. I really liked Part II, which was written in Will’s POV, because it showed how much he connected to the Jewish faith. Rina was under the impression that he was converting for her, but he was truly converting for himself. He loved Rina and loved that she introduced him to a new way of life. And yet, the events of Will’s chapter were what doomed them.
As a romance reader, my favorite chapters were the ones where Rina and Will felt the most connected. I loved their trip to Big Sur where they experienced a semblance of what their life together could be. So when the tide turned and Rina decided she could no longer be with Will (at least for the time being), I was heartbroken. I was heartbroken that she made him go back to his loveless marriage, that she wasn’t liberated from her duties as an Orthodox Jewish housewife. Rina was stuck in a loveless marriage and had two other men pining over her, yet chose to stay. After two years of sin (which she says she doesn’t believe in) she found her line. She chooses the moral high ground even at her own expense. A heartbreaking choice, but one I respect.
I was frustrated, but understanding, that the ending was open ended. Rina went through that entire journey for her life to remain the same, but was so emotionally different. The story wasn’t really about her and Will, it was about her like as an Orthodox Jewish woman and the freedom of choice. At the end, she understood that she had a choice between her Orthodox life and a life with Will, and she chose the former. Who knows what she might choose in the future?
While not I would normally read, I appreciated the beautifully written prose was and the thought provoking story. Don’t read this for escapism, read it for an emotional journey.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 22, 2024
Jessica Elisheva Emerson’s debut, “Olive Days,” is being widely talked-about as a “steamy book about an Orthodox woman who goes to a wife-swapping party.” And yes, okay, there is a lot of explicit sex (about which, more later), and the book does, indeed, begin with an Orthodox husband manipulating his wife into attending a night of “swinging” with their shul friend-group. But while that is where the BOOK starts, protagonist Rina’s STORY begins much earlier, in the upbringing and events that shaped her; and goes much deeper, as she lives through the fallout of that one night — an affair with an ultra-orthodox rabbi, a deep soul connection with a Mexican-American art teacher, the rupture of her family, the breaking of her heart. The deep insights and beautiful language that Emerson brings to her evocation of this complex character and everyone/everything around her elevates what may sound like just a “sexy summer romp” into a true work of art. Is there a lot of explicitly-described sex? There is, but it isn’t sensationalistic or gratuitous, because Olive Days is ripe with lush, detailed descriptions of EVERYTHING Rina experiences -tastes and sights and smells and heartbreak and confusion and more heartbreak. There is not a single word in this astounding novel that doesn’t belong here; not one sentence that doesn’t earn its place. This is by far the best book I have read all year.
July 30, 2024
I find books about Orthodox Jews fascinating. The problem for me is that I disliked every one of the characters, including the main character, Rina. Sometimes that’s not the kiss of death for a book, but in this case it was overpowering every other consideration. The writing itself is very good on a sentence level, it’s the characters and the story that I objected to.
November 12, 2024
For the most part I really enjoyed this book. The concept was really interesting to me and while it’s a story I feel like I’ve read before the circumstances and environment of the Orthodox Jewish community made it feel fresher and more intriguing. There were moments that I felt didn’t land fully with me though—I didn’t necessarily resonate with the roadblocks getting in the way of the main couple and found myself so frustrated with the protagonist in the end that I wasn’t even sure I wanted them to get together. A very artfully written book but a frustrating one for me…I’m not sure how I feel.
December 26, 2024
I was really put off by this book. I knew I was expected to empathize with the main character, but to me she was emotionally immature and vulgar. The man she had an affair with was far worse: pathetic, weak, and bearing red flags like a standard. I thought the “to be known” ultimate and everlasting love angle was ridiculous. It was nauseatingly cliche. The protagonist didn’t need a love affair. She needed a therapist to help her take responsibility for her choices and admit her own agency.
The main thing I did appreciate about the story was how the cultural aspects and rhythm of Orthodox Jewish life shaped Rina. I studied in Jerusalem (not Jewish) for two years, so the references resonated with me based on that experience. For someone who is Jewish, the descriptions of food, holidays, rituals like deep cleaning before Pesach, etc, must feel like the song and comfort of their life.
Two things more I noted as true in the novel were the problems of women being expected to sacrifice all the time while being consistently undervalued and how we so often lose sense of who we are after marriage and motherhood. But Rina didn’t experience this just because she is an OrthodoxJewish woman (although those women carry a very heavy load); this is a cross cultural female issue. Today in the US women disproportionately file for divorce because of it.
