Not
Our Kind
by Kitty Zeldis brings to life post World War II in New York
City. 1947 was an enlightening year for two women and a child,
brought together after a traffic accident. Eleanor, a young
Jewish teacher and a WASPy married woman, Patricia, find an
unexpected connection, after Eleanor is hired to home school
Patricia’s daughter Margeaux, who sees herself as a
polio cripple. This story delves into class issues, differences
of religion, women’s roles, love, friendship, motherhood,
and coming of age.Those who enjoy the popular made for TV
show Mrs. Maisel will definitely enjoy this novel since both
concentrate on Jewish life in New York City, post World War
II.
The author wants readers to know she believes the book appeals
to readers of all different religions “because it is
really a book about outcasts, being different. Whether it
is religiously, as with Eleanor, or someone with a handicap,
as with Margaux. The post war period had a lot of optimism
and prosperity in this country. But Jews still suffered the
emotional and social hurts. Both Patricia and Eleanor struggled
against their roles and expectations. Eleanor went on a journey
as she looked for where she might fit into this new world.”
Eleanor
forms an instant bond with Margaux. Soon the idealistic young
woman is filling the bright young girl’s mind with Shakespeare
and Latin Patricia Bellamy is willing to overlook the fact
Eleanor is Jewish because she sees her daughter thriving and
willing to venture out in the world again. But this perfect
job has some catches. Eleanor must disguise her name,changing
it to Moss instead of Moskowitz, so other building residents
won’t know she is Jewish. Patricia is worried about
what her family and society friends will think because she
hired a Jewish woman even though she is extremely happy with
the effect she has on Margaux. More problems for Eleanor arises
after she joins the Bellamy family in their Connecticut summer
home to continue tutoring Margaux. Wynn, Patricia’s
husband, is an Anti-Semite who sexually harassed and assaulted
Eleanor decades before the Me-Too era. Patricia also realizes
that a romance is brewing between her bohemianbrother, Tom,
and Eleanor.After these lines are crossed, both Eleanor and
Patricia will have to make important decisions that will resonate
throughout their lives.
“I wanted to show how Margaux’s experience with
polio redefined her. She started out as a happy, pampered,
beautiful child with high expectations. After this horrible
disease, she is left with a defect that changes who she will
be and how she will make a life for herself. She became a
candid survivor. Eleanor refuses to see her as a cripple,
which is part of the reason Margaux is so attracted to her.
Eleanor is smart, compassionate, kind, capable, resourceful,
and honest. She has partial role models in her mother, Patricia,
and her publishing boss. She does not accept what is conventionally
out there for her. Because of this she has courage to venture
out. Patricia is more conventional than Eleanor. Her life
is more pre-ordained. She is willing to see things in a different
light. For instance, she hired a Jewish tutor because she
saw the effect Eleanor had on her daughter. I think she is
a very good mother and possibly her daughter was her conscience.”
The story delves into class differences, prejudice, and love.
Zeldis brilliantly illuminates how two worlds collide, and
the effect it had on these women as they contemplate how a
Jew can find a place in a non-Jewish world. Readers will turn
the pages wondering what path in life each character will
take.
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