THE COUNCIL OF WISE WOMEN

A family is roiled by domestic issues as their village struggles with faminein Abrahmson’s humorous tale of Jewish life.

Sarah Cohen wasn’t expecting twins, so when babies Rachel and Yakov arrive in tandem, she’s immediately overwhelmed. Her husband, Benjamin, the “best (and only) tailor in Chelm,” the small village they call home, doesn’t seem to appreciate all she does, and he complains bitterly about the pair of caterwauling children who sound “like a pair of feral cats biting each other on the tails.” In this wildly funny novel, the author pinpoints, with a delightful combination of humor and sagacity, the peculiar burden that falls upon parents: “Having children is like having a portion of your mind removed. Even worse, you can see that bit of mind on the floor. It’s just out of reach, and every time you try to grab for it to put it back into your head, it skitters away like a frightened dog with a bone.” The family makes waves—Rachel proves to be intellectually brilliant and scandalizes the town by becoming the first girl to attend school, while Yakov is considered “insane” as a boy who loves to cook and make pretty clothing. Meanwhile, the entire town faces extinction when famine strikes in a time that comes to be called the “Winter of the Cabbage” because that’s all anyone has to eat. The author combines slapstick wit with genuine literary inventiveness. At the heart of Chelm is a secret association—the Council of Wise Women (the pedigree extends back to Biblical times)—that attempts to govern a community generally known for its stupidity. This is a sweetly endearing tale, but not an unduly sentimental one with a contrived happy ending. The author impressively manages to deliver a thoughtful reflection on the extraordinary pressures of domestic life that also does justice to its blessings; both are conveyed with hilarity.

A thoroughly enjoyable novel, both moving and astutely farcical.