KAATERSKILL FALLS

Goodman's elegiac debut novel is more portrait than narrative. It is the poetic language and richness of observation that make KAATERSKILL FALLS so memorable a work. Those are also the qualities that demand a reading that is textured and wise. Toren proves up to the challenge. The novel concerns an Orthodox Jewish community that summers in the Catskills. The book portrays the rhythms and tensions of everyday life, both within this insulated community and in its relationship to the outside world. Toren expertly manages several exotic accents, but more valuable than that, she reads with an intelligence commensurate with the writing. M.O. © AudioFile, Portland, Maine [Published: OCT/NOV 99]