Disobedience Book Review

In our modern, diverse culture, we often say that love is love is love. But we sometimes forget that there parts of this world where being who you are and having an open relationship with the one you love is not always easy or accepted.

In the 2006 book, Disobedience, by Naomi Alderman, Ronit left her insular Orthodox Jewish London community as a young woman. She has recently returned because of her father’s passing.  But returning to the community that she once called home is not easy. Her cousin Dovid married their friend Esti. There are whispers around the community that Dovid is to take his uncle’s place as Rav. While Ronit is wrestling with her past and the death of her father, Dovid is thinking about his future. Esti is trying  to be a good wife, as per the laws of Orthodox Judaism. But she is also in the closet and remembering her relationship with Ronit when they were girls.

Before I go any further with my review, I have to admit that I saw the movie before I read the book. That being said, seeing the movie gave me a new perspective on the book. While the movie is told from third person POV, the narrative in the book is told from a first person POV, jumping from Dovid to Ronit to Esti. While it’s not a clear-cut case of the book being better than the movie, I just feel like the narrative in the movie was cleaner and more powerful than the narrative in the book.

Do I recommend it? I’m leaning toward yes.

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BlacKkKlansman Movie Review

Spike Lee is known for speaking to his audience without hitting them over the head.

His new movie, BlacKkKlansman, was released yesterday. In the 1970’s Ron Stallworth (John David Washington, son of respected actor Denzel Washington) is not only a new recruit in the Colorado Springs police department, but he is also the first police officers of color on the squad. While browsing through a local newspaper, he stops on an ad for the KKK and calls them, pretending to be white. Surprisingly, he receives a call back. Ron goes undercover with the help of Flip Zimmerman (Adam Driver), a fellow cop who is Jewish. Flip plays Ron in person while Ron plays a white version of himself over the phone. They even go so far as to make contact with David Duke (Topher Grace).  While this is happening, Ron is seeing Patrice Dumas (Laura Harrier), who is a local activist in the civil rights movement.

Will Ron and Flip be exposed or will they be able to stop the KKK in their tracks?

Based on a book by the real life Ron Stallworth, this movie blew me out of the water. The movie was funny, uncomfortable and forced the audience to really think about how we view race in America. Though it is set in the 1970’s, it speaks to the audience in 2018. While I won’t give the ending away, I will say that you could hear a pin drop as the final moments of the film played. It was that powerful.

I’ve seen quite a few movies this year. BlacKkKlansman is one of the best films of 2018. If I were a betting woman, I would say that this movie will do very well come award season.

I absolutely recommend this movie.

BlacKkKlansman is presently in theaters.