Rating: 
Summary: Smooth writing, good story telling, plot a bit tedious.
Review: The vacation community of Kaaterskill Falls is dominated by townies and the Kirshner community of Jews, who leave Washington Heights every summer and spend the summer in this lovely New York town. This book chronicles the lives of the Kirshner Jews, intertwining stories of the Rav, the leader of the community, and his struggles with his two sons, with stories of a Jewish woman, Elizabeth, who struggles with the operation of a store and the unexpected birth of a new child. Minor characters flesh out the feel of a Jewish community in the 1970s. The writing and story telling is so smooth that you come to enjoy each character, and to look forward to their exposition. Characters are vivid -- even if they do not develop much. The book falls short on several levels. First, you do not learn anything useful or telling about Jewish life in America. The Kirshners are in many senses a fringe community, but not a particularly interesting one. Their struggles with acculturization are not well told, and their conflicts with the townies are muted and uninteresting. Second, you do not learn anything fun or useful about vacations in America -- this very much wastes the backdrop of Kaaterskill Falls. Some plot elements seem forced -- a mysterious car accident seems to have no real plot purpose. This book is ultimately about relationships -- sons and fathers, brothers, husbands, wives, kids. It is about orthodoxy and rule bound religion and what it means to be a good person. The book is a good read and fun, but stops short of penetrating any great questions or developing any character too well, too deep, with too much meaning.
Rating: 
Summary: A Delicious Slice of Life that Screams "SEQUEL"!
Review: After reading both KAATERSKILL FALLS and PARADISE PARK, I feel that Ms. Goodman's talent lies in masterful characterization. From the lost yet loveable Sharon Speigelman of PARADISE PARK to Elizabeth Schulman and the surrounding Kaaterskill community, the characters are always interesting, always real! KAATERSKILL FALLS is the story of a community of Orthodox Jews who migrate between Washington Heights (Brooklyn) and Kaaterskill Falls, an Upstate NY community, in the summer. This novel deals with this community's relationship with both non-Jews and non-religious Jews as well as with their own feelings toward their religion. I have read some reviews saying that this book went nowhere. My perspective is somewhat different: Ms. Goodman writes here about a slice of life and life doesn't always have definite conclusions; it doesn't usually wrap itself up in a neat little ball. Plateaus may be reached but there are always new mountains to climb and ongoing decisions to be made.The novelist, in my opinion, is intentionally leaving us with questions, thus enhancing our imagination and perhaps even leaving the door open for a sequel (How about it, Ms. Goodman? I'd love to find out how Chani ever managed to explore her budding yet forbidden Zionist sentiments! How does she ever manage to get to Israel anyway?) I look forward to reading Allegra Goodman's short stories next!
Rating:
Summary: Quietly captivating
Review: A small sect of Orthodox Jews comes each summer to a tiny town in upstate NY, supposedly the devout followers of Rav Elijah Kirshner. But all is not calm, all is not bright. Some struggle with ghosts from the past, with desires related to the modern world outside their restrictive sect. Elizabeth Shulman, mother of 5, is feeling the heebie-jeebies, restless as she craves something more than toiling at household chores day in and day out. Renee, whose father is a Holocaust survivor, becomes friends with a girl from 'outside,' and all sorts of possibilities suddenly open to her.
This is a quiet book, a soft and subtle book, but the individual characters will captivate you and stay with you for a long time.
Rating: 
Summary: A Community Comes to Life
Review: Kaaterskill Falls is about what a rigidly structured community gives to its members and takes from them. It doesn't particularly matter that the community in this case is an orthodox Jewish one (almost, there are still overtones of anti-Semitism in some of the storylines) the basic premise is still the same, how do you keep yourself separate while still interacting with the world outside the community. Suzanne Toren does a wonderful job of bringing to life all the members of the Kirshner community and their neighbors in Kaaterskill. She flows seemlessly from one character or another never missing the proper inflection in a sentence. If there is any drawback to the story it is perhaps that the endings (plural, for there are several stories going on here) are not particularly satisfying. But that may be because we - on the outside - would expect a more dramatic finish, whereas someone on the inside would learn to be content with things the way they are.
