TheEnemy of the Good by Arditti, Michael ( Author ) ON Feb-04-2010, Paperback

by Michael Arditti

This outstanding novel bravely tackles the bitter conflict between liberalism and fundamentalism. It does so through a cast of unforgettable characters depicted with wit, wisdom and shattering emotional power. The Glanvilles are an extraordinary family. Edwin is a retired bishop who has lost his faith. Marta, a child of the Warsaw Ghetto, is a controversial anthropologist. Their son, Clement, is a celebrated gay painter traumatized by the death of his twin. Their daughter, Susannah, is a music publicist recovering from an affair with a convicted murderer. Over three remarkable years, the family goes through a sequence of events that causes it to reassess its deepest values and closest relationships. Clement's work and reputation are violently attacked and his private life exposed. Susannah's exploration of the Kabbalah takes her into the closed world of Chassidic Jews and a seemingly impossible love. Edwin's illness forces Marta to confront the horrors of her past. Each must find a way to escape the abyss

Genres: Fiction, Religion, Contemporary

Paperback

First published April 30, 2009

Reviews

[Magda · Rating 4 out of 5]

too many different levels, too many different issues, all wind up togehter. Religion, faith, moral values, family and everyday problems under the microscope but with a good appreciation on the detail and detached accurate narrators. And what is that you get at the end? A perplexed family story, the air of the past on contemporary problems, many twists and a good old happy end: the enemy of the good is the better.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

I laughed. I cried. I fell completely in love with this book, and the characters portrayed.
Michael Arditti skillfully describes many of the complications, but also joys, of faith in our time. This story, amongst other things, tackles a bunch of ethical problems with arguments from different sides; thus not forcing any beliefs on the reader. Instead, this is more of an exploration and an attempt to increase the understanding of different outlooks at life.

The characters are all very well-developed and after a while, you almost feel like you know these people. Clement was my own personal favourite because even though I couldn't agree with some of his opinions, his emotional strength astounded me.

Heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time, I'd like to call this a masterpiece. I will certainly read more by this author, and I warmly recommend 'The Enemy of the Good' to anyone who is interested in religion in any way.

[Jade · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book has many positives. It provides a brilliant view of different faiths within how one family live, how those faiths affect their relationships and the respect that must be reached to not only understand others, but come to peace with yourself.

As a story it just didn't interest me that much. I'm glad that I got to read some good theological debate, which was cleverly done in a manner conscious to most faiths, but I felt that at times it was biased towards Christianity and ultimately did not really explore faiths without a God in much detail. Mentions of Buddhism and Wiccan ideals where glazed over, or seen as hippyish, and the story did not touch on atheism, further than a clergy man who didn't believe in God, but did believe in the power of the church!

I can understand that to cover most areas of faith would take a series of massive proportions, but maybe this shouldn't have been attempted if it couldn't be done inclusively. The only mention of the Muslim faith in this novel is in the ravings of a prison inmate, who believes that they're all ultimately terrorists!!!

The characters - in being viewed mainly from their faith perspective - are pretty uninteresting, and the fact that most conversations revolve around faith make most of them come across as arrogant and self absorbed. As aforementioned the only character of Wiccan faith is portrayed as having little links to reality and linking her beliefs to whoever she is sleeping with at the time!

I was really exited to read this book and was left feeling bored, tired and a bit releaved its over, but if you fancy about 500 pages of Christianity versus Judaism then knock yourself out!

[Ira Therebel · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this novel we follow a family where they all follow a different kind of faith. What we believe in has a big impact on who we are and this book lets us explore the characters and how their faith affects their personalities and life. We see how they look at the world, how they reason when making important decisions and what their relationships are like because of it. So many topics are covered in this book, I don't really want to list them to not give away what will happen.

Religion is a heavy topic and I don't read many novels where it is the main theme. But Michael Arditti really managed to do it in a fantastic way. The religious conversations that come up very often weren't boring to me even though I am an atheist. They were actually a great read, very thought provoking and also added so much to the characters and their world and make them well rounded characters.

My favorite was Clement. A gay Christian who doesn't let his faith be in the way of his sexuality (or the other way around). His conversation on how he interprets it were especially interesting. He is the main character in two parts of the book and his stories are especially interesting.

I am happy that the fact that the main theme of this book is religion didn't turn me off. The book description seemed really intriguing and the content really lived up to it.

