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Gitel's Freedom
For fans of Georgia Hunter’s We Were the Lucky Ones and Anita Abriel’s The Light After the War comes a historical narrative about the lives of Jewish immigrants in the early twentieth century and one woman’s journey through adversity toward personal freedom.
At an early age, Gitel questions the expected roles of women in society and in Judaism. Born in Belorussia and brought to the US in 1911 as a child, she leads a life constrained by her religious Jewish parents. Forbidden from going to college and pushed into finding a husband, she marries Shmuel, an Orthodox Jewish pharmacist whose left-wing politics she admires. They plan to work together in a neighborhood pharmacy in Chicago—but when the Great Depression hits and their bank closes, their hopes are shattered.
In the years that follow, Shmuel’s questionable decisions, his poor health, and his bad luck plague their marriage and leave them constantly in financial distress. Gitel dreams of going back to school to become a teacher once their one daughter reaches high school, but an unexpected pregnancy quashes that aspiration as well. And when, later, a massive stroke leaves Shmuel disabled, Gitel is challenged to combine caring for him, being the breadwinner at a time when women face salary discrimination, and being present for their second daughter.
Offering an illuminating look at Jewish immigrant life in early-1900s America, Gitel’s Freedom is a compelling tale of women’s resourcefulness and resilience in the face of limiting and often oppressive expectations.
At an early age, Gitel questions the expected roles of women in society and in Judaism. Born in Belorussia and brought to the US in 1911 as a child, she leads a life constrained by her religious Jewish parents. Forbidden from going to college and pushed into finding a husband, she marries Shmuel, an Orthodox Jewish pharmacist whose left-wing politics she admires. They plan to work together in a neighborhood pharmacy in Chicago—but when the Great Depression hits and their bank closes, their hopes are shattered.
In the years that follow, Shmuel’s questionable decisions, his poor health, and his bad luck plague their marriage and leave them constantly in financial distress. Gitel dreams of going back to school to become a teacher once their one daughter reaches high school, but an unexpected pregnancy quashes that aspiration as well. And when, later, a massive stroke leaves Shmuel disabled, Gitel is challenged to combine caring for him, being the breadwinner at a time when women face salary discrimination, and being present for their second daughter.
Offering an illuminating look at Jewish immigrant life in early-1900s America, Gitel’s Freedom is a compelling tale of women’s resourcefulness and resilience in the face of limiting and often oppressive expectations.
- GenresHistorical Fiction
312 pages, Paperback
Published March 25, 2025
4 people are currently reading
3276 people want to read
About the author
Iris Mitlin Lav
3 books24 followersIris Mitlin Lav grew up in the liberal Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. She went on to earn an MBA from George Washington University and an AB from the University of Chicago, and to enjoy a long career of public policy analysis and management, with an emphasis on improving policies for low- and moderate-income families. She also taught public finance at Johns Hopkins University and George Mason University, and in 1999 received the Steven D. Gold award for contributions to state and local fiscal policy, an award jointly given by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management, the National Conference of State Legislatures, and the National Tax Association. Her first novel, “A Wife in Bangkok,” was published in 2020 by She Writes Press. “Gitel’s Freedom” is her second novel. Lav and her husband now live in Chevy Chase, Maryland, with Mango, their goldendoodle, and grandchildren nearby.
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January 21, 2025
Gitel’s Freedom, Iris Mitlin Lav, author
This novel is based on the real stories of families that have emigrated to the United States, especially in the early part of the 20th century, but this story is about a particular family from Minsk, Russia and what they endured in America. It concentrates on the lives of Gitel and Schmuel, who are observant Jews, although Schmuel is far mor religious, at first. I thought it would be very much like what my own father had endured as a little boy. During the same time frame and from the same place of origin, he traveled on a boat to America with his family to find a better way of life. However, my father’s family was not religious, and as the years passed, his family’s approach, philosophy and work ethic were different than that of Gitel and Schmuel’s. There were some common threads like the desire that we marry within the Jewish faith, the belief that education was the key to success, and the idea, held by most, that sons were entitled to far more opportunity than females who should really aim to marry and maintain a home, but socialism and communism were never even considered.
Because I also have the name Gitel, I was drawn to this book. However, that is pretty much where the connection ended. Gitel is closer in age to my father, and I am somewhat closer in age to Ilana and Faye, Gitel’s daughters. I understood their conflicts as they grew up. Still, I do not remember resenting my parents for not being rich enough to provide me with camp or a private college education, or everything else I might have desired. If I couldn’t afford something as simple as an ice cream, I simply did without it. The one thing I do remember resenting was the inequality between my brother’s life and mine, but I still loved my brother and respected my parents’ wishes for the most part. In this novel, the resentment of the characters felt outsized to me, especially in the face of the circumstances confronting the family.
In my home, it was stressed that success derived from hard work and education. If there was a roadblock, or a failure, you found a way around it. You solve your problems by working harder to achieve goals and not by complaining which served no purpose. It was a positive lesson that I did not get from this novel. Instead, I got a message that stressed resentment about never being afforded a fair chance. Bad luck, perhaps that they brought upon themselves, might be causing their problems. There was always something or someone to blame.
I was taught to never quit, never give up, and never to blame anyone else for my lack of good fortune or success. My family didn’t ever want to have to accept charity. We would have been too proud to accept government assistance. The immediate family often stepped in to help each other, making personal sacrifices to do so. Putting it simply, we were taught to appreciate what we had and to keep on working hard. We were neither Socialists nor Communists. We were in America, and we wanted to succeed in the Capitalist world. In this book, I found the opposite philosophy played a larger role. Of course, I did know others who came from a family that was more like Gitel and Schmuel's, who were interested in the Workman’s Circle, were far more devout, kept a kosher home, restricted the behavior of the children, provided only a religious education for them, and were interested far more in social programs for themselves, but most of the people I knew did not identify with the Socialist or Communist way of life, rather they wanted to assimilate. Most families were independent and lived within their means, no matter how meager their means were.
I was disappointed that the book seemed focused on this Jewish family’s dissatisfaction with their way of life, with their need to blame others or their reduced practice of religion as possible causes for their bad luck or lack of success. I was disappointed with the willingness to take from others even when it imposed great hardship on them. I was surprised that when this family managed to get help from social services and the government or other charities, instead of staying within their means until they could put aside a little something for a rainy day and then improve their lives, they simply seemed to spend the extra money immediately. Thus, they never managed to earn enough to get ahead of the game. When they faced misfortune, as we all invariably do, they simply had no nest egg and no way to deal with it. They never seemed to learn better coping skills and thus never seemed to change their situation. They just always wondered why they had bad luck. I do understand that their lives were difficult. I just wish the book had promoted a happier and more positive view of Jewish life, instead of promoting the idea of “woe is me!”
I did find the history presented in the novel very interesting, and I appreciated the explanation of the Yiddish words at the time they were used, preventing the need to turn to the glossary. I think because of the extremely simplistic writing style, however, perhaps the book would be better served if it was promoted for a younger audience. Even then, I think it also should be read with adult supervision, so a more positive view of Jewish life could also be explained to the reader. It would be good for a teacher or other mentor to explain the differences in lifestyle choices because after reading this, someone could come away with the wrong idea about Jewish life.
