»Like a surgeon cutting into human flesh for the first time, Eve Harris audaciously dissects a community defined by inscrutable social mores; her profound reverence for her characters in no way hinders her intrepid plunge into the murky viscera of this complex world. Readers will be mesmerized by Harris's unforgettable voice; this powerful debut novel is a startling and effervescent contribution to a canon much in need of enrichment.«

»Longlisted for this year’s ›Booker Prize‹, The Marrying of Chani Kaufman, by former teacher Eve Harris, is one of those books you cannot put down.«

»Harris writes of this closed world with knowledge and understanding, and highly observant, slightly acidic humour. Deservedly longlisted for the ›Booker‹.«

»Harris's debut novel, also longlisted for this year's ›Man Booker prize‹, is confidently done, a romantic comedy at ease with its own lightness. Its setting, northwest London's ultra-orthodox Jewish community, is small and devoutly separate, and reading about such enclosure is pleasantly consuming [...] Harris is humorous and clement throughout with her characters.«

»Harris's eye for suburban social mores is wickedly acute, as is her evident relish in describing both the sensual life and its absence. While perhaps too breezily written to take it further in the ›Booker‹ stakes, her book has the potential to be that rare thing – a crowd-pleaser about Orthodox Judaism.«

»Compassionate and witty [...] The Marrying Of Chani Kaufman is about more than an innocent girl in a rigorously controlled community hoping for a soul mate while being paraded before husband material (Jane Austen has done that already). At the heart of the book is the theme of identity and the glue that fastens us to communities, be they religious, racial or social. [...] [It has] the emotional and thematic complexity needed to raise the story to a ›Booker‹ contender.«

»Harris evokes the community’s insular nature, she also suggests the sense of comfort and belonging that it confers, offering a sympathetic window on a way of life little glimpsed in contemporary fiction.«

»A lovely, very funny and touching account of a marriage in orthodox Jewry.«

»Engages from the very first page, slipping the reader deep into the orthodox Jewish community, beyond the rituals and prayers, the constraints and the hair-covering wigs, into the secrets and emotions beneath, illuminating the story of Chani’s journey from schoolgirl to bride and revealing the lives of others around her besides. This novel is beautifully done and highly recommended.«

»Intelligent, revealing characters who command conviction and connection; the tug between the old ways and modern life; and the universal themes of desire, guilt, manipulation and submission will resonate with readers from all backgrounds. Harris’ debut is as deeply melodic and exciting as her depiction of Shabbat in Jerusalem, and will linger after the last page.«

»Readers seeking genuine Jewish characters have no need to search for the latent beneath the manifest here. . . . [The Marrying of Chani Kaufman] has received the British literary establishment’s seal of approval. It deserves it.«