The Orchard: A Novel

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I really enjoyed Hopen's book. He is a very talented, knowledgeable writer. I loved the Jewish-wrestling as the backdrop and context for the story. The characters came to life and I felt their angst and anguish as they confronted their sadness and challenges.

A great read with memorable characters going through some deeply formative times and some truly crazy adventures. Nice clash of worlds when the protagonist encounters his new reality. Some developments in the second half become less believable and a bit cartoonish, but that's part of the fun.

This book wants to be great. I believe David Hopen wrote it to be great. In my opinion it is grandiose--not the same thing, not by a long shot. And yet, I enjoyed reading it (hence, the 3 stars). I'm not sure why; I didn't like any character. I thought I would like Ari, then Noah, then Sophia, then Kayla. I ended up not liking anyone. They all strained credulity. That's part of what made it feel so grandiose. I enjoyed the intellectual discussions but didn't believe the characters believed themselves or even understood what they were saying.I wanted a character to love, but, in my opinion, the author has to love their characters for me to love them and it didn't seem to me that Hopen loved any of them. I felt only disdain.Mysticism is dangerous, as the Hagigah 14b story relates. Mysticism wedded to wealth, power and privilege is a recipe for disaster--as the novel makes plain.I believe the purpose of life is 'aliveness' ('elasa' in my birth-language). "Aliveness" is neither great nor grandiose. An orchard is alive but it's not divine or secular but gentle and fruitful. "The Orchard" was not alive, not in that sense. I looked for a single character that evoked 'aliveness' but . . . found no Rabbi Akiba anywhere.

The negative reviews are all ACCURATE but still TOO GENEROUS. Would give 0 stars or negative stars if I could.1. The story makes no sense. Dozens of plot points are never explained or paid off. Just meandering meaningless nonsense.2. I live in both of the worlds this author is trying write about. Both are horribly inaccurate and more importantly implausible. Yes it is fiction but it should be listed under fantasy. Star student athlete and top students getting drunk and high every day? Yeshiva kid fitting into extremely academic Modern Orthodox school miraculously in 12th grade? No family is dumb enough to put their sheltered 12th grader into an Ivy League prep school. And any school with students this disturbed would have them talk to a school psychologist. I could go on...3. The characters are extraordinarily flat. No growth. No change. No explanation for their bizarre behavior and actions. Boys talk philosophy. Girls look pretty or are nerdy tutors. Characters make terrible choices that are not justified or earned by the narrative. Terrible things happen to characters for no reason. Complete mess.4. Honestly, this book seems to have been written so that the author could show off his admittedly vast philosophy background. There is literally no other purpose to these sections of the book. Also they are incredibly dense and not really very understandable.5. As weird at it might be for a Law Student author to have an unhealthy obsession with philosophy it buggers disbelief to imagine 5 alcoholic pothead boys sitting with a rabbi and discussing advanced philosophy like they are talking about the latest Marvel or Star Wars film.6. There is no real conflict or resolution in the book. There are many potential conflicts and areas for tension but they are all left to wither and die before they can even begin rising action.7. The writing is weird. Hebrew words (which I know well) being transliterated inconsistently, kids using Yiddish and Hebrew expressions that no one ever uses, and random fancy English words that add nothing.8. Honestly, this book is so bad it is actually a work of art as a depiction of pretentious preening putrid published prose.9. The fact that anyone, let alone The NY Times and the Jewish Book Review, could read this book and think it is good makes absolutely no sense. Impossible to explain. This is not a matter of taste. It’s a matter or competency.

Hard to believe this is a debut. What promise this new author holds. This novel really makes you think; it's smart, witty and, at times, shattering. When a young man experiences the secular world in a totally new way and wants badly to fit in, his beliefs are questioned and tug at his conscience. Yes, there are lots of Jewish expressions thast one who is unfamiliar might get frustrated - but it doesn't detract from the overall story or message. The middle gets very philosophical and heady but this is an excellent read. Look forward to seeing more from this author.

Having been raised Modern Orthodox and yeshiva educated (until expelled), I readily and comfortably understood and enjoyed Hopen’s second nature use of often esoteric Hebrew (biblical and modern) terms, Yiddish idiom, Talmudic references, and religious law contexts. But for those unfamiliar, I don’t know how they can “get it” without a glossary. (Context does not suffice.). Is he and the publisher purposely narrow casting? This book is often smart and engrossing, but also often over the top (I know this world), and insufficiently streamlined.

This would have been a 5-star book had the author not descended into a "Deliverance Meets Timothy Leary" ending. It was such a contrived cop-out and quite frankly nearly ruined the book for me. The best chapters dealt with the cultural shift from Borough Park to Miami with regard to maintaining a Modern Orthodox value system, and certainly there could have been a less cliche climax/denouement.