I would have preferred to have found some of the characters more likeable and the dialogue less contrived. The characters reacted to life’s events in the same way repetitively, never seeming to learn from the experience. For instance, Gitel always understood that her luck was bad. She always accepted it resignedly. She would simply sum everything up with the idea that there was never any other choice. Everyone would just have to deal with it. Then she would lean on others or her children for help. She would then feel sad because the children did not have a normal childhood. Then she rationalized that again with the idea that she had no other choice. When she would feel sorry for her children, she would also feel sorry for herself. Each time she was challenged, she didn’t seem to understand why she was being chosen to have so much bad luck. In some way, this story painted more of a negative than positive picture about Jews. They seemingly demanded benefits, but could not achieve independence if they maintained their religious beliefs. This disappointed me.
The idea that Gitel is finally free because her husband dies was shocking to me! She seemed almost grateful. I cannot imagine feeling the same way. Her children were married and out of the house, and now so was her husband. She was going to spread her wings and fly. She was never a homemaker. She never liked to cook or clean or take care of children, anyway. She had always resented not being able to do what she wanted to do. On the other hand, although I found her to be selfish at times, I understood that she was forced to sacrifice her desires for the needs of others very often. She apparently, had made her choices out of obligation and not out of love or devotion.
There was also an underlying suggestion that her feelings for her friend Sophie were questionable, perhaps indicating a lesbian tendency. I was not sure why that was included in the story in such a way. Sophie was her dearest and practically only friend, after all. That could have been the reason she felt so close and so comfortable with her.
Without the proper guidance, I fear that an ordinary reader, unfamiliar with Jewish life or Jews, might come away with a very negative opinion, and possibly even a dislike for Jews, because of the behavior and way of life expressed in this novel. That would be a disappointing result, and I feel certain it was not the author’s intent.
This novel is based on the real stories of families that have emigrated to the United States, especially in the early part of the 20th century, but this story is about a particular family from Minsk, Russia and what they endured in America. It concentrates on the lives of Gitel and Schmuel, who are observant Jews, although Schmuel is far mor religious, at first. I thought it would be very much like what my own father had endured as a little boy. During the same time frame and from the same place of origin, he traveled on a boat to America with his family to find a better way of life. However, my father’s family was not religious, and as the years passed, his family’s approach, philosophy and work ethic were different than that of Gitel and Schmuel’s. There were some common threads like the desire that we marry within the Jewish faith, the belief that education was the key to success, and the idea, held by most, that sons were entitled to far more opportunity than females who should really aim to marry and maintain a home, but socialism and communism were never even considered.
Because I also have the name Gitel, I was drawn to this book. However, that is pretty much where the connection ended. Gitel is closer in age to my father, and I am somewhat closer in age to Ilana and Faye, Gitel’s daughters. I understood their conflicts as they grew up. Still, I do not remember resenting my parents for not being rich enough to provide me with camp or a private college education, or everything else I might have desired. If I couldn’t afford something as simple as an ice cream, I simply did without it. The one thing I do remember resenting was the inequality between my brother’s life and mine, but I still loved my brother and respected my parents’ wishes for the most part. In this novel, the resentment of the characters felt outsized to me, especially in the face of the circumstances confronting the family.
In my home, it was stressed that success derived from hard work and education. If there was a roadblock, or a failure, you found a way around it. You solve your problems by working harder to achieve goals and not by complaining which served no purpose. It was a positive lesson that I did not get from this novel. Instead, I got a message that stressed resentment about never being afforded a fair chance. Bad luck, perhaps that they brought upon themselves, might be causing their problems. There was always something or someone to blame.
I was taught to never quit, never give up, and never to blame anyone else for my lack of good fortune or success. My family didn’t ever want to have to accept charity. We would have been too proud to accept government assistance. The immediate family often stepped in to help each other, making personal sacrifices to do so. Putting it simply, we were taught to appreciate what we had and to keep on working hard. We were neither Socialists nor Communists. We were in America, and we wanted to succeed in the Capitalist world. In this book, I found the opposite philosophy played a larger role. Of course, I did know others who came from a family that was more like Gitel and Schmuel's, who were interested in the Workman’s Circle, were far more devout, kept a kosher home, restricted the behavior of the children, provided only a religious education for them, and were interested far more in social programs for themselves, but most of the people I knew did not identify with the Socialist or Communist way of life, rather they wanted to assimilate. Most families were independent and lived within their means, no matter how meager their means were.
I was disappointed that the book seemed focused on this Jewish family’s dissatisfaction with their way of life, with their need to blame others or their reduced practice of religion as possible causes for their bad luck or lack of success. I was disappointed with the willingness to take from others even when it imposed great hardship on them. I was surprised that when this family managed to get help from social services and the government or other charities, instead of staying within their means until they could put aside a little something for a rainy day and then improve their lives, they simply seemed to spend the extra money immediately. Thus, they never managed to earn enough to get ahead of the game. When they faced misfortune, as we all invariably do, they simply had no nest egg and no way to deal with it. They never seemed to learn better coping skills and thus never seemed to change their situation. They just always wondered why they had bad luck. I do understand that their lives were difficult. I just wish the book had promoted a happier and more positive view of Jewish life, instead of promoting the idea of “woe is me!”
I did find the history presented in the novel very interesting, and I appreciated the explanation of the Yiddish words at the time they were used, preventing the need to turn to the glossary. I think because of the extremely simplistic writing style, however, perhaps the book would be better served if it was promoted for a younger audience. Even then, I think it also should be read with adult supervision, so a more positive view of Jewish life could also be explained to the reader. It would be good for a teacher or other mentor to explain the differences in lifestyle choices because after reading this, someone could come away with the wrong idea about Jewish life.
I would have preferred to have found some of the characters more likeable and the dialogue less contrived. The characters reacted to life’s events in the same way repetitively, never seeming to learn from the experience. For instance, Gitel always understood that her luck was bad. She always accepted it resignedly. She would simply sum everything up with the idea that there was never any other choice. Everyone would just have to deal with it. Then she would lean on others or her children for help. She would then feel sad because the children did not have a normal childhood. Then she rationalized that again with the idea that she had no other choice. When she would feel sorry for her children, she would also feel sorry for herself. Each time she was challenged, she didn’t seem to understand why she was being chosen to have so much bad luck. In some way, this story painted more of a negative than positive picture about Jews. They seemingly demanded benefits, but could not achieve independence if they maintained their religious beliefs. This disappointed me.
The idea that Gitel is finally free because her husband dies was shocking to me! She seemed almost grateful. I cannot imagine feeling the same way. Her children were married and out of the house, and now so was her husband. She was going to spread her wings and fly. She was never a homemaker. She never liked to cook or clean or take care of children, anyway. She had always resented not being able to do what she wanted to do. On the other hand, although I found her to be selfish at times, I understood that she was forced to sacrifice her desires for the needs of others very often. She apparently, had made her choices out of obligation and not out of love or devotion.