[Soumyabrata Sarkar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Divided between 3 characters and 4 chapters this tale spans about 4 years life around a close-knitted family with its members differing with each other over several issues, and all having to put their priorities in perspectives over events transpiring each another.
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Tackling conundrum of these handful well-developed characters, beautifully within 348 pages of fiction, Arditti handles issues of HIV, prison conditions, the euthanasia debate, illegal immigration, child abuse, religious fundamentalism, exposure of Eastern religion and manages to comfort often outrageous and harsh realities that are contemporary yet doesn't come up everytime we look around but has to be handled by families on their own - deep rooted beliefs and customs, clash of civilisations, theological upheavals, extravaganza of societal luxuries, coping with sudden behaviors of closed ones bordering on inflicting repeated wounds, euthanastic privileges.
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It showcases a brilliant view of different faiths (mostly christian vs. judaism theological debate, although some wiccan and buddhist lore are thrown in as toppings and a bit of Islam, mostly because the family is much more prone towards the first two.) within how this one family lives, and how their individual faiths affect their relationships; their respect for each other that must be achieved to not only understand the other, but come to peace with oneself.
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The writing is poised with beautiful warmth, a tug at your heartstrings often bringing laughter over your face and tears to your eyes, quite unbeknownst to you, if you let them - some other times, wonder and awe at the turn of events, often some bordering on co-incidences that might not be that likely.
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Our story follows the members and friends around Granville family, exploring their need to reconcile their faith with the modern world that seem unwillingly cruel to each of their perspective.
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Edwin Granville : a bishop who have lost his belief in God, but believes in humanity that is essentially good.
Marta : his wife, a Jewish anthropologist who seeks moral roots in the African tribe she spent her career studying, yet worried about her children when one of them chose to leave their secular roots to aim for a deep-rooted religious life.
Clement : their son, a liberal Christian who has managed to reconcile his faith with his homosexuality, with an astounding emotional strength. His twin - Mark whose shadow hovers around his past and present and his boyfriends, Mike and Oliver, who are resolutely secular.
Susanna : their daughter, who undergoes the most transformation throughout the story, finding faith, comfort and peace within Orthodox Judaism from which her mother had distanced herself.
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Adritti's story empathises and places each character on a resonance rooting in their past beliefs and the ones they are handling at current times, on the choices they make for themselves, often changing family dynamics and trying to get a closure to the problems they are facing.
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Recommended in this troubled times, when we are often out invigilating 'the other eye' and to mark them as FALSE, instead of understand and empathise.

[Δημήτρης Κώτσος · Rating 4 out of 5]

Στο βιβλίο παρακολουθούμε την ζωή της οικογένειας Γκράνβιλ. Ο κύριος πρωταγωνιστής της ιστορίας είναι ο Κλέμεντ που ανήκει στους πετυχημένους ζωγράφους της χώρας του. Είναι ομοφυλόφιλος και διατηρεί μία μακροχρόνια σχέση με τον Μάικ. Τα δυο αγκάθια στη ζωή του είναι η οροθετικότητα του που τον επηρεάζει πολύ στη καθημερινότητα αλλά και ο άδικος χαμός του αδελφού του.

Τα άλλα πρόσωπα της ιστορίας είναι η αδελφή του Σουζάνα που αν και πετυχημένη στην επαγγελματική της ζωή στα προσωπικά δυστυχώς δεν βρίσκει την άκρη της. Αποφασίζει στην πορεία να ασπαστεί την Καββάλα και από εκεί η ζωή της αποκτά ενδιαφέρον. Οι γονείς των παιδιών είναι ο Έντουιν και η Μάρτα. Ο Έντουιν είναι πρώην επίσκοπος που αν και δεν πιστεύει είναι ακόμα μέρος της εκκλησίας. Η Μάρτα είναι ανθρωπολόγος και η ιστορία της είναι πικρή καθώς έζησε τα τρυφερά της χρόνια στο γκέτο της Βαρσοβίας σε άθλιες και κακές συνθήκες.

Ο συγγραφέας δημιούργησε τέσσερις δυνατούς λογοτεχνικούς χαρακτήρες που με βάση τα θρησκευτικά πιστεύω τους προσπαθούν να βρουν τρόπο να ισορροπήσουν τις ανάγκες τους. Πολλά κοινωνικά ζητήματα θίγονται όπως είναι η ομοφυλοφιλία και η οροθετικότητα. Αυτό που μένει στο τέλος της ανάγνωσης είναι η κοινωνική υποκρισία που υπάρχει στην κοινωνία. Ο καθένας είναι εύκολο να κρίνει τον άλλον χωρίς όμως να κοιτάξει πως να καλυτερέψει τη δική του ζωή.

Οι εκδόσεις Πόλις μας χαρίζουν γι άλλη μία φορά ένα εκπληκτικό κοινωνικό μυθιστόρημα.

Καλή ανάγνωση

[Donald · Rating 3 out of 5]

While this was an interesting read, I did feel it was trying too hard. Too many ideas, with every character and plot point utterly contrived for maximum effect. The HIV parts felt dated, and not just by being written a decade ago, dated for then too...

