THE ORCHARD

Listening to this lengthy coming-of-age novel requires focus, resolve, and a minimal knowledge of sacred Jewish texts and customs. Ari, a teen from an ultra-Orthodox Jewish neighborhood in Brooklyn, moves to an Orthodox community in Florida The title of the story comes from a Talmudic myth, which follows four rabbis into an orchard, where they see God and are forever altered, for better or for worse. Narrator Micky Shiloah portrays wise, worldly Rabbi Bloom, the charismatic headmaster of a school attended by a group of bright, overindulged, and intellectually pretentious young people. Shiloah makes these high school seniors incredibly believable and their story emotionally wrenching. D.L.G. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine [Published: JANUARY 2021]