What really stays with me from this story is how foolish Rina was, and how she dishonored herself for her feeble, hypocritical husband and the attention of a deeply flawed and random man. Many would say her lack of agency was a result of male patriarchy, but casting women as eternal victims is a type of misogyny. I thought about Jephthah’s daughter in Judges 11. She’s subject to the patriarchy, too, but she and her women friends raise their voices - thus giving a middle finger to the injustice - even if they can’t end it. Jephthat’s daughter quietly rages against the machine in a way no man in the story can judge her for. She judges and shames them instead. Let’s teach our daughters that story instead of this grotesque celebration of a woman’s intellectual, ethical, and emotional compromise of herself. Rina is just another Susan Smith (who infamously killed her children to gain a man) - a woman who makes decisions based on unregulated emotions instead of common sense.
Finally, while religious courts and communities do consistently rule in favor of men, the woman in this book was not without parents, allies, position, and piety. She could have stopped the “trade” at the beginning and avenged herself against her husband in myriad ways. She had also lived outside the community studying art and traveling to Paris, so she had the tools to find other solutions and make better choices.
I thought this book was tawdry, the characters despicable, and the premise of the story shallow. I am also very sorry the author is a woman; Jane Austen gave women more credit a hundred years ago than this author does today. In addition, this is just another example of how some modern writers think frequent use of the f-word and descriptions of fellatio make them avant- garde, but they’re just serving up McDonald’s fast food in literary form. I hope my next book will cleanse my palate. I prefer to be empowered and inspired by characters rather than suffer through puerile backseat in a parking garage escapades. We deserve better.
The main thing I did appreciate about the story was how the cultural aspects and rhythm of Orthodox Jewish life shaped Rina. I studied in Jerusalem (not Jewish) for two years, so the references resonated with me based on that experience. For someone who is Jewish, the descriptions of food, holidays, rituals like deep cleaning before Pesach, etc, must feel like the song and comfort of their life.
Two things more I noted as true in the novel were the problems of women being expected to sacrifice all the time while being consistently undervalued and how we so often lose sense of who we are after marriage and motherhood. But Rina didn’t experience this just because she is an OrthodoxJewish woman (although those women carry a very heavy load); this is a cross cultural female issue. Today in the US women disproportionately file for divorce because of it.
What really stays with me from this story is how foolish Rina was, and how she dishonored herself for her feeble, hypocritical husband and the attention of a deeply flawed and random man. Many would say her lack of agency was a result of male patriarchy, but casting women as eternal victims is a type of misogyny. I thought about Jephthah’s daughter in Judges 11. She’s subject to the patriarchy, too, but she and her women friends raise their voices - thus giving a middle finger to the injustice - even if they can’t end it. Jephthat’s daughter quietly rages against the machine in a way no man in the story can judge her for. She judges and shames them instead. Let’s teach our daughters that story instead of this grotesque celebration of a woman’s intellectual, ethical, and emotional compromise of herself. Rina is just another Susan Smith (who infamously killed her children to gain a man) - a woman who makes decisions based on unregulated emotions instead of common sense.
Finally, while religious courts and communities do consistently rule in favor of men, the woman in this book was not without parents, allies, position, and piety. She could have stopped the “trade” at the beginning and avenged herself against her husband in myriad ways. She had also lived outside the community studying art and traveling to Paris, so she had the tools to find other solutions and make better choices.
I thought this book was tawdry, the characters despicable, and the premise of the story shallow. I am also very sorry the author is a woman; Jane Austen gave women more credit a hundred years ago than this author does today. In addition, this is just another example of how some modern writers think frequent use of the f-word and descriptions of fellatio make them avant- garde, but they’re just serving up McDonald’s fast food in literary form. I hope my next book will cleanse my palate. I prefer to be empowered and inspired by characters rather than suffer through puerile backseat in a parking garage escapades. We deserve better.
September 14, 2024
There were times I had to put it down & take a break as I was mad at the life choices of the main character, Rina. It was intense & left me with a few unanswered questions. I can truly appreciate the portrayal of Judaism & culture, & am intrigued for more from Emerson in the future!
July 11, 2025
There’s a lot to appreciate in this book as Emerson has a skill at creating characters who are psychologically layered and, essentially, real.
The book is an exploration of loneliness and failed marriages, both difficult topics, but in the hands of a talented writer like Emerson they are handled well.