There was also an underlying suggestion that her feelings for her friend Sophie were questionable, perhaps indicating a lesbian tendency. I was not sure why that was included in the story in such a way. Sophie was her dearest and practically only friend, after all. That could have been the reason she felt so close and so comfortable with her.
Without the proper guidance, I fear that an ordinary reader, unfamiliar with Jewish life or Jews, might come away with a very negative opinion, and possibly even a dislike for Jews, because of the behavior and way of life expressed in this novel. That would be a disappointing result, and I feel certain it was not the author’s intent.
March 4, 2025
Gitel's Freedom is about a woman trying to find her way during a time when women weren't treated fairly. The look into the time period and the things that went on during that time was interesting. Gitel and her family haven't had it easy and it was interesting to see how they overcame the obstacles. I did have trouble connecting with the characters but overall it was an ok read! Thank you Books Forward PR and Iris Mitlin Lav for sharing this book with me!
March 21, 2025
4.3
Constrained, anxiety, shattered…
*Thank you to Jackie at Books Forward for this gifted copy!
Gitel leaves Belorussia in 1911 with her mother and 5 brothers to join father in the USA. At times growing up in South Bend , Indiana, Gitel feels thwarted with her life choices and opportunities.
Gitel has many hardships to deal with when she’s older with her OWN family of four.
A family saga that deals with separation, employment woes, deprivation, resilience, health issues, and expected roles. The tale casts a light on early 1900s Jewish immigrant life in Chicago.
THOUGHTS:
*CHARACTERS-
-mother Gitel always seems to want more. She has some lofty dreams, many of which weren’t realized. Sometimes she was whiney about it.
-daughter Ilana was a go-getter.
-father Shmuel had a tough life. He sure believed in bad luck. Did poor choices have anything to do with it?
-Rayzel - I loved her method for discovering the goose thief AND her solution.
*This family sure seemed to be weighed down by misfortune.
*Gitel and Ilana were both family caregivers. They faced juggling unique challenges- exhaustion, financial strain, and balancing life tasks.
*Gitel seemed to be taking more control of her life at the end of the story.
*Ilana seemed able to find effective solutions to problems. She was able to bounce back from mishaps & to overcome challenges. Gitel seemed to be more able than her confidence in herself led her to believe.
*I felt it was an accurate picture of the times. An intimate snapshot of Jewish life.
*Thank you for the glossary of terms. Much appreciated!
*Beautiful cover!
*When I got married , one of my first grade students gave me braided bread and pastries. A thoughtful, delicious gift!
Constrained, anxiety, shattered…
*Thank you to Jackie at Books Forward for this gifted copy!
Gitel leaves Belorussia in 1911 with her mother and 5 brothers to join father in the USA. At times growing up in South Bend , Indiana, Gitel feels thwarted with her life choices and opportunities.
Gitel has many hardships to deal with when she’s older with her OWN family of four.
A family saga that deals with separation, employment woes, deprivation, resilience, health issues, and expected roles. The tale casts a light on early 1900s Jewish immigrant life in Chicago.
THOUGHTS:
*CHARACTERS-
-mother Gitel always seems to want more. She has some lofty dreams, many of which weren’t realized. Sometimes she was whiney about it.
-daughter Ilana was a go-getter.
-father Shmuel had a tough life. He sure believed in bad luck. Did poor choices have anything to do with it?
-Rayzel - I loved her method for discovering the goose thief AND her solution.
*This family sure seemed to be weighed down by misfortune.
*Gitel and Ilana were both family caregivers. They faced juggling unique challenges- exhaustion, financial strain, and balancing life tasks.
*Gitel seemed to be taking more control of her life at the end of the story.
*Ilana seemed able to find effective solutions to problems. She was able to bounce back from mishaps & to overcome challenges. Gitel seemed to be more able than her confidence in herself led her to believe.
*I felt it was an accurate picture of the times. An intimate snapshot of Jewish life.
*Thank you for the glossary of terms. Much appreciated!
*Beautiful cover!
*When I got married , one of my first grade students gave me braided bread and pastries. A thoughtful, delicious gift!
March 21, 2025
The change in Rayzel’s life from the moment she leaves Berisov, Belarus to South Bend, Indiana has more of an impact than Rayzel or anyone probably realizes. Not just in her life but also in that of her daughter and granddaughters to come.
What does a mother who doesn’t speak English, and basically refuses to learn to do so, which isolates her from the community around her, do in raising her daughter in a strange land? She keeps Gitel on a short leash, although that, to some extent, seems to be the implied way for observant Jews of the time. The sons have way more freedom than Gitel ever has.
I’ve read some reviews of Gitel’s Freedom that miss many of the book's points and even misinterpret the meaning of others. This is an unfair treatment of the author and her creation. Believe me, if I didn’t like the book or didn’t believe what I’m saying, I wouldn't mention it.
Themes throughout the book are shared by Gitel and her daughters in some form: fighting for their educational freedoms, and fighting for their social freedoms. The differences come from their situations and the decades they occur in. They all have obstacles but all know if you want something, you have to figure out how to reach the goal. You keep going. Faye and Ilana, Gitel’s daughters, learn that from their mother, even if they don’t immediately realize it at the time. They all face similar problems but due to their situations growing up, and situations in the moment of the problems, they all deal with them differently.
Gitel and Faye internalize their emotional responses, while Ilana, who was born much later and was partly raised by her sister Faye who was an American girl by this time, tends to express or at least show her displeasure more openly.
You can see the change from how Rayzel was upon arrival in South Bend in 1911 to how Ilana ends up being in Chicago in the 1960s, through the four women of the story.
Ilana ends up becoming that girl of freedom that Gitel wanted to be when she was young, but only through Gitel’s trials and with the aid of Gitel’s first-born American girl, Faye. Faye the Bridge, I’ll call her.
The story is honest in showing that not everyone is perfect, that no one is. Even if raised to accept and be one way, you aren’t always like that inside, even if portraying acceptance on the outside. It shows the realistic impact strife can take on even the most optimistic person. How even Gitel can allow her husband’s thoughts of their situation to seep in, even if it’s only a momentary thought. How strife can change someone, unexpectedly, for the good.
We get to see the honesty of the women’s feelings about their situations. The frustrations are mostly kept internal. But children will be children, and teen girls will be teen girls. And we get to see how each of the generations thinks from their points of view.
I can relate to Gitel in that I’m now my mother’s caregiver. It’s not something I ever expected to be. We aren’t that close but I’m the only child and it’s my responsibility to take care of her, even if that means I’m now an hour away from my own family, who I maybe get to see once a month for about four years now. I get her frustrations, her disappointments, and her wanting freedoms, and a break from the weight of it all. And I can understand her eventual feelings at the end. It’s not awful, as some believe it to be. It’s something that she has slowly seen coming for years, and been dealing with for all of that time.
Other things I really enjoyed about the book are the historical aspects. Very accurate ones. As many of you may know, I have my degree in History Education and have continued researching and reading history over the course of 30+ years. I’ve been doing ancestry research for a few years now. Yankel’s coming to America and the four years it takes to establish a living and earn enough to pay for passage for seven family members is exactly right. You can look at the family stories and the passenger lists of arrivals. My own family arrived in the 1600s and 1700s to America and much the same thing happened. The men came. Established a life. Then sent for the rest of the family.
