Abomination

A compelling and compassionate debut about friendship, faith, family and identity.

Winner of the Debut Fiction Prize, 72nd National Jewish Book Awards (US)
'We recognize and appreciate Penguin Random House Australia's decision to publish a book of such high quality - one that enlarges the whole enterprise of Jewish scholarship and contributes to informed living, understanding, and entertainment for the entire English-reading world.' - Executive Director, National Jewish Book Awards (US)


'A uniquely accomplished debut.' Sydney Morning Herald
'Make this your next read.' Readings Monthly
'deftly plotