Bend in the Road consists of two gay Jewish romances centered around an 1880’s Eastern European Yiddish traveling group. The first part focuses on how Aryeh and Dani fall in love during rehearsals for a production for Purim, the holiday which celebrates the saving of the Jews of Shushm by Queen Esther. The second part, the love story of Yuval and Tsvi (also called Dovid), is set during rehearsals for a wedding performance. Characters appear in both sections of the novel, but the sections are independent in terms of plot. Thematically, both stories are similar in that they are structured around celebrations of Jewish culture and a sense of family within the traveling group.
Romance is about wish-fulfillment, and Barrack offers a more sophisticated wish-fulfillment than one might expect. Erotically explicit in parts, the author creates a space where being part of Jewish tradition, gay, in love, and part of a family are all acceptable, and indeed, necessary. The two couples
hunger for romantic and sexual love, but also for a sense of family and a desire to feel connected to God. Although not a deep examination of these issues, Barrack offers two readable fantasies in which homophobia, anti-Semitism, and spiritual alienation are overcome.
Recommended for public libraries with an audience interested in gay male romance. Not recommended for libraries with limited budgets seeking to expand their GLBTQ holdings, as there are better resources available that examine these issues.
Reviewed by, Travis Alan Ferrell, MLIS
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