I enjoyed the history of the lead-up to the first election of FDR, the optimism, the aftermath, the good, and the letdowns. The social justice aspects of the stories of Gitel and her children were a nice addition. Showing the organizations and how they worked in a relatable story form helped easily put them into perspective and into action. The slow progress of race relations leading to integration.
Reading some reviews for the book, I’ve noticed reactions to Gitel and her friend Sophie’s closeness and Gitel’s reactions to the comfort she feels from Sophie. To me, it seems appropriate for the story and puts some aspects of the story in better perspective. It actually, for me, might explain a lot if I want to interpret it one way over another.
The writing style of Gitel’s Freedom is easy to read and isn’t trying to be more than it needs to be. In fact, I think the language and structure starts off simpler and slowly advances along with the family’s time in America and their assimilation and actually being Americans. There is somewhat of an urgency or franticness, I think, to the way Frayzel thinks, less so with Gitel, although even though she doesn’t realize it there is still her mother’s influence on some of her thinking and reactions, and by the time of Faye and Ilana, they’re American girls… for good or bad. It all makes sense.
In all, I think this book is a good read to observe the way the members of a family progress through time from one generation’s place in time and views, to another’s.
What does a mother who doesn’t speak English, and basically refuses to learn to do so, which isolates her from the community around her, do in raising her daughter in a strange land? She keeps Gitel on a short leash, although that, to some extent, seems to be the implied way for observant Jews of the time. The sons have way more freedom than Gitel ever has.
I’ve read some reviews of Gitel’s Freedom that miss many of the book's points and even misinterpret the meaning of others. This is an unfair treatment of the author and her creation. Believe me, if I didn’t like the book or didn’t believe what I’m saying, I wouldn't mention it.
Themes throughout the book are shared by Gitel and her daughters in some form: fighting for their educational freedoms, and fighting for their social freedoms. The differences come from their situations and the decades they occur in. They all have obstacles but all know if you want something, you have to figure out how to reach the goal. You keep going. Faye and Ilana, Gitel’s daughters, learn that from their mother, even if they don’t immediately realize it at the time. They all face similar problems but due to their situations growing up, and situations in the moment of the problems, they all deal with them differently.
Gitel and Faye internalize their emotional responses, while Ilana, who was born much later and was partly raised by her sister Faye who was an American girl by this time, tends to express or at least show her displeasure more openly.
You can see the change from how Rayzel was upon arrival in South Bend in 1911 to how Ilana ends up being in Chicago in the 1960s, through the four women of the story.
Ilana ends up becoming that girl of freedom that Gitel wanted to be when she was young, but only through Gitel’s trials and with the aid of Gitel’s first-born American girl, Faye. Faye the Bridge, I’ll call her.
The story is honest in showing that not everyone is perfect, that no one is. Even if raised to accept and be one way, you aren’t always like that inside, even if portraying acceptance on the outside. It shows the realistic impact strife can take on even the most optimistic person. How even Gitel can allow her husband’s thoughts of their situation to seep in, even if it’s only a momentary thought. How strife can change someone, unexpectedly, for the good.
We get to see the honesty of the women’s feelings about their situations. The frustrations are mostly kept internal. But children will be children, and teen girls will be teen girls. And we get to see how each of the generations thinks from their points of view.
I can relate to Gitel in that I’m now my mother’s caregiver. It’s not something I ever expected to be. We aren’t that close but I’m the only child and it’s my responsibility to take care of her, even if that means I’m now an hour away from my own family, who I maybe get to see once a month for about four years now. I get her frustrations, her disappointments, and her wanting freedoms, and a break from the weight of it all. And I can understand her eventual feelings at the end. It’s not awful, as some believe it to be. It’s something that she has slowly seen coming for years, and been dealing with for all of that time.
Other things I really enjoyed about the book are the historical aspects. Very accurate ones. As many of you may know, I have my degree in History Education and have continued researching and reading history over the course of 30+ years. I’ve been doing ancestry research for a few years now. Yankel’s coming to America and the four years it takes to establish a living and earn enough to pay for passage for seven family members is exactly right. You can look at the family stories and the passenger lists of arrivals. My own family arrived in the 1600s and 1700s to America and much the same thing happened. The men came. Established a life. Then sent for the rest of the family.
I enjoyed the history of the lead-up to the first election of FDR, the optimism, the aftermath, the good, and the letdowns. The social justice aspects of the stories of Gitel and her children were a nice addition. Showing the organizations and how they worked in a relatable story form helped easily put them into perspective and into action. The slow progress of race relations leading to integration.
Reading some reviews for the book, I’ve noticed reactions to Gitel and her friend Sophie’s closeness and Gitel’s reactions to the comfort she feels from Sophie. To me, it seems appropriate for the story and puts some aspects of the story in better perspective. It actually, for me, might explain a lot if I want to interpret it one way over another.
The writing style of Gitel’s Freedom is easy to read and isn’t trying to be more than it needs to be. In fact, I think the language and structure starts off simpler and slowly advances along with the family’s time in America and their assimilation and actually being Americans. There is somewhat of an urgency or franticness, I think, to the way Frayzel thinks, less so with Gitel, although even though she doesn’t realize it there is still her mother’s influence on some of her thinking and reactions, and by the time of Faye and Ilana, they’re American girls… for good or bad. It all makes sense.
In all, I think this book is a good read to observe the way the members of a family progress through time from one generation’s place in time and views, to another’s.
October 14, 2024
If you enjoy historical fiction that highlights the Jewish experience, then this book is for you! I really enjoyed the intersections that our main character, Gitel, explores. From a young age, she questions the expected roles of women in her faith and pushes back against oppression. You cannot help but root for this incredible character!
December 30, 2024
This family saga focuses on Gitel in a novelization of the author's family's experiences in the early part of the 20th century as immigrant Jews in the Midwest. Gitel emigrates to the states as a very young child, with her mother and 5 siblings. The first generation of immigrants faces hardships including privations, illness, and social challenges. Gitel, as the second-generation focus here, has her own challenges caused by social/familial conflicts: as a Jewish immigrant whose mother only speaks Yiddish, she finds herself pulled away from family by her American and secular social group in school. Her filial duties as well as the old-world values of traditional womanhood and fixed roles in the family and religion rub against the new American and secular views of women and their place in society. For example, Gitel longs to join the softball club for women that her parents would be shocked to learn allows girls to wear pants for their sport. This conflict between Gitel and her traditional family is portrayed convincingly and honestly, with nuance and empathy. The author does a good job of presenting both sides of the conflict in a brutally honest way that allows the reader to sympathize with both sides.