[The Idle Woman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Before I picked up this book in the library, I had never heard of Michael Arditti, but I found this story fascinating. Following various members of the Granville family, it explores the difficulties that people feel when trying to reconcile their faith and the modern world - or perhaps, more accurately, how faith can still provide a necessary haven of peace and purpose in a world that can otherwise seem heartbreakingly cruel. Edwin Granville is a bishop who no longer believes in God, but who believes in the vital social role of the rituals and community of the church. His wife, Marta, is a secular Jewish anthropologist who sees moral perfection in the African tribe she has spent her career studying. Their son, Clement, is a liberal Christian who has managed to reconcile his faith with his homosexuality; his boyfriend, Mike, is resolutely secular. Susanna, Clement's sister, is perhaps the character who undergoes the most transformation throughout the story, finding comfort and peace within the Orthodox Judaism from which her mother had distanced herself. And there is a rich cast of supporting characters who expand and enrich the story.

I'm not religious, but that didn't stop me empathising with and enjoying Arditti's story. It resonated with me because, at root, it's a story about the changing dynamics of family life, about trying to find meaning in the world and about the struggle to find a balance between worldly success and inner peace. I imagine some readers might feel alienated by the fact that so much of this book revolves around privileged people having heated philosophical discussions - but, to me, it was a book that had real heart and characters who are complex and believable: sympathetic and selfish by turns. I can best describe it by saying that it felt like a cross between A.S. Byatt and Alan Hollinghurst.

You can read this review on my blog here:
http://theidlewoman.blogspot.co.uk/20...

[John Cadaver · Rating 4 out of 5]

' "The concept of Hell was devised by men to excuse their cruelty ... The greater the punishments they could ascribe to God, the greater the justification they could find for their own." '

A marvelous assessment of the similarities and differences between the liberal and fundamentalist mindsets. I especially enjoyed Arditti's relentless juxtaposition of multiple religious beliefs, making each one's pitfalls and redeeming qualities apparent to the reader without driving a fixed perception of any.

I don't believe, however, that there there isn't a slight bias to the narrative because, in showing that religions are all identical, Arditti dispels the idea that any one of them has a higher truth value than the next.

What then is it that makes religious ideologies so enduring?
I've come to the conclusion from reading this book that it is the fact that religious ideologies are human ideologies in an (imagined) divine context.

[Tom · Rating 2 out of 5]

Whilst executed with a clear literary talent as far as the construction of prose, this is one of the most conceited novels I have ever read. Its entirely implausible plot, dripping with any excuse to layer some further religious meaning rendering it a shallow gallimaufry of insincerity and ridiculousness. The characters are a wooden shell upon which the author has pinned a profusion of afflictions and religious beliefs in an attempt to depict the modern condition of theology and society. In this endeavour the simple caricatures he has produced, lose any semblance of subtle satire, and instead simply avail themselves as a joke. It is an insult to any thinking person, both skeptics and religious alike that this can reflect in anyway the moral obstacles of the themes discussed in the novel.

[Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nicely structured, and interesting.

On the other hand, too full of issues to be a plausible novel. HIV, prison conditions, the euthanasia debate, illegal immigration, child abuse, religious fundamentalism, appropriation of Eastern religion... I was a bit overwhelmed by all the demands on my liberal conscience.

The other problem I had with it was use of unlikely coincidence, which I remember being struck by in another of this author's novels. Particularly with regard to the stories of Desmond and Shlomo, though I suppose you could say that given the very insular nature of Shlomo's world, it's not that strange that other people drawn into that world would come across him. So maybe I'll grant him Shlomo. But definitely not Desmond as well!

[Hil Sloan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had read rave reviews about this latest Arditti book, so I started it, thinking I would get stuck right in and love it! Well the beginning left me stone cold - it seemed to rake in all the possible cliches of the modern world and it was just a bit cringey! But its thought-provoking subjects started me thinking... and then I was hooked! Some parts were so realistic that I felt as though I was actually living the events with the Glanville family. I'd like to say more but that would give the plot away! If I had time I would re-read it and take some quotes to keep me on my toes.

[Kristina Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very engaging. A book about life, death, finding and losing faith. It is a fascinating look at how one can reconcile beliefs with principles, to live a life worth the name.
The story progresses through three different perspectives with no partiality although each reader will inevitably empathise with different characters. The ideas will stay with you and promote thought long after you've turned the last page.

[Cmbrooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the first of this author's books I read, and the one I have enjoyed the most. Its discourse on religion and the arts is compelling; the euthanasia story comes up in the second half of the book, with its aftermath, and changes the emphasis out of all recognition. The resolution of the story is surprising in view of what has occurred, but believable. A very good writer.

[Anita · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quietly fascinating, I kept reading when I should have gone to sleep. An interesting narrative with a theme of the variety of religious beliefs.

For all that I rated it 5 stars, I still have some issues:
The typeface is too small for older readers in the edition I read;
I had difficulty believing someone being sentenced to 3 years for euthanasia.

[Sandie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read it - but it was a difficult read. I was not engaged by the characters or the story line. I can't leave a story unread though...so I finished it.

[Anni · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed on www.whichbook.net

[Jacqueline Whyte · Rating 4 out of 5]

A deeply intriguing book, with so many different subjects all intertwined into a really great read! Was sad that it ended.