Review: Kaddish.com

Kaddish.com by Nathan Englander
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

"Larry is an atheist in a family of orthodox Memphis Jews. When his father dies, it is his responsibility as the surviving son to recite the Kaddish, the Jewish prayer for the dead, every day for eleven months. He hatches an ingenious if cynical plan, hiring a stranger through a website called kaddish.com...."

This novel is a quick read and not as dense as the last one from this author, but Larry is a likeable fool of a character who is still able to go on a deeper journey of self-examination, in what he owes to his family, how much of his identity comes from being Jewish and what that should ultimately mean for his life.

My rating is more like 3.5 stars. It's very readable and Larry is a good character, but there is a major character shift that the author doesn't take the reader through but rather makes a big time jump, and I can't help but think the best novel would have at least included that story.

I had a digital copy from the publisher through Edelweiss. It came out March 26, 2019.

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