Forgiven
A Novel
Forgiven is a spirited novel about healing and family tenderness.
In Bruce J. Berger’s spiritual novel Forgiven, a trip to Greece prompts life changes for each member of a busy Jewish family.
Theodora, working as a nun in Greece, is the impetus for the family’s visit abroad. Her brother, Nicky, is a psychiatrist nearing retirement who faces a malpractice suit. Meanwhile, Nicky’s ex–concert pianist daughter Kayla struggles to compose; she also wonders about the man who’s courting her, even as her young son, Jackie, seems addicted to practicing the clarinet. Nicky’s son, Max, remains at home. In Greece, Theodora proves somewhat clairvoyant, sharing insights into the family members’ individual predicaments—as well as her own.
The chapters move between the cast members, focusing on their individual and pressing projects and inner thoughts. Nicky listens to his conscience over his lawyer’s advice and, once his trial is complete, bonds with Max. Elsewhere, Kayla finds affection and sensuality where she doesn’t expect it, and Theodora gives Jackie an unwelcome gift.
The story assumes an urgent, intense pace prior to the Greece trip, after which the book focuses on lush landscapes and personal reflections more. A storm destroys this temporary calm, though people’s subsequent frustrations give way to calmer emotions once more.
The dialogue is restrained and the prose is cerebral, consumed by diction tied to music, literature, legal terms, and Jewish rules dictating relations between men and women. Seven-year-old Jackie’s voice also reflects this adult-forward milieu, though, so that his concerns sound inappropriate for his age. Further, a chapter written from the perspective of Jackie’s cat jars with the general text because of its joviality. Theodora’s supernatural abilities and unexplained phenomena also cut the novel’s formality, as do its sex scenes.
Theodora shifts the novel’s direction by confessing to a mistake, and her admission convinces others around her to do the same. Characterized in time as her family’s center, she personifies the space and possibilities between its members—including in her role as a nun, which leads to thoughtful interreligious interludes. Still, she is the character who is developed the best, forming a new bond and developing new dimensionality that cinches the narrative.
The novel moves toward a unified, heartening ending, punctuated by goodbyes between Theodora and her family members at the end of the visit. Themes of openness and intimacy are highlighted, and senses of mystery, spontaneity, and regulation are upheld in the book’s satisfying close.
About healing and family tenderness, the emotive novel Forgiven follows a Jewish family’s visit abroad.
Reviewed by
Mari Carlson
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book and paid a small fee to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. Foreword Reviews and Clarion Reviews make no guarantee that the publisher will receive a positive review. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
