'Saturday Wife' is well-written satire

THE SATURDAY WIFE, by Naomi Ragen, St. Martin's Press, 292 pages, $24.95

Delilah Levi grew up on Long Island. She was blonde and as pretty as any of the girls in her Hebrew Academy. But her parents weren't as wealthy as the other girls' parents. In gym class, Delilah was never chosen first for a punchball team. No wonder, then, that she grew up to be so shallow.

Naomi Ragen's sixth novel, "The Saturday Wife," is a well-executed satire. Ragen slathers on the ironies. Early in the book, Delilah — who does not know the meaning of compassion, who feels happy only when wallowing in materialism — ends up married to an Orthodox rabbi.

He's a wimp. But he's a rabbi. The action rises and falls from there, because, on some level, Delilah's husband actually does believe God is enough.

He believes the Torah is enough. He believes that elaborate bar mitzvahs and designer purses are beside the point and may actually get in the way of human happiness.

Ragen, who was raised in the United States and has lived in Israel for 30 years, explained in her acknowledgements about how she got the idea for "The Saturday Wife." She wrote, "I would like to thank, equally and profoundly, the blonde in the miniskirt and tank top who got up onstage to dance with the toddlers during a Kosher Club week in the Dominican Republic, and Gustave Flaubert for writing 'Madame Bovary,' which I took along with me on vacation. The confluence of those two is truly responsible for this book."

In addition to smiles and chuckles, Ragen gives readers insight into the lives of Orthodox Jews in New York. Details abound.

About a wedding, she writes, "The single girls made their way around the hall, searching for someone who would give them a ride home. That is always the most urgent need when attending a Jewish wedding in Manhattan. You simply do not want to ride out to Brooklyn or Queens on the New York subway system at 10 p.m. ... The second reason, though, was always more important. You wanted to walk out with your pick from the most eligible single men, ensuring a good hour alone with him. It was considered a party favor, much more urgent and useful than catching the bride's bouquet."

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