"Kaddish" by Nathan Englander - Extreme Observances Extremely Engaging

Nathan Englander (b Amer. 1970) is a Pulitzer Prize nominated author ("What We Talk about When We Talk about Anne Frank") and winner of the Pen/Malamud & Frank O'Connor Int'l Short Story Awards.  His novels & short stories center around Jewish families and the spectrum of observances and assimilations in the Jewish faith.  "Kaddish" begins with a yahrzeit (a weeklong period of mourning) for the father of Larry and his sister Dina.  The siblings were raised in an Orthodox household.  Dina has maintained her religious fervor.  She is forever grieved by Larry who has distanced himself from his Jewish faith and traditions.   At the end of Larry's confining week of bereavement, Dina pleads with him to carry out the tradition of reciting Kaddish (the mourner's prayer) for their father for an entire year, an important obligation of the male family member to carryout.  Dina is skeptical. Larry is practical.  Larry found a portal to porn on the internet & discovered a site where you can hire a Talmudic student to fulfill this commitment.  Larry makes an about face with his faith.  He returns to his Orthodox roots and Brooklyn where he is now Rev (Rabbi) Shuli.  Shuli is happily married with young children when he has an epiphany of hypocrisy, guilt & remorse for shirking his religious duty of saying Kaddish for his beloved father who was also Rabbi and religious leader.  Englander delves so deeply into his characters they become vibrant & multifaceted.  Shuli's obsession of seeking redemption becomes an ordeal which overrides reason & protocal.  Yet, Englander's clever writing instinctually leads you alongside Shuli's search for answers & forgiveness.  Shuli's return to his faith seems a natural shift for one who has strayed from his fold.  While revealing the ultra-Orthodox rituals, Englander makes clear universal sagacious views on life.  Shuli shares his tale to tell us "It's never too late to live one's true life."  His wife Miri, a miraculous wife & mother (or perhaps saint) has her patience tested by Shuli's unorthodox pursuit or redemption.  Miri tells her husband it's permissible to forgive oneself and what makes a marriage work is the knowledge that no relationship should be taken for granted.  Englander's talent as a storyteller is phenomenal.  The profuse references to what I perceive as extreme religious observances & beliefs do not shroud Englander's gifts as a writer they only enhance the transformative power of his elegant prose.  Leave no doubt, you don't have to be Jewish to love "Kaddish."  I pay my respects to Englander's talent as a writer and offer a prayer for universal peace.