August 6, 2015

“Invisible City” by Julia Dahl – The Jewish Outsider

Invisible City by Julia Dahl (Book cover)
Secular religious communities have always been a sort of attraction for those outside of them, a mystery that dares to be solved, a secret upon which we only gain momentary glimpses.

As you may suspect, there isn't actually a whole lot of black magic, child sacrifices or supernatural happening behind those closed doors... rather, they just make for small societies that function differently from our own, with their proper internal functions. As a matter of fact, they are the perfect backdrop for murder mysteries, as is the case in Invisible City by Julia Dahl.

The book tells the story of Rebekah Roberts (with whom you may be familiar if you've read Dahl's second, better-known novel, Run You Down), abandoned as a baby by her Hasidic Jewish mother in the hands of her Christian boyfriend. Many years later, now a journalist living in New York City, Rebekah gets to a cover a case that will get her exactly what she wants: to move up in her career and to get closer to her mother's roots.

The case involves the murder of a woman in an ultra-Orthodox Jewish community, but few things are as they seem; the woman is to be buried without an autopsy, and it seems that the apprehension of her killer is not some people's main concern.

Needless to say, Rebekah doesn't intend to stop until she gets the full story and brings the murderer into the spotlight... but things aren't going to be easy in a community where despite her roots, she is considered to be an outsider, and an untrustworthy one at that.

To start this review, it has to be said that Invisible City is nothing if not an admirable first novel. From a technical standpoint, the writing flows pretty easily and is the kind you won't get mixed up in.

Dahl doesn't dabble too much in pointless metaphors or analogies, instead focusing her writing on the events of the murder case, the culture of the Hasidim, and the internal struggle Rebekah is going through virtually all the time.

As far as the story itself is concerned, the murder mystery really is fun to watch unfold, and though veterans of the whodunit genre may find some elements predictable, it remains a very engrossing aspect of the book, making you yearn for the next twist and the ultimate resolution.

Though the murder may be what sets things in motion, a fair amount of the book is dedicated to Rebekah's personal development, and frankly-speaking this may be the novel's weaker part: too much character development.

She is far from being perfect, and though it certainly is important to understand the anger and anxiety that dominate her, over three hundred pages of such uni-directional thoughts starts to wear down on you. However, given the context of the events, I would have to say that her mental attitude does fit in with the story... I just wished she developed a bit faster.

Invisible City by Julia Dahl (Book cover)
The third part of the book is all about Dahl teaching the readers the morals, values, traditions, customs and beliefs of the Hasidic Jewish community. She doesn't belittle or trivialize anything, instead educating the reader about an interesting and somewhat different world that has been closed off to most of us.

All in all, Invisible City feels like a solid and original novel despite it's small setback, and would be a terrific first novel for anyone. If you are longing for a murder mystery drama in a setting different than the usual, then I can only recommend that you check this book out.

And if you happen to love it, there is already a second novel in the series out there, which is always a plus.



Julia Dahl (Author)

Julia Dahl


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Julia Dahl is an American writer born and raised who recently entered the literary game with her first novel, Invisible City, which was nominated for the Mystery Writers of America's Edgar Award for Best First Novel. In addition, it became one of Boston Globe's Best Books of 2014.

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