Gitel goes on to marry Shmuel, a "shlemiel" who either has rotten luck in life or makes bad decision after bad decision. So Gitel's life does not improve much over the course of her married life. She and her husband bemoan their bad fates over and over, repeatedly decrying how miserable they are and how bad life has treated them. And herein lies the weakness of this novel. There is almost nothing of joy, optimism, or personal growth in any character here, which results in a novel that depresses the reader. A good family immigrant saga, while portraying hardship and the fight for a place among society and one's adopted homeland, is able to touch the reader with positive elements, such as the tenacity of the human spirit, upward-looking hopefulness for the future, and spiritual or physical rewards for endurance and perseverance. There is none of that here, which makes for a rather gloomy story. Gitel's freedom comes only at the end of her life, when her husband dies. In the author's view, Gitel's life was wasted due to social constraints and familial responsibilities, first to her parents, then to her husband, and then to her children.
The definition of freedom here is an interesting one. The author's perspective is that Gitel had no freedom in life, which seems to mean the ability to live for herself alone, without any responsibilities to anyone else. Without parents, Gitel would have been able to choose any career path that was open to women. Without a husband, Gitel would not have been constrained to live in a particular neighborhood. Without children, she would have been able to develop a career and not be tied down to the home. The reader wonders if the real Gitel actually felt this constrained in her own life or if the author is imposing her own 21st-century feminist views onto Gitel. The fact of the matter is that for the entirety of human civilization, men and women both struggled to live. Life for the most part has been brutal and short, and partnerships between men and women have mitigated the difficulty with what joys could be found within family and married life. Marriage and children have not been, for the most part, a limiting factor in a person's happiness. In fact one can argue the opposite: that the freedom that an individual attains without family is more than outweighed by the companionship, joys, and yes, even responsibilities that family provides.
The author's strong suit is narration of events and depiction of the conflicts between familial/religious duty and social personal desires. The dialogue is stilted, due its expository nature: the characters' speech functions in an explanatory way for the reader, by telling the reader in a "stage manager" kind of way what's going on.
Gitel goes on to marry Shmuel, a "shlemiel" who either has rotten luck in life or makes bad decision after bad decision. So Gitel's life does not improve much over the course of her married life. She and her husband bemoan their bad fates over and over, repeatedly decrying how miserable they are and how bad life has treated them. And herein lies the weakness of this novel. There is almost nothing of joy, optimism, or personal growth in any character here, which results in a novel that depresses the reader. A good family immigrant saga, while portraying hardship and the fight for a place among society and one's adopted homeland, is able to touch the reader with positive elements, such as the tenacity of the human spirit, upward-looking hopefulness for the future, and spiritual or physical rewards for endurance and perseverance. There is none of that here, which makes for a rather gloomy story. Gitel's freedom comes only at the end of her life, when her husband dies. In the author's view, Gitel's life was wasted due to social constraints and familial responsibilities, first to her parents, then to her husband, and then to her children.
The definition of freedom here is an interesting one. The author's perspective is that Gitel had no freedom in life, which seems to mean the ability to live for herself alone, without any responsibilities to anyone else. Without parents, Gitel would have been able to choose any career path that was open to women. Without a husband, Gitel would not have been constrained to live in a particular neighborhood. Without children, she would have been able to develop a career and not be tied down to the home. The reader wonders if the real Gitel actually felt this constrained in her own life or if the author is imposing her own 21st-century feminist views onto Gitel. The fact of the matter is that for the entirety of human civilization, men and women both struggled to live. Life for the most part has been brutal and short, and partnerships between men and women have mitigated the difficulty with what joys could be found within family and married life. Marriage and children have not been, for the most part, a limiting factor in a person's happiness. In fact one can argue the opposite: that the freedom that an individual attains without family is more than outweighed by the companionship, joys, and yes, even responsibilities that family provides.
The author's strong suit is narration of events and depiction of the conflicts between familial/religious duty and social personal desires. The dialogue is stilted, due its expository nature: the characters' speech functions in an explanatory way for the reader, by telling the reader in a "stage manager" kind of way what's going on.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 22, 2025
Gitel, born in the early 1900's Belarus is the only daughter to her Jewish parents. Immigrating to the US to follow her father in 1911, Gitel is kept constrained by her parents and religion. She is not allowed to study the same things, go to college, play sports or go out with friends. Gitel is kept by her parents in order to learn to be a good Jewish wife. Seeing marriage as her only option, Gitel finds a like mind in Shmuel, a liberal thinker politically, following Orthodox Jewish practices and working as a pharmacist. Together, they open a pharmacy near Chicago, Gitel is fulfilled in her work life, but is struggling with intimacy with Shmuel. Nevertheless, they welcome a daughter. When the Great Depression hits, Gitel and Shmuel are forced to sell the pharmacy and it seems that Shmuel enters a streak of bad luck. Trying to survive, Gitel moves around with family, taking jobs where she can to save up money. As soon as they are back on their feet, Gitel is pregnant again and Shmuel is injured at work. Gitel now tries to balance being a parent, a caretaker to Shmuel and the family breadwinner. As Gitel's two girls grow up, she knows that she has done the best she can for them even though it has not been an easy life. When Shmuel falls ill again, Gitel looks forward to the day when she can do something for herself.
Gitel's Freedom is historical fiction based on the trials of the author's family. Deeply steeped in the process of immigration, Judaism and women's rights, Gitel's story reverberates for many women. The author relies heavily on exposition rather than allowing the events to unfold organically. The dialogue felt unnatural and abrupt, which hindered the development of the characters. Additionally, the narrative progresses rapidly through significant historical periods, offering a broad overview without delving into the characters' immediate experiences or emotional responses to these events. Despite this, Gitel's story still felt important and I wanted to know about her life. I felt for her as she was denied experiences and growth as a child, as she was pushed into a marriage where she didn't enjoy intimacy and was forced to be a caretaker for others while she neglected herself. This expression of womanhood is one that is often repeated and throughout history and still pervades into women's lives today. Despite these stylistic choices, Gitel's story remains compelling. I empathize with her struggles, particularly the limitations imposed on her youth, her experience in a marriage lacking intimacy, and the constant demands of caring for others at the expense of her own well-being. This portrayal of womanhood, marked by self-sacrifice and deferred personal aspirations, unfortunately reflects the experiences of many women throughout history and continues to be relevant today.
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.
Gitel's Freedom is historical fiction based on the trials of the author's family. Deeply steeped in the process of immigration, Judaism and women's rights, Gitel's story reverberates for many women. The author relies heavily on exposition rather than allowing the events to unfold organically. The dialogue felt unnatural and abrupt, which hindered the development of the characters. Additionally, the narrative progresses rapidly through significant historical periods, offering a broad overview without delving into the characters' immediate experiences or emotional responses to these events. Despite this, Gitel's story still felt important and I wanted to know about her life. I felt for her as she was denied experiences and growth as a child, as she was pushed into a marriage where she didn't enjoy intimacy and was forced to be a caretaker for others while she neglected herself. This expression of womanhood is one that is often repeated and throughout history and still pervades into women's lives today. Despite these stylistic choices, Gitel's story remains compelling. I empathize with her struggles, particularly the limitations imposed on her youth, her experience in a marriage lacking intimacy, and the constant demands of caring for others at the expense of her own well-being. This portrayal of womanhood, marked by self-sacrifice and deferred personal aspirations, unfortunately reflects the experiences of many women throughout history and continues to be relevant today.
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.
