A Seat at the Table: A Novel of Forbidden Choices by Joshua Halberstam
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A SEAT AT THE TABLE by Joshua Halberstam was a story I had heard before about the Orthodox son who discovers life outside the confines of his community. However, because the author is a journalist, you get a much more expansive view of the Orthodox community and the struggles of the son and the father who has invested so much in his son's religious upbringing. His son has decided to take a journey in the secular world. This in no way diminishes the son's love for family-or for his Orthodox community, but this journey is a complex one, and filled with both love and angst. In a way, isn't this every father/son story, when his son decides to move in his own direction, journey on his his own path?

It is a heart-warming story, and a well-written one, too. It might remind you of THE CHOSEN by Chaim Potok, so think of it as variations on the same theme, and a good one at that!

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