An Unorthodox Match : A Novel

An Unorthodox Match is a powerful and moving novel of faith, love, and acceptance, from author Naomi Ragen, the international bestselling author of The Devil in Jerusalem.

California girl Lola has her life all set up: business degree, handsome fiancé, fast track career, when suddenly, without warning, everything tragically implodes. After years fruitlessly searching for love, marriage, and children, she decides to take the radical step of seeking spirituality and meaning far outside the parameters of modern life in the insular, ultraorthodox enclave of Boro Park, Brooklyn. There, fate brings her to the dysfunctional home of newly-widowed Jacob, a devout Torah scholar, whose life is also in turmoil, and whose small children are aching for the kindness of a womanly touch.

While her mother direly predicts she is ruining her life, enslaving herself to a community that is a misogynistic religious cult, Lola’s heart tells her something far more complicated. But it is the shocking and unexpected messages of her new community itself which will finally force her into a deeper understanding of the real choices she now faces and which will ultimately decide her fate.

“A splendid book.”—San Diego Jewish World

“A California girl chooses to enter an ultra-Orthodox enclave in Boro Park, Brooklyn, against her family’s wishes. Hidden secrets on all sides create questions and issues of how to belong, should you belong and where do we really belong.” —Ms. Magazine, "Eight Books That Will Transport You"

“Ragen packs this novel with complex characters, many given backstories that increase the understanding of current choices. [She] provides a depth of details about daily life and philosophy behind Orthodox traditions as a natural extension of the story but also allows readers a glimpse into a world most would never experience.” —Library Journal

“Read­ing Nao­mi Ragen is like hav­ing a warm vis­it with an old friend, com­plete with tea and rugelach....In An Unortho­dox Match, as the title implies, a lit­tle rebel­lion goes a long way, and Ragen deft­ly guides us through these moral quan­daries. Whether love or the law pre­vails, her nov­el and its con­clu­sion is a wor­thy study in the rich­ness and vari­ety of our endur­ing people.” —Jewish Book Council

“Ragen asks why a secular Jewish woman might join an Orthodox community and whether it would be possible for her to find not only acceptance, but family.” —Kirkus Reviews