July 21, 2025
Iris felt led to share about her own family’s experiences as Jewish immigrants to the Chicago area. Many of the stories shared in the book are from her own memories and those shared by others, but she also took the liberty of changing conversations and names to protect family members who are still living.
Gitel was born in Belorussia and immigrated to the United States in 1911. Her Jewish parents were very strict and followed Jewish law, which means she must marry Shmuel, an Orthodox Jewish pharmacist. Because he believes in liberal policies like she does, she believes this may work. They open their own pharmacy, and life seems to be going well until the Great Depression hits their Chicago suburb. This becomes the beginning of their many struggles.
The book is mostly a story of Gitel and Shmuel’s marriage, their children’s lives, and the many struggles they faced due to Shmuel’s poor health, poverty, the war, and difficulty finding work. Just when Gitel and Shmuel overcome a struggle and life seems to be going smoothly, something bad happens to force them to suffer through another situation.
Gitel has dreams of going to college and being a bookkeeper. Unfortunately, this can’t be part of their plans. She stays home with their two daughters until a situation forces Gitel to find a job. Then their struggles are put onto the daughters as well.
This is not a happy story, and I felt like the characters’ struggles were the only focus. Even when things went well, that part of the story was often glossed over to get to the next struggle. Much of the writing consists of dialogue, but at times it felt unnatural, especially when the children were conversing. The dialogue does help the story move along, and the reader can picture the situations the characters are facing. Three generations of women are shared, and each of them had their own struggles to overcome. I was very unknowledgeable about the various Jewish customs and laws, including using different dishes for different foods, the food that isn’t allowed to be eaten, and their religious rituals. The author uses several Yiddish and Hebrew terms and has included a glossary at the end of the book, which I found helpful.
Those who appreciate an immigrant’s story of struggling to make a comfortable life in America will find the characters to be hardworking, earnest, and just trying to keep their heads above water. I felt sympathy for Gitel and her two daughters, who were both forced into situations that teens today would never imagine. But the girls’ struggles only made them appreciate the small joys in life and work even harder to have successful lives as adults. I’m not a fan of the title as it relates to the end of the story. I don’t want to give anything away, but Gitel’s “freedom” seems an odd word choice for how her life changed at the end of the book. Resilience, loyalty to family, and never letting go of your dreams are values held by the characters that made this an inspiring story.
Gitel was born in Belorussia and immigrated to the United States in 1911. Her Jewish parents were very strict and followed Jewish law, which means she must marry Shmuel, an Orthodox Jewish pharmacist. Because he believes in liberal policies like she does, she believes this may work. They open their own pharmacy, and life seems to be going well until the Great Depression hits their Chicago suburb. This becomes the beginning of their many struggles.
The book is mostly a story of Gitel and Shmuel’s marriage, their children’s lives, and the many struggles they faced due to Shmuel’s poor health, poverty, the war, and difficulty finding work. Just when Gitel and Shmuel overcome a struggle and life seems to be going smoothly, something bad happens to force them to suffer through another situation.
Gitel has dreams of going to college and being a bookkeeper. Unfortunately, this can’t be part of their plans. She stays home with their two daughters until a situation forces Gitel to find a job. Then their struggles are put onto the daughters as well.
This is not a happy story, and I felt like the characters’ struggles were the only focus. Even when things went well, that part of the story was often glossed over to get to the next struggle. Much of the writing consists of dialogue, but at times it felt unnatural, especially when the children were conversing. The dialogue does help the story move along, and the reader can picture the situations the characters are facing. Three generations of women are shared, and each of them had their own struggles to overcome. I was very unknowledgeable about the various Jewish customs and laws, including using different dishes for different foods, the food that isn’t allowed to be eaten, and their religious rituals. The author uses several Yiddish and Hebrew terms and has included a glossary at the end of the book, which I found helpful.
Those who appreciate an immigrant’s story of struggling to make a comfortable life in America will find the characters to be hardworking, earnest, and just trying to keep their heads above water. I felt sympathy for Gitel and her two daughters, who were both forced into situations that teens today would never imagine. But the girls’ struggles only made them appreciate the small joys in life and work even harder to have successful lives as adults. I’m not a fan of the title as it relates to the end of the story. I don’t want to give anything away, but Gitel’s “freedom” seems an odd word choice for how her life changed at the end of the book. Resilience, loyalty to family, and never letting go of your dreams are values held by the characters that made this an inspiring story.
April 12, 2025
Gitel is just a baby when her mother Rayzel works in the bakery alongside her sister. When her husband, Yankel, decides to leave the Russian army and emigrate to America, he leaves them behind until he can earn the money to bring them along.
Years later, they secure passage to America and reunite. As Gitel grows up, she realizes that the rules for girls and women remain different than those for boys and men. She is blocked by her parents from attending college and exploring her interests. Instead, Gitel is expected to marry a Jewish husband. But if Gitel thinks married life will bring the fulfillment of her dreams, she is sadly mistaken, especially when the Great Depression shatters their hopes for financial security.
Plagued by financial struggles, when Gitel's husband Shmuel is stricken by a massive stroke, she must juggle his care and the care of their second daughter while taking on the role of breadwinner in an environment where women face discrimination. The life she yearns for seems like it is always just outside of her reach.
Gitel's Freedom dives deep into the life of Jewish immigrants in America in the early 1900s. Based on the author's family's experiences, this historical novel explores the challenges facing Jewish women in a society where by law or custom they were tethered to husbands and homes, whether they liked it or not or dreamed of exploring careers or other interests. I applaud the author for having the strength to shine the light on those experiences. I also appreciate the helpful glossary of terms and additional resources.
Where I struggled with Gitel's Freedom is with its shallow point of view, marked by telling the story, rather than showing it to me through the lives of the characters. What could have been inspirational, fell short because I couldn't connect with the main character or her struggles. Not because they weren't my own, but because there was a lack of any real emotion from her. Gitel seemed to feel nothing deeply, so as the reader, I couldn't feel deeply either. What could have been moving, left me feeling like I missed out on something.
That said, if you are looking for a story about Jewish immigrant life in 1900s America, this will be an insightful read.
Years later, they secure passage to America and reunite. As Gitel grows up, she realizes that the rules for girls and women remain different than those for boys and men. She is blocked by her parents from attending college and exploring her interests. Instead, Gitel is expected to marry a Jewish husband. But if Gitel thinks married life will bring the fulfillment of her dreams, she is sadly mistaken, especially when the Great Depression shatters their hopes for financial security.
Plagued by financial struggles, when Gitel's husband Shmuel is stricken by a massive stroke, she must juggle his care and the care of their second daughter while taking on the role of breadwinner in an environment where women face discrimination. The life she yearns for seems like it is always just outside of her reach.
Gitel's Freedom dives deep into the life of Jewish immigrants in America in the early 1900s. Based on the author's family's experiences, this historical novel explores the challenges facing Jewish women in a society where by law or custom they were tethered to husbands and homes, whether they liked it or not or dreamed of exploring careers or other interests. I applaud the author for having the strength to shine the light on those experiences. I also appreciate the helpful glossary of terms and additional resources.