Rating:
Summary: A window into a contemplative but vivid life
Review: I see that other reviewers have been put off by the lack of "action" in this novel, but I saw the book as contemplative rather than slow, "intense as prayer," as the book itself says. I often feel as though we assume that women in deeply religious communities are mindless and oppressed, but Goodman's depiction of the internal struggles of Elizabeth Shulman, the young mother in an strictly Orthodox family, made her seem like a whole, real person, not just a stereotype in a wig and modest clothing. (She is also quite a bit more likeable than the character Sharon of Goodman's book Paradise Park, who was by comparison a self-obsessed airhead.) Definitely my favorite of Goodman's books.
Rating: 
Summary: One Real Character, 15 Stereotypes
Review: My biggest problem with Goodman's book was not the fact that she tells a very low-key story (e.g. not much action) but that she has created one real, fully developed character - Elizabeth Schulman- and stuck her in a novel populated by walking stereotypes. None of the other characters is fully fleshed out. So I could never quite care about them. The structure would allow for this, if Goodman wanted, because an omniscent narrator describes the action - it is not told strictly from Elizabeth's point-of-view. The local judge was the most egregious stereotype - he was straight from a bad sitcom.
The book's popularity does not surprise me. Any book about a community that seems exotic to the mainstream limosine liberal media establishment is pounced upon for its "authenticity." Goodman is a talented writer, I just wish someone had made her work a little harder on this book.
Rating:
Summary: pretty writing, educational, but went nowhere
Review: Imagine how good this book would have been if it actually had a plot. The prose style was wonderful and the author is an excellent writer. It also educated me into the world of a certain kind of Orthodox Judaism and, for this, it has great value. But other than that, it was a slow moving, tedious slice of life with no great themes or even a real story. It was not a page turner or one where you just want to keep reading on to find out what happens. Because nothing much happens. The author was not a good old fashioned storyteller for the purposes of this book. But she is such a good prose stylist with an eye for detail that if, in the future, she decides to include a plot, then I think she has extraordinary potential.
Rating:
Summary: Well written, but a depressing view of a woman's life
Review: This is an extremely well written book. But..I wanted to quit reading it...I could see that unless our heroine empowered herself, she would be stuck with the decisions of a strict religious society, where men make decisions for how women live, what they can and cannot do in their life and by the way, in what is also her world. This was a depressing book. It does not agree with my philosophy of life..to take advantage of opportunities where you can, and to live as freely and decisively as men do in their world, while still cherishing loving family, community and faith. I did finish reading it out of curiosity. The feelings raised in me, by this book are age old for women. Ones that I wish women of today do not have to face. I don't like reading about women who make depressing choices for themselves.
Rating:
Summary: A slice of hidden life revealed!
Review: I loved this book, but even better was the audio cassette where the narrator bought all the characters to life. She gave them accents, and as a non-Jew it was great to hear the unfamiliar Jewish words and prayers pronounced for me. I wanted more when it was over! One of the best books I ever read - like "Memoirs of a Geisha" where a totally foreign way of life to me was explained thouroughly, and I left these stories feeling like I learned so much about these different cultures, while being very entertained. Elizabeth is a great character!
Rating:
Summary: A good book, but not a textbook
Review: I read Kaaterskill Falls for school last year, and while I thought it was a good book, I wouldn't advise that te reader accepts the details about daily Jewish life as the way thigs are for all Jews. Goodman's desciptions of the way characters grow in many ways in beautiful, and realistic. But, there are many Orthadox Jewish communities that are very different from the Kirshners. Often, the Rav does not control every minute detail of the lives of his congregants. And about the status of woman, there are many jewish women who work outside the home, often at jobs that require college degrees, because with families that large, two incomes are often necessary. Also, certain slip ups that Goodman made about Orthadox Judaism suggests she is writing from an outside perspective. For example, when the Rav tells Elizabeth to close her store, either there would have been a third person in the room with him, or the door would have been left open, because of a law called Isur Yichud, which forbids an unrelated man and woman to be in the same room alone. Also, Goodman seemed unfamiliar with the way Rabbis reach decisions. Being bullied by their wives or anooyed by congregants does not count. In a real life situation, Elizabeth probably would have been told not to cater parties with non-kosher food, but the store would not have closed unless the Rav could base his arguments on legal writings such as the talmud, not petty immaturity. But I suppose it makes a good plot device. All in all, its a good book. But don't consider the religiosity of the Kirshners to be like that of all Othadox Jews.
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