Against a backdrop of racial tensions and spanning four decades, Joshua: A Brooklyn Tale explores the entanglements of three lives: Joshua Eubanks, a young black man struggling to overcome the crime, drugs, and despair of the streets; Rachel Weissman, daughter of a Hassidic rabbi, wrestling pangs of rebelliousness against the insular and restrictive practices of her religion; and Paul Sims, the product of a privileged Long Island Jewish family, yearning to escape his troubled past.

Joshua first encounters Rachel in the local synagogue, where he works as an assistant to the custodian. Over the years their bond intensifies, though their lives diverge. Rachel aspires to be a doctor, a blasphemous choice for a woman in her culture. Joshua kills a man in self defense, and is alienated from his own community. Paul leaves his home to find solace in the Hasidic enclave of Crown Heights.

From different worlds and unaware they share a father, Joshua and Paul see their lives collide in a quest for Rachel’s love. Through these and other challenges, culminating with the 1991 Crown Heights riots, this story explores the tensions between two communities in close physical proximity, but still worlds apart. Through Joshua, Rachel, and Paul, a vision of hope is offered, but tempered by the realities of human frailty and tragedy.

ForeWord Review -

In this gripping, multi-layered narrative of racial tensions in Brooklyn spanning four decades, from the late 1950s up until theCrown Heights riots in 1991, the triumphs and challenges of three main characters are traced from age nine through their early forties.

Joshua is a young black man who had moved from Bedford Stuyvesant to Crown Heights at age nine with his single mother; Rachel is the daughter of a Hasidic Rabbi; and Paul lives on Long Island in an affluent suburb with his non-Orthodox Jewish parents. Seemingly from different backgrounds, they share similar struggles. As they negotiate personal relationships, including romantic feelings for each other, readers are drawn into their lives as they grapple with a series of conflicts over a long period of time, aware of all of their thoughts and desires, creating a strong sense of emotional engagement.

Parental expectations weigh heavily on the decisions of each character and is a consistent theme, further drawing readers in. When Rachel and Joshua are attracted to each other as teens, they must deal with the fact that Rachel's parents won't approve because of their racial and religious differences. Paul must break away from his immediate family when he chooses to study Hasidic religious principles. Rachel tries to balance her desire to become a doctor with her parent's expectation that she will solely devote herself to being a wife and mother, as is customary for women in the Orthodox culture. While Joshua does not have a close relationship with his own father, a professor eventually serves a similar role and places expectations on him. Each is faced with either living up to these expectations or disappointing an authority figure.

As adults, the character's lives continue to intersect, in both tragic circumstances and courageous moments. Eventually they must confront prejudices not only among their various communities but within their own communities as well. Their decisions ultimately require them to choose to either perpetuate or combat the prejudices that have confined them throughout their lives. As Joshua, Rachel, and Paul make those life-changing decisions, and they experience the heartbreak of unfilled romantic desires, unrealized professional dreams, and devastating illness, readers, who now understand the totality of their life experiences from age nine on, will be rooting for them to persevere and overcome the obstacles.

Using lively dialogue and vivid detail, the author traces the lives of three specific characters and transports readers back to a particular time and place in contemporary American history, but the themes explored are universal and will be relatable to many.

(December 2011) MARIA SIANO

PROLOGUE

A slight breeze drifted through the open window, offering little relief from the sweltering August night. Joshua sat in a chair beside Rachel’s bed, his eyes fixed on her, his ears on the words of rage from the street below.
No justice, no peace!
No Justice, no peace!
The chanting, the clamor of bottles smashing, windows breaking, cars overturned – it had been going on for two days with no reprieve. Stores had been looted and set afire, pedestrians violently attacked, and still no help from the police. Or anyone.
Rachel was shivering. The months of chemotherapy had left her frail. "Joshua, would it be all right if we closed the window? I’m so cold." As always, her words came softly.
"Of course," he replied, though for him the room was stifling.
On the street, madness reigned. The mob wouldn’t stop till it got what it wanted, what it believed it "rightfully" deserved. Already, one innocent scholar had been bludgeoned to death. And instead of contrition, there was only more violence. But here, four stories above the battleground, Rachel was struggling simply to exist, to survive but another day, even a week.
Reluctantly, Joshua approached the window, afraid to be seen by some "hero" with a brick in hand. True, Joshua was a black man – a fact some had accused him of forgetting – but in the dark night, high above the street, he realized his figure would appear but a colorless, indistinguishable shadow, as ripe a target as any.
Keeping himself from view, he reached out and closed the window. The screams were muffled as stillness descended upon the room. Crouching, he turned back to the chair.
Suddenly, an earsplitting sound – glass shattering, a brick crashing through the window. Diving out of its way, Joshua instinctively lunged onto the bed to protect Rachel.
"What’s happening," she cried. "Why are they doing this?"
He looked at the broken glass around them, and had no answer. Two long days trapped, a Kristalnacht in the middle of Brooklyn in 1991 and no assistance from an entire city that had abandoned them.
A moment passed. Another crash. More shattering glass as a large stone flew across the room, smashing against the far wall. The screaming from the street could be heard once again, as he held her tightly, listening to a succession of windows breaking in yet other rooms and apartments. One after another.
"Don't be afraid, everything will be okay," he repeated. "The police will come. I know they’ll come.”

Then, a sound Joshua knew only too well: gunshots. Now, despite the heat, he too began to shiver, doubting his own assurances as images raced through his mind. What was he – of all people – doing there, lying beside this daughter of a saintly rabbi, willing to protect her with his life? How did he, once a wanna-be hoodlum, a nickel and dime runner for drug dealers, wind up loving this woman who was slowly slipping away? But for a twist of fate, he knew he could certainly have been among the agitators below.
A twist of fate.
And, perhaps, the grace of God.