In Sickness and In Health / Yom Kippur in a Gym - Nora Gold - ★★★★.¼

AUTHOR: Nora Gold

GENRE: Literary Fiction Novellas, Jewish Fiction.

PUBLICATION DATE: March 1, 2024

RATING: 4.25 stars.

In a Nutshell: A flip book containing two novellas, each having a thought-provoking character-oriented story. Loved the writing and character development in both the tales, though the second was a teeny bit esoteric for my comfort level. Nevertheless, a worthy pair of novellas great for literary fiction lovers.

This is a set of two standalone novellas by acclaimed Jewish writer Nora Gold. Ms. Gold is known for establishing jewishfiction.net, an online literary journal devoted exclusively to Jewish fiction. Even since I read her compiled collection titled ‘18: Jewish Stories Translated from 18Languages’, I have been curious to try more of her works. This flip book came as the perfect chance to explore her writing in detail, and my, what a wonderful experience it has been!

As this is a flip book, you can basically flip it to either side and read a story, an experience sadly impossible on my Kindle because I had the digital ARC. But the organised side of me was very pleased to discover that the first story ended at exactly the 50% point – the nerd in me loves the attention to details such as these. Thankfully, this is only available in paperback, so you can relish the flip book as it is meant to be.

Both the novellas have many features in common, and yet are distinct. Both are in literary fiction style, so both are character-oriented. While the first one has only one major character and the second one has multiple, each still ensures that we get inside the mind of the specific character and understand them in and out. Both stories have beautiful writing that enhances the impact of the story. Both are also somewhat slow in pace, which is okay for a literary work but some readers might not like. I had no issues with the languid pace as the plot kept me engaged.

The mood in both novellas is a combination of introspective and melancholy, with the first being more melancholy and the second weighing heavier on the introspection. To balance these heavy emotions, the stories contain plenty of wit and snark, which work perfectly to deliver a memorable experience.

Here’s the individual feedback on the novellas:

1. In Sickness and In Health:

An outstanding story about a woman named Lily who had epilepsy as a child and was told by her mother that she would never have a ‘normal’ life. However, now at age 45, she has a loving husband, college-going kids, a wonderful house and a satisfying job. Not even her husband knows about her erstwhile epilepsy. But now that Lily is suffering from some mysterious ailment that comes and goes with shocking regularity, she is sure that the Gods are punishing her for having the ‘normal’ life that she wasn’t supposed to.

The Goodreads blurb for this novella is intriguing enough, but it doesn't represent the story well by somehow making the plot sound more sinister. The actual story is even better.

Lily is an interesting character, and through her narration, she shows us a whole gamut of emotions ranging from hope to frustration to love to anger to doubt. I enjoyed how she would think absolutely serious thoughts, and suddenly pop in a funny but sarcastic interjection. Lily also has a funny habit that involves a multitude of languages. If you want choice abusive phrases from across the world, this story offers you plenty of resources. 😉 Lily’s husband Perry has a limited role, but he also leaves a mark.

My favourite part of this novella, and also its most challenging aspect, is that it is written in all three grammatical voices – third person for the flashbacks, second person for when Lily is in her guilt-trip zone for her illness, and finally first person for when… this, you will need to discover for yourselves. I admire how smoothly the writing glides across each perspective without making the proceedings convoluted. I am not sure if readers would enjoy these perspective shifts, but I found them very creative and intelligent.

I also love the title because it represents not only the dual health situations of the narrator but also the wedding vows that are possibly being challenged over the course of the narrative. (Though I'm not sure if vows are said with this phrase during a Jewish wedding.)

4.5 stars.

2. Yom Kippur in a Gym

At a Yom Kippur service being held in a gym, five strangers find themselves mulling over their past life choices and their future course of action. One of them is contemplating suicide. One of them has recently found out about her husband’s terminal health issue. One of them is haunted by a professional mistake. One of them cannot bring himself to forgive his father or heal things with his sisters. And one of them is worried about having miscalculated the quantity of cake required for the service. When something unexpected happens towards the end of the service, the result leads to a change in the future plans of the five characters.

As is evident, the problems of the five people are not the same in intensity. But the author approaches each of their situations with equal seriousness, and shifts the narrative baton to each of them in third person so that we see their life from their point of view.

In all honesty, I had no idea what ‘Yom Kippur’ meant. I read up a little about it before beginning this story, and found it an interesting concept – a day to repent for your sins ask for forgiveness. (This reminded me a little of the festival of ‘Paryushan’ celebrated by Jains, which also involves fasting and forgiveness.) At the same time, I loved how the author got one of the characters to say that Yom Kippur should be not just about reflecting on your sins but also for remembering your positive contributions in the last year so that you feel encouraged towards the future. What a lovely thought!

While I liked this story, it didn’t work for me at the same level as the earlier one, partly because the content was a bit too Jewish for my understanding. The author does explain every faith-related idea wherever possible, but to go full-dictionary mode would have obviously broken the spirit of the story. While the first half of the story focusses more on the individual reflections, the second section after the unforeseen event highlights a more unified and cooperative approach. Some incidents in the characters’ reflections weren't to my taste, but this is more a matter of reading preferences than anything problematic in the writing.

4 stars

As you can see, this indie book is definitely worth reading. I enjoyed its uniqueness as much as its content.

Recommended to literary fiction readers who love character-oriented narratives, thought-provoking writing, and a dash of Jewish culture.

4.25 stars, based on the average of my rating for each novella.

My thanks to Guernica Editions and NetGalley for the DRC of “In Sickness and In Health / Yom Kippur in a Gym”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.