Who by Fire
is story about a family torn apart after the kidnapping of the youngest child, Elena when she was seven years old. The other two children, Ash and Bits are now adults, in their twenties. The parents (Ellie, mother) divorced and have moved on to more fulfilling relationships. The father has three new children and the mother is currently in the throes of a newfound passionate relationship with Jonathan, a man she met in a support grief/loss support group.
The story unfolds in alternating chapters told mostly first-hand by the different characters. Unfolding factually in the beginning, it isn't until about midway through the book that characters start to reveal their emotions and darkness to the reader. The first moment for Ash (Asher) is when he admits that he watched his sister's kidnapping and didn't do anything, in his defense, he was a young child and didn't perhaps know better. Bits steals money from a lover to fund her trip to Israel to rescue her brother after Alena's body is found, some twenty years later and the family wants to have a funeral and memorial. Bits further frustrates the reader by lying about the stolen money which was done in a ridiculously haphazard and childlike manner. Furthermore, her profession as a teacher, a position typically regarded as a responsible role-model is largely in contrast with her somewhat secret life of maxed-out credit cards and aimless bed-hopping, not to mention her failed attempt at climbing a downspout in a sun-dress and flip-flops at an all-male Yeshiva in Jerusalem. Asher's conformity and strict lifestyle are similarly juxtaposed with the mysterious relationship he has with Monica, a nimble, sex-oozing symbol of everything carefree and illusive in this world.
The devil in this story is hindsight which seems to haunt each character rather deeply. There are actions, or rather, inactions that each character reflects upon throughout the novel that they suppose could have changed the outcome of Alena's disappearance and the subsequent disintegration of their family. Ash could have told his parents that Alena got into the car with someone and was gone. The parents could have mourned together rather than allowing their sadness to separate them. Bits knows that she keeps seeking meaningless sex with men but doesn't find fulfillment. When she goes to Israel to get Ash to come home for Alena's funeral she spends the majority of her few days in Jerusalem wandering aimlessly and hypothesizing about Ash rather than being upfront and asking about her brother's whereabouts and explaining why it is that she is there in the first place. There are many moments in this story when I found myself, as a reader actually angry at the characters for not DOING more about their situation. Not to be too cliche about it, but these characters cannot get out of their own way.
Ash, who prefers to go by the more traditional name, Asher seeks out a life free of stress and outside influence by becoming a practicing Orthodox Jew. His life as Yeshiva Hillel is protected, literally, behind a gate. It is a quiet, pensive place of study where he conforms to the highest levels of Orthodox lifestyle. He studies Torah and believes in a literal interpretation of these religious teachings.
Diana Spechler's knowledge of Judaism, specifically sections of Torah and Orthodox life are truly respectable. Her ability to create these deeply flawed and yet at the same time, sympathetic characters is a testament to her skill as a writer. I learned a lot from this book and it gave me pause -- two things I like in a good novel. When the characters in a story become woven into my own life and I find myself wondering about them further, then I give the story a thumbs UP.
To read more reviews and discussions of Who By Fire visit DC Metro Moms.