The main character, Rina, was put into a wife swapping situation under pressure from her husband, and as time goes on she feels resentful and abused, but it seems that the marriage was in trouble well before this event as Rina is married to a man who she has little in common with, and who doesn’t treat her well.
An artist before their children were born, Rina, again under pressure from her husband, signs up for an adult education art class taught by Will, who is also in a bad marriage. The trajectory of their relationship is realistic and at times deeply sad. The reader is often reminded of the lengths one can go to for love and companionship, and it can be painful to read of the hopes and the reality of this couple.
Rina is also Jewish, strictly so, and Emerson does an excellent job of honestly portraying the amount of emotional and physical labor required of observant Jewish women, especially those that live in a closed community. It was something I could relate to, up to a point, and I really appreciate this aspect of the book.
Olive Days is a very good read, although at times too crude for my taste, but one I can see reading again as well as recommending to others. Emerson is a very good writer and I look forward to her future books.
The book is an exploration of loneliness and failed marriages, both difficult topics, but in the hands of a talented writer like Emerson they are handled well.
The main character, Rina, was put into a wife swapping situation under pressure from her husband, and as time goes on she feels resentful and abused, but it seems that the marriage was in trouble well before this event as Rina is married to a man who she has little in common with, and who doesn’t treat her well.
An artist before their children were born, Rina, again under pressure from her husband, signs up for an adult education art class taught by Will, who is also in a bad marriage. The trajectory of their relationship is realistic and at times deeply sad. The reader is often reminded of the lengths one can go to for love and companionship, and it can be painful to read of the hopes and the reality of this couple.
Rina is also Jewish, strictly so, and Emerson does an excellent job of honestly portraying the amount of emotional and physical labor required of observant Jewish women, especially those that live in a closed community. It was something I could relate to, up to a point, and I really appreciate this aspect of the book.
Olive Days is a very good read, although at times too crude for my taste, but one I can see reading again as well as recommending to others. Emerson is a very good writer and I look forward to her future books.
August 29, 2025
i wish i could give this more stars if i could! one of the best books i’ve ever read. It was deep, addicting, and juicey but also so thoughtful and patient. I have learned so much and have a much more deep appreciation for this specific culture and community. it taught me so much about love and pain and tradition and believing. the main character is torn between so many things in her life. I will say the ending is a bit distracting but honestly realistic to what would probably have happened in real life. highly recommend it to anyone, there are so many things to take and learn from this book, it is written with such depth and care.
January 4, 2025
This book had all the elements I've been looking for of late in my literary fiction, but it just didn't thrill me as much as I'd hoped it would. There is a flatness to the experience of reading this novel, a lack of compulsion to continue the story even though I was quite interested in the plot. I couldn't shake the feeling that everything was just unfolding passively rather than happening actively, even when the characters were making the specific choices that caused the drama. Maybe it's just that nothing ever felt particularly tense--sex and lies and cheating and hiding all happened at a remove, so I never felt caught up in the sequence of actions, and I never felt like the characters' introspections were as gripping as they could be. There was some well-orchestrated prose and some moments that held my attention, but overall this was just okay for me.
2.5/5
2.5/5
October 4, 2024
The most enchanting book about disenchantment I’ve ever read.
March 14, 2025
Subject matter sad and controversial, but loved the immersion into Orthodox Jewish society, culture and traditions!
September 13, 2024
Oooof! This one really delves into women's struggles between the expected and what they desire. Heart wrenching!
November 25, 2024
I devoured this book way faster than I thought I would. I absolutely love the Jewish representation. I love the fact that is showcases that Jews, Orthodox Jews, are not exempt from heart break or flaws. I can see the controversy, but when I dig into the characters more, I can see Rina in so many women. A beautiful novel!
October 19, 2024
Five stars, but can I give it seven? Just shatteringly gorgeous.
January 13, 2025
“Olive days” refer to the main character's teenage summers at camp- when Rina felt free, alive, and most herself. Flash forward-Rina is a married orthodox Jewish mother of 2 young children. Her life is exhausting. Endless cleaning, preparing for the next Shabbat, the next Holiday, in a never ending cycle.
When Rina’s husband suggests an evening of wife-swapping, it seems to open a door for Rina. Rina finds permission to question her faith and marriage. With her husband’s encouragement, she starts taking art classes. The professor, Will, sparks something in Rina that brings her back to her Olive Days. The two become entangled in an affair.
