Out From Under, by Daniel Victor

“A stunning encore . . . a compelling work of fiction.” — Joseph Telushkin, best-selling author of Words that Hurt Words that Heal and Jewish Literacy

“Contemplative, heartfelt, passionate and diverting . . . . I thoroughly enjoyed every page.” — Jeremy Dauber, Professor, Columbia University, and author of the best-selling Jewish Comedy: A Serious History

“ A riveting—and surprising—book about family, faith, lust, heresy, temptation, wisdom and God.” — Ari Goldman, Professor Emeritus, Columbia University, and author of the best-selling The Search for God at Harvard

“Hugely satisfying . . . crisp, smart, and engaging. I loved it.” — Judy Gruen, author of Bylines and Blessings

Six years after Lev Livitski’s catastrophic break-up with sultry Angela Pizatto, he’s become a lawyer at a NY law firm. But Levis haunted by his passion for Angela and by remorse over the collapse of their secret love affair. Doubting his capacity to love another person, Lev takes refuge in abstinence and isolation. Although raised Orthodox, he remains estranged from Jewish practice.

After their break-up, Angela has forsaken her Italian Catholic upbringing, converted to Judaism, and disappeared into ultra-Orthodox Brooklyn with her new husband, a rabbi.

Lev’s resolve to remain a social recluse is challenged, however, by his workplace encounters with individuals who force him to reexamine his troubled history with Angela. This cast of characters—a Black secretary, patrician law firm partner, Orthodox rabbi, evangelical Christian, charismatic Jewish feminist, Jewish apostate, woman rabbi, and even a milkman who returns from the dead—forces Lev to reexamine his past mistakes and start to put the pieces of his life back together. As he struggles to reclaim his future, he heads towards a no-holds-barred confrontation with Angela, who emerges from her ultra-Orthodox world to compel Lev to face her—and himself.

Besides reuniting star-crossed lovers, Lev and Angela, this sweeping novel is an absorbing exploration of what it means to live a religious life—in particular, a Jewish life—in modern America.