By Rabbi Rachel Esserman
The reason I didn’t ask for a review copy of “From Sun to Sun” by Kenneth Wishnia (PM Press) was due to its dual nature: while part of the novel is a revised version of the biblical Book of Ruth, other chapters take place in contemporary New York City and feature a Latina private investigator, Felicity Ortega Pérez. That meant there didn’t seem to be enough Jewish content for a review. Fortunately, the publisher sent me a copy, which has far more Jewish content than I expected. Even better, both sections of the novel proved to not only be exciting and challenging, but feature the absorbing stories of women struggling to find a place in a world that would prefer to deny them entry.
Wishnia moves the time period during which Ruth’s story takes place from that of the biblical judges to when Israelite exiles were allowed to return to Palestine after the Babylonian conquest of Judah. (Some scholars date the actual writing of the biblical book of Ruth to that time period, although not all agree.) What does matter is that even though Ruth is married to a Yehudim (as the Jewish population is known) and has taken on the trappings of her husband Makhlon’s religion, she is still not accepted by many of the Yehudim. After her husband mysteriously dies, Ruth decides to accompany her mother-in-law, Naomi, back to the family’s ancestral lands. Wishnia’s Ruth is without a family so, unlike her sister-in-law Oprah, she has nowhere else to return. To make her life even more complicated, Ruth is still learning Yehudim ways and finds it difficult to leave behind the gods she has worshiped her entire life for a God who asks for so many unusual things.
The trip to Jerusalem is not an easy one and, although the Yehudim returning from Babylon are generally welcomed, Ruth is still treated as an outsider. Her skills differ from most women’s: before her marriage, she was a slave to ironworkers and is skilled in using a knife, rather than being proficient in womanly skills such as cooking or sewing. Her relationship with Naomi is difficult: this is not the story of two women who are in love or who care deeply for each other. Instead, Ruth wants to find out the truth about the death of her beloved husband. She believes the murder has something to do with an inheritance Naomi refuses to discuss. Those familiar with the biblical tale know that Ruth marries a kinsman of her late husband, Boaz, so she can have a baby to keep Makhlon’s name alive. But her marriage to Boaz – at least in “From Sun to Sun” – is not a love match.
The best parts of the novel are those that expand on the biblical text. For example, when “From Sun to Sun” opens, Makhlon is still alive. The loving relationship between him and Ruth makes his death more real and sadder than in the traditional story. Since Makhlon not only married Ruth, but freed her to be his bride (rather than treating her as a concubine or slave), this makes her desire to travel to a foreign country to learn the truth behind his death understandable. The section relating to her relationship to Naomi shows how the two have not come to any real understanding of each other. Plus, Ruth’s feelings about Boaz – which the biblical text never discusses – makes her a more rounded, three-dimensional character.
While Ruth’s position in Yehudim was precarious because she had no husband or child, the same is not true of Felicity, although, unfortunately, most of the men she interacts with treat her like a second-class citizen. The boyfriend with whom she shares an apartment expects her to do all the household chores, even though she also works full time. Although money is tight, he frequently forgets to put food back in the refrigerator, leaving it to spoil on the counter, yet later complains about what is served for dinner. He considers his work as a political activist to be more important than hers and expects her to cater to his colleagues when he brings them to the apartment. Felicity’s father is also more than happy to let her shop and cook for him since her mother died years ago in an accident.
When Felicity is hired by Silver Bullet Security to discover the whereabouts of a former employee who has been accused of stealing an ancient scroll in Iraq, she learns there is far more to the story than she’s been told. Felicity soon realizes that Silver Bullet is desperately trying to keep its own actions in Iraq from being brought to light. Balancing working for the corporation and her personal life – in addition to uncovering what really occurred in Iraq – is not easy. That’s what makes Felicity so impressive, though: she won’t stop until she knows the truth, even if it’s not the truth Silver Bullet Security wants her to discover.
Felicity’s sections do have several connections to the Ruth story. One is that the missing scroll may be a previously unknown version of the book of Ruth that significantly differs from the biblical book. A second is... well, that would spoil the novel’s surprises and won’t be revealed here. What also ties Felicity and Ruth is their determination to discover the truth about the puzzles they face, even when that puts their lives in danger.
Both women’s stories were equally exciting. Sometimes it was difficult to switch between them because the suspense left me wanting to know what was going to happen next. However, it only took a page or two for me to become equally absorbed in the other character’s life. Readers should note that the contemporary sections are definitely anti-establishment, with violent police actions occurring, even when protestors were peaceful. That is not a surprise considering that the novel was published by PM Press, which, according to its website, is “an independent, radical publisher of critically necessary books for our tumultuous times. Our aim is to deliver bold political ideas and vital stories to all walks of life and arm the dreamers to demand the impossible.” Wishnia’s novel offers vital stories and characters, along with political ideas that challenge our way of thinking. I am grateful that the press sent me a copy of the novel: Somehow, the author managed to create a work that contains intellectually interesting plots and page-turning excitement.