A Departure From the Script
Rochelle Hollander Schwab
(Sr. Associate Reviewer - Dr. Alma Bond)
2002 Orlando Place Press
ISBN: 0964365014 Amazon's price is: $14.95
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What's a mother to do when her daughter wants a traditional Jewish lesbian wedding?
Sr. Associate Reviewer Dr. Alma Bond writes:
A Departure From the Script is a delightful comedy making light of a very serious subject, the marriage of gays & homosexuals. As the father of one of the brides says, it is...“funny and yet not so funny, too.” (p. 192).
When her 25-year-old daughter, Jenny, announces that she is a lesbian & has met a woman she loves, 50-something-year-old, overweight Sheila Katz is shocked & disapproving, but knows that if she wants to keep her daughter's love, she has to accept her choice. Sheila finds the monthly meetings of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) most helpful in learning to accept her daughter's homosexuality, & eventually, her own leanings in that direction.
Unfortunately, Jenny's father is not as open to growth as his wife, & is particularly against his daughter's coming out. He is certain that Jenny is only going through a developmental stage & that all she needs is to meet the right man to make her realize her mistake. He obstinately refuses to have anything to do with the wedding, including attending the ceremony. His wife helps Jenny prepare for the wedding behind Dan's back, which enrages him, & for a while seems to be destroying the marriage. He gradually comes around to accepting Jenny's choice of a life partner.
A sub-plot of the book consists of the Schwabs' son Jeffrey's marriage to a Catholic girl. Although the marriage took place five years before, Sheila's mother-in-law is unable to accept that her grandson did not marry “nice Jewish girl.” That Jenny is marrying a “nice Jewish girl” does not help the situation any.
The hoopla takes place within the structure of the lesbian couples' return to Orthodox Judaism, as a step back from their parents' more permissive attitude, although marrying within the religion is still important to them. In fact, it is difficult to know which problem embarrasses the families more, their daughters' homosexuality or their son's marriage to a non-Jewish girl.
On the first page, we are already told that Sheila is asked by her friend Lois, “What bothers you more? Jeffrey converting to Catholicism or Jenny telling you she's a lesbian?” Much of the plot concerns the extended family's gradual acceptance, if not making peace with, both problems. As the book says, nowhere in the Bible does it say that lesbians cannot marry each other in a Jewish wedding service.
Rochelle Hollander Schwab seems very much at home with both homosexuality & Judaism. Like the heroine of the book, she is active in PFLAG. One cannot help but suspect that the story of her lesbian daughter's marriage is at least in part autobiographical.
A Departure From the Script delivers a strong message to the parents of homosexuals, as Schwab demonstrates the ways in which families can accept & support their lesbian, gay, & bisexual children. A further message is given to all parents regardless of the sexual preferences of their children, to accept their decisions regardless of whether they agree with them or not.
The characters are well fleshed-out & believable, particularly those of Sheila & Dan. Rochelle Hollander Schwab has a fine ear for language, & has captured the quality of Jewish turns-of-the-phrase to perfection.
A Departure From the Script is a good read, & tells a charming story with humor & poignancy. I found myself both laughing & crying, sometimes at the same moment.
A Departure From the Script is recommended on two levels, for those who like a light, amusing, engrossing story which is quick to read, & to readers who wish to understand the complexities of coming out of the closet.
A Departure From the Script was chosen as one of the titles featured in the 2002 edition of Reading Group Choices, & contains a list of discussions for reading groups.
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