Emerson’s writing is absorbing and sensual. I loved the vivid details- the descriptions of smells that bring the reader right into the settings. She treats her characters with care. Each have depth, complexity, and not stereotypical. I was drawn into this novel, invested in Rina, while not quite sure which outcome to root for. I would highly recommend this stunning debut novel to anyone interested in motherhood, marriage, and faith.
When Rina’s husband suggests an evening of wife-swapping, it seems to open a door for Rina. Rina finds permission to question her faith and marriage. With her husband’s encouragement, she starts taking art classes. The professor, Will, sparks something in Rina that brings her back to her Olive Days. The two become entangled in an affair.
Emerson’s writing is absorbing and sensual. I loved the vivid details- the descriptions of smells that bring the reader right into the settings. She treats her characters with care. Each have depth, complexity, and not stereotypical. I was drawn into this novel, invested in Rina, while not quite sure which outcome to root for. I would highly recommend this stunning debut novel to anyone interested in motherhood, marriage, and faith.
October 20, 2024
There's more to an intimate book than just being about sex. In Olive Days, Jessica Elisheva Emerson takes us into Rina Kirsch's red beating heart. We see Rina in all her Human Existence, underneath the dressing-up and qualification that keep so many of us from living the life we want or understanding how we wound up with the one we got. Jessica's prose is lovely - poetic and often unapologetically dank. I was particularly struck by the way she writes chapter endings, often taking us into a chapter break with a lyrical finish rather than a narrative one. It felt like listening to a really good jazz piano player ending a song on the best lick as opposed to qualifying the lick by taking us all the way through the final cadence.
This is written with as much soul and guts as it is with intelligence and experience. Would love to read more! Write more books Jessica!
This is written with as much soul and guts as it is with intelligence and experience. Would love to read more! Write more books Jessica!
April 23, 2025
Disenfranchised wives and mothers, existential malaise and ennui. The weight of religious tradition and how it can feel meaningless if you’re disenfranchised. How marriage is hard and long. How sweet kids redeem a lot but not everything. How affairs are shimmery and can make you feel alive for a little while, til you have to reckon with real life again. And again. Sex and figuring it out within a religious context. Flavors of judaica. Los Angeles. Art and poetry. Keeping kosher and the forbidden but overrated fruit of spaghetti-O’s.
I understand why the reviews are mixed. Rina is not an inherently sympathetic character, and her vacillations on The Right Decision get annoying. But if you’ve never been that, or had a close friend doing that, are you even alive? I didn’t love the ending, I didn’t agree with a lot of the choices, but I did like the storytelling and the visuals and the richness she was able to share.
I understand why the reviews are mixed. Rina is not an inherently sympathetic character, and her vacillations on The Right Decision get annoying. But if you’ve never been that, or had a close friend doing that, are you even alive? I didn’t love the ending, I didn’t agree with a lot of the choices, but I did like the storytelling and the visuals and the richness she was able to share.
January 2, 2025
The writing was very poetic, it opened up the deep inner worlds of two artists questioning everything and falling in love. All of the settings and natural environments were brought to life in a really lush way as well. I found it super interesting to learn more about the lives of Orthodox Jewish wives/mothers, and certainly could understand why the protagonist felt trapped and stifled with her relentless obligations to a religion and lifestyle that no longer rang true to her faith. I did find myself frustrated with the main character and some of her decision-making, as well as the final outcome of her journey. But that’s okay, the book was really enjoyable even as I was disagreeing with it.
December 22, 2024
This book is a compelling view into an unfamiliar world I’ve grown up next to in LA, but never been inside of. It was fascinating to learn details about the inner workings of an Orthodox life and in particular this family’s life. I related to an atheist wanting a sense of community, but without the smothering of individuality and oppressive workload of religious tradition. Rina’s daily life was exhausting in its relentless repetition. Her desire to feel alive and her search for the self she lost along the way will stay with me.
November 30, 2024
I find that ultra orthodox life style stifling so immediately felt for Rina. I knew she ultimately would do what was right for her family even as she gave up Will in order to do so. The two of have impossible choices. Very sad but right.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 1, 2025
Interesting concept, I found myself emotionally wrapped up in the character and her journey. At times I didn’t understand her choices but still felt myself rooting for her despite her faults. I think it captured really well the idea of appreciating one’s culture and rituals but not necessarily the god / religious aspects of it but more the comfort of the routine.
November 25, 2024
wowow did not expect the end but it was so good
February 23, 2025
Very depressing read and I couldn’t connect with any of the characters in the story.
December 22, 2024
This was fantastic! Loved it!!!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 136 reviews