Where I struggled with Gitel's Freedom is with its shallow point of view, marked by telling the story, rather than showing it to me through the lives of the characters. What could have been inspirational, fell short because I couldn't connect with the main character or her struggles. Not because they weren't my own, but because there was a lack of any real emotion from her. Gitel seemed to feel nothing deeply, so as the reader, I couldn't feel deeply either. What could have been moving, left me feeling like I missed out on something.
That said, if you are looking for a story about Jewish immigrant life in 1900s America, this will be an insightful read.
February 12, 2025
Thank you to LibraryThing, the author and the publisher for this ARC.
Starting in early 1900s in Belorussa, Gitel (rhymes with "little") was born the only daughter of 5 brothers. Her father has already gone to America before she was born. When she was 8 her husband in America finally had enough money to send for her and her family to live in Indiana. The ordeal they had to go through just to get there back then.
Gitel and Shmuel don't have much luck it seems with his fall in the drugstore where he works (he's a pharmacist but recruited by the SSS). Gitel doesn't work but takes care of their daughter Faye who's in 5th grade but does bookkeeping for a few small businesses and would like to work even more. Then Gitel has another baby girl Ilana. She's very mature for her age at age 8 and ends up taking care of her father who had another stroke. Gitel has a bookkeeping job finally but still doesn't pay much or at her Shmuel's salary of course. This is the 50s. She's grateful for having this job and always wanted to work anyway.
Time passes on and things are improving. Ilana is bat mitzvahed at age 12, Shmuel is doing well and working part-time at a pharmacy and making good $. How long will this luck last?
Jump to 1960 where Ilana is in high school and doing well since she's intelligent enough to take double X (I guess like AP classes). She shows her frustration to her mother since Shmuel had yet another stroke and yet again has no time for friends, etc. and has to come home after school and take care of him once again. She goes to college sort of nearby but transfers closer to home to the University of Chicago to be closer to her family once again.
All these strokes have taken their toll on the family.
As always to me, the ending wasn't enough closure for me.
Starting in early 1900s in Belorussa, Gitel (rhymes with "little") was born the only daughter of 5 brothers. Her father has already gone to America before she was born. When she was 8 her husband in America finally had enough money to send for her and her family to live in Indiana. The ordeal they had to go through just to get there back then.
Gitel and Shmuel don't have much luck it seems with his fall in the drugstore where he works (he's a pharmacist but recruited by the SSS). Gitel doesn't work but takes care of their daughter Faye who's in 5th grade but does bookkeeping for a few small businesses and would like to work even more. Then Gitel has another baby girl Ilana. She's very mature for her age at age 8 and ends up taking care of her father who had another stroke. Gitel has a bookkeeping job finally but still doesn't pay much or at her Shmuel's salary of course. This is the 50s. She's grateful for having this job and always wanted to work anyway.
Time passes on and things are improving. Ilana is bat mitzvahed at age 12, Shmuel is doing well and working part-time at a pharmacy and making good $. How long will this luck last?
Jump to 1960 where Ilana is in high school and doing well since she's intelligent enough to take double X (I guess like AP classes). She shows her frustration to her mother since Shmuel had yet another stroke and yet again has no time for friends, etc. and has to come home after school and take care of him once again. She goes to college sort of nearby but transfers closer to home to the University of Chicago to be closer to her family once again.
All these strokes have taken their toll on the family.
As always to me, the ending wasn't enough closure for me.
December 28, 2024
This is an interesting book about the Jewish experience from the early 1900s when Gitel, with her five older brothers and their mother, leaves Russia to reunite with her father in Fort Bend, Indiana. Gitel is four at the time. The journey is arduous, and when they arrive, they confront a language barrier that she and her brothers easily conquer. Their mother is still steeped in the Jewish traditions and Hebrew language that they left. As Gitel matures, she balks against the traditions, wanting the freedom she sees in American girls her age who play softball and wear pants instead of skirts. She attends a two-year college course while living at home, earning a knowledge of accounting. She shuns the tradition of an arranged marriage, eventually marrying a man of her choice, Shumel, who is a very intelligent pharmacist interested in creating a better life for oppressed people.
When the Great Depression happens in 1929, they are financially devastated. Shumel develops pneumonia and then a debilitating stroke, Gitel is left to provide for him and their two daughters. Hers is a story of commitment and resilience in a society that discriminates against women and Jewish people. This is a story of their struggles as a family at a crucial time in American history.
Thanks to LibraryThing and the publisher for this advance reader copy.
When the Great Depression happens in 1929, they are financially devastated. Shumel develops pneumonia and then a debilitating stroke, Gitel is left to provide for him and their two daughters. Hers is a story of commitment and resilience in a society that discriminates against women and Jewish people. This is a story of their struggles as a family at a crucial time in American history.
Thanks to LibraryThing and the publisher for this advance reader copy.
March 30, 2025
Gitel's Freedom is book about Gitel who is our FMC, and she is a immigrant from Belorussia and comes to the US in 1911. Gitel is raised by Jewish parents and also sheltered from going to college or becoming anything but a wife to a successful Jewish man. Gitel's story is a historical fiction taking place in the past USA, where there may be some triggering words for some readers as they are modern people who were not born and raised in the times that this book was written in.
The author does a great job in writing this historical fiction book about Gitel. Gitel is treated like a sheltered young woman in the past. I understand the mom wanting to keep Gitel safe and treat her as a girl, it makes sense to me, as I grew up a girl sheltered by two brothers and also was the only girl in my family. The fact she can't do anything like her brothers makes her relatable to me as I was always trying to be so much like my brothers as a kid. And I enjoyed learning the Jewish and Yiddish phrases and words as I followed Gitel's story. After she meets Shumeul she learns about marriage and what that entails. I loved that ending for Gitel in 1967 when she is finally free and learns what that looks like even at an older age;)
The author does a great job in writing this historical fiction book about Gitel. Gitel is treated like a sheltered young woman in the past. I understand the mom wanting to keep Gitel safe and treat her as a girl, it makes sense to me, as I grew up a girl sheltered by two brothers and also was the only girl in my family. The fact she can't do anything like her brothers makes her relatable to me as I was always trying to be so much like my brothers as a kid. And I enjoyed learning the Jewish and Yiddish phrases and words as I followed Gitel's story. After she meets Shumeul she learns about marriage and what that entails. I loved that ending for Gitel in 1967 when she is finally free and learns what that looks like even at an older age;)
May 5, 2025
Gitel’s Freedom is the story of three generations of Jewish women in their journey of resilience and assimilation from the pale of settlements in Belarus to urban and suburban Chicago. It draws on the author’s family history and includes multiple points of view. It is also a story of increasing societal approval of equal gender roles for women, although it takes several generations for these women to really control their own finances and educations, rather than struggling to manage the family directly, rather than trying to circumvent the authority of men. In our current era of having a government that baldly asserts that women should go back to traditional roles of homemakers and childbearers, it is important to remember just how recent and hard-won our rights to self-determination have been. The focus on immigrant families is also timely.
January 2, 2025
Gitel’s Freedom written by Iris Mitlin Lav greatly disappointed me. I anticipated a compelling story of a Jewish family leaving Russian and settling in America. The characters never developed emotion or feelings. I felt like I was reading a textbook. After years of waiting to reunite with her husband, Rayzel, finally leaves Russia with her six children. A very heart wrenching moment that omits any grain of emotion. Every scene follows this same, flat format. No mention of setting, except in the description of the house that Yankel has purchased in South Bend, Indiana. Rayzel’s big concern rests in all the work involved in running such a huge house. The book wasted my time, and the characters never progressed any further than non dimensional figures.
April 9, 2025
This is a compelling novel about a Jewish woman who immigrates to the United States as a young child. Her choices are limited due to the strict beliefs of her parents, financial constraints, and the limitations put on women of the time.
Gitel is a very strong woman, and although she faces many challenges, her perseverance and inventiveness ultimately get her through each time. That is not to say that she succeeds without making sacrifices. Time and again, she must forego her own desires in order to care for her family.
I found myself really wrapped up in Gitel’s story, rooting for her each time life presents her with another obstacle. Lav places Gitel firmly in a time and place, such that this is also the story of the country, and most specifically of the Jewish community in Chicago, through the first half of the twentieth century.
Gitel is a very strong woman, and although she faces many challenges, her perseverance and inventiveness ultimately get her through each time. That is not to say that she succeeds without making sacrifices. Time and again, she must forego her own desires in order to care for her family.
I found myself really wrapped up in Gitel’s story, rooting for her each time life presents her with another obstacle. Lav places Gitel firmly in a time and place, such that this is also the story of the country, and most specifically of the Jewish community in Chicago, through the first half of the twentieth century.
Read
June 11, 2025Many novels about the Jewish American immigrant experience offer rags-to-riches tales or, at least, from poverty to a lower middle class comfortable existence. That is not exactly true of “Gitel’s Freedom” by Iris Mitlin Lav (She Writes Press). As a young child, Gitel emigrated from Russia with her mother and five brothers to join her father in South Bend, IN, in 1911. Although her father makes a good living, Gitel’s problems begin when she becomes an adult and marries.
See the rest of my review at https://www.thereportergroup.org/book...
See the rest of my review at https://www.thereportergroup.org/book...
August 4, 2025
Gitel’s Freedom by Iris Mitlin Lav is a compelling work of heritage fiction that follows an immigrant Jewish family striving to build a new life in America during the early to mid-1900s. The novel beautifully weaves together rich cultural detail, offering insight into Jewish customs, traditions, and the evolving roles of women as they navigate the challenges of a new land. I thoroughly enjoyed this book—it was engaging, thought-provoking, and kept me turning the pages from start to finish.
December 30, 2025
Iris Lav has based her most recent novel about the experiences of Jewish immigrants to the United States in the early 20th century, on the life of her grandmother. Against historical demographic movements and social change she gives readers an eye-opening portrait of struggle, deprivation, and loss. Her writing style has an hypnotic simplicity that emphasizes her protagonist's life of personal and religious stricture and obligation. It is inspiring to see her blossom in the end and spread her wings.
March 25, 2025
Gitel lived her entire life looking for her personal freedom. She's constrained from her dreams by her parents and the expected roles of women in society and in Judaism, she's kept from her dreams by her husband's health and his beliefs in following his Orthodox Jewish faith and as a mother by raising her two daughters.
The book covers her life from her childhood in Belorussia when her family moved to America in 1911 to present day.
Gitel spends most of her life unhappy with her lack of choices. Her parents were very strict and expected her to follow their lead regarding her choices in life. She made friends in school but wasn't allowed to play freely outside like her brothers or join the school softball team. She was very smart and wanted to attend a four year college but her parents were more interested in getting her married. She was allowed to go to a 2 year program in accounting before her parents started introducing her to men they approved of. She met Shmuel at a Jewish meeting of people who were looking for changes in the government. She admired his politics as well as the fact that he was a pharmacist and her parents liked him and approved of the marriage. Together they bought their own pharmacy and had two daughters. She helped run the business and I think it gave her a small bit of freedom but the Depression ended their business and put her back in her role of living her life as her husband thought she should. Her feelings that she had no freedom in her life to make her own decisions lasted until her daughters were grown and her husband died. Only then did she feel like she could make her own decisions about the rest of her life.
I liked the overall feeling of the book as Gitel tried to be the person that she longed to be. My problem with the book is that I never connected with any of the characters -- I didn't like them or dislike them and I felt like I never got to know them enough to have an opinion. I thought that that the writing was pretty flat but that may have been due to all of the Yiddish words that were used in the story. This is a story of a woman's resilience during times of discrimination against women as they were forced to meet societal expectations.
The book covers her life from her childhood in Belorussia when her family moved to America in 1911 to present day.
Gitel spends most of her life unhappy with her lack of choices. Her parents were very strict and expected her to follow their lead regarding her choices in life. She made friends in school but wasn't allowed to play freely outside like her brothers or join the school softball team. She was very smart and wanted to attend a four year college but her parents were more interested in getting her married. She was allowed to go to a 2 year program in accounting before her parents started introducing her to men they approved of. She met Shmuel at a Jewish meeting of people who were looking for changes in the government. She admired his politics as well as the fact that he was a pharmacist and her parents liked him and approved of the marriage. Together they bought their own pharmacy and had two daughters. She helped run the business and I think it gave her a small bit of freedom but the Depression ended their business and put her back in her role of living her life as her husband thought she should. Her feelings that she had no freedom in her life to make her own decisions lasted until her daughters were grown and her husband died. Only then did she feel like she could make her own decisions about the rest of her life.
I liked the overall feeling of the book as Gitel tried to be the person that she longed to be. My problem with the book is that I never connected with any of the characters -- I didn't like them or dislike them and I felt like I never got to know them enough to have an opinion. I thought that that the writing was pretty flat but that may have been due to all of the Yiddish words that were used in the story. This is a story of a woman's resilience during times of discrimination against women as they were forced to meet societal expectations.
May 6, 2025
I enjoyed reading Gitel’s Freedom. It was an interesting historical fiction. I haven’t read many books set during this time period and it’s interesting to see how different things were back then.
Gitel just wanted freedom to do what she wanted and not what her parents wanted. Without realizing it, she will end up doing the same thing to her youngest daughter.
I liked the writing style of Iris Milton Lav. The story flowed and was easy to follow. It is written most in Gitel’s POV but you do get a few chapters from her daughters’ POV.
When I go to my grandma’s Friday, I’m going to let her read it because I think she’ll enjoy it as well.
Thank you @booksforwardpr for allowing me to be part of the release tour for Gitel’s Freedom.
Gitel just wanted freedom to do what she wanted and not what her parents wanted. Without realizing it, she will end up doing the same thing to her youngest daughter.
I liked the writing style of Iris Milton Lav. The story flowed and was easy to follow. It is written most in Gitel’s POV but you do get a few chapters from her daughters’ POV.
When I go to my grandma’s Friday, I’m going to let her read it because I think she’ll enjoy it as well.
Thank you @booksforwardpr for allowing me to be part of the release tour for Gitel’s Freedom.
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