Women of Valor: Orthodox Jewish Troll Fighters, Crime Writers, and Rock Stars in Contemporary Literature and Culture by Karen E. H. Skinazi

Reviewed by: Women of Valor: Orthodox Jewish Troll Fighters, Crime Writers, and Rock Stars in Contemporary Literature and Culture by Karen E. H. Skinazi Susan K. Thomas WOMEN OF VALOR: ORTHODOX JEWISH TROLL FIGHTERS, CRIME WRITERS, AND ROCK STARS IN CONTEMPORARY LITERATURE AND CULTURE, by Karen E. H. Skinazi. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2018. 290 pp. $120.00 hardback; $38.95 paperback; $38.95 ebook. In her text, Women of Valor: Orthodox Jewish Troll Fighters, Crime Writers, and Rock Stars in Contemporary Literature and Culture, Karen E. H. Skinazi uses the eshes chayil, or the proverb of the woman of valor (Proverbs 31:10–31), to reframe the societal conception of the modern Orthodox Jewish woman in literature and film. Jewish men sing the eshes chayil to the married women in a Jewish household on Friday nights when welcoming in Shabbat, or the Sabbath. The song depicts a woman's service to her husband, family, community, and faith, describing a woman who is virtuous, selfless, and wise. The song praises the ideal Jewish woman, whom all Orthodox women might aspire to be. Skinazi uses portions of the eshes chayil to title the chapters of her text, presenting each line with a dual representation of the woman of valor—the traditional (that is, patriarchal) Orthodox interpretation and that of the empowered Orthodox woman. [End Page 182] The author offers an alternate reading of the proverb by considering a new cultural depiction of Orthodox Jewish women as delivered through the genres of contemporary novels, stories, memoirs, films, and music. To begin, Skinazi briefly examines the origin of secular society's interpretation of Orthodox women, recognizing extreme transnational Orthodox Jewish communities that the mainstream media tends to focus on and identify as true and accurate portrayals of Orthodox Judaism. Skinazi cites as examples communities such as Lev Tahor, a Hasidic group based in Quebec, which has manipulated the Torah and Talmud to create new laws that are more oppressive to women, demanding that women completely cover in a robe similar to a burqa and marrying girls in their early teens to older men (p. 7). The media portrays these communities as practicing a more traditional form of Orthodox Judaism when they are actually much more abusive to women and children, causing other Orthodox Jewish groups to distance themselves from these communities in ways the media often fails to acknowledge (p. 7). Skinazi's discussion of these cultural representations creates a context as to how mainstream society (read: Western) has developed their misunderstanding of Orthodox Judaism, leading to the stereotyping of Orthodox Jewish women in both literature and life. Additionally, the author cites interviews, memoirs, and experiences from former members of Orthodox communities who have gone off the derech (path) and left the Orthodox community. While not discrediting these experiences, Skinazi finds that Western culture has become fixated on the liberation of those believed to be oppressed and now vampirically consume these stories without really understanding those who are living these "oppressed" lives. As Skinazi explains through her analysis of texts, these accounts are not universal to all Orthodox Jewish women. Much of the volume contains Skinazi weighing stereotypical depictions of the Orthodox Jewish woman in mainstream culture and text. She provides close readings of both older (late eighteenth century to early twentieth century) and contemporary literature authored by men and women. The strongest and most engaging portion of the book occurs in the chapter "A Woman of Valor Who Can Find: Crime Fiction as Primers of Orthodoxy," where Skinazi conducts close readings of detective fiction authored by Orthodox Jewish women, specifically Faye Kellerman. Within Kellerman's series, the lead character, Detective Peter Decker, solves crimes, often with the unintrusive assistance of his wife Rina Lazarus, an Orthodox Jewish woman. As Skinazi explains, "Rina is a voice of Judaism" in the text, frequently guiding Peter in the right direction with her many layers of Orthodox knowledge and the wisdom her faith has granted her (p. 79). As in the Orthodox community, where men spend hours outside of the home studying while the women work, educate the children, and [End Page 183] keep the house and community operating, "Rina is participating and not...

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