“I’m not judging the level of observance of these authors; I’m just
trying to present a different perspective from someone who has been
both an insider and an outsider,” [Wendy Shalit] wrote. “To me, the
strongest novels are the ones that portray an ideal to live up to, not
just people’s failings.”
When asked to comment on criticism of her blurred distinctions between
literature and journalism or sociology, she says, “The problem is that
these books are sold as ‘authentic’ portrayals of Orthodox life, and
also reviewed as such — therefore I think it’s a fair question to ask:
How authentic are these portraits, really?” She explains that she wrote
the essay “to spark a discussion, so it’s healthy that we’re having
this debate now in the Jewish world,” she says, adding, “We’re at a
very exciting moment in American Jewish fiction because the monopoly
of the Ortho-bashers is ending.”
Does she have interest in writing fiction? “Perhaps someday.”
Sam Tanenhaus, editor of the Book Review, explains that the piece grew
out of a review Shalit wrote that seemed more essay than review, so
she was asked to recast it into a longer piece. “Her argument struck
us as one that was interesting and provocative, which doesn’t mean we
agree with her. Wendy has an unusual voice; she comes to literary matters
from a more philosophical point of view.”