The ladies auxiliary - Tova Mirvis

The Ladies Auxiliary is a novel written in the tradition of Anne Tyler or Alice Hoffman, describing what happens when a close-knit and loving community cannot see beyond the walls it has built to protect itself from the outside world. The main character, Batsheva, is a woman of unforgettable courage and charm. The novel tells of her arrival into the midst of an Orthodox Jewish community in Memphis, Tennessee, and the havoc her presence wreaks on the ladies of the Auxiliary, who narrate the story. Batsheva is young, blonde, beautiful, a convert with a small child; her free-thinking spirituality and her wholehearted and enthusiastic embrace of the rituals of Judaism seem odd and even improper to the Ladies, who pride themselves on their modesty, domesticity and strict observance. Batsheva's subsequent ostracization is total; her heartbreaking plight will resonate with anyone who has ever felt - or resisted - the deadening pressure to conform.