On Division

A Novel

By: Goldie Goldbloom

Narrated by: Barrie Kreinik

"A novel of wisdom and uncertainty, of love in its greater and lesser forms, and of the struggle between how it should be and how it is. It is impossible not to be moved." (Amy Bloom, author of White Houses)

"This book brings the reader into the heart of a close-knit Jewish family and their joys, loves, and sorrows.... A marvelous book by a masterful writer." (Audrey Niffenegger, author of Her Fearful Symmetry and The Time Traveler's Wife)

"As beautiful as it is unexpected." (Claire Messud, author of The Burning Girl)

Through one woman's life at a moment of surprising change, the award-winning author Goldie Goldbloom tells a deeply affecting, morally insightful story and offers a rare look inside Brooklyn's Chasidic community

In Williamsburg, Brooklyn, just a block or two up from the East River on Division Avenue, Surie Eckstein is soon to be a great-grandmother. Her 10 children range in age from 13 to 39. Her in-laws, postwar immigrants from Romania, live on the first floor of their house. Her daughter Tzila Ruchel lives on the second. She and Yidel, a scribe in such demand that he makes only a few Torah scrolls a year, live on the third. Wed when Surie was 16, they have a happy marriage and a full life, and, at the ages of 57 and 62, they are looking forward to some quiet time together.

Into this life of counted blessings comes a surprise. Surie is pregnant. Pregnant at 57. It is a shock. And at her age, at this stage, it is an aberration, a shift in the proper order of things, and a public display of private life. She feels exposed, ashamed. She is unable to share the news, even with her husband. And so for the first time in her life, she has a secret - a secret that slowly separates her from the community.

Goldie Goldbloom's On Division is an excavation of one woman's life, a story of awakening at middle age, and a thoughtful examination of the dynamics of self and collective identity. It is a steady-eyed look inside insular communities that also celebrates their comforts. It is a rare portrait of a long, happy marriage. And it is an unforgettable new novel from a writer whose imagination is matched only by the depth of her humanity.

©2019 Goldie Goldbloom (P)2020 Audible, Inc.

A marvelous journey into the characters’ minds

A masterful depiction of a pious Chasidic woman conflicted—loving her life on the one hand and yet wanting more. The author does a wonderful job of bringing the reader on this journey of awakening and awareness.

A heartwarming, somewhat disturbing and deeply satisfying read.

Beautiful Story!! Perfect Narration!!!

Love this book. it is a wonderful story. well worth the listen. I will prob buy a hard copy too.

Insights into an Insular Community

I haven't ready many books about New York's Hasidic Jewish community where someone in the story isn't desperate to escape its constraints. Not so here. This one has a 57-year-old woman who is a mother, grandmother, and great grandmother and is happy with her lot. The fulcrum of the story is whether or not she will share a secret with her husband. I found it hard to believe that so many months would pass by without her spilling or him discovering it. Nonetheless, the story is a satisfying window into family life in this insular group.

Authentic. Intriguing.

Very well written, and a great representation for REAL life situations in that community.

The Irony of Love

Wonderful story about a Chassidic Orthodox Jewish woman going though menopause , and discovers she is pregnant at the age of 57 with twins ! She has the same midwife as she had when she was having all 10 of her children. Married to a Rabbi who did not consider pregnancy as to why she was getting so big. She does not tell him. She gets very involved in translating for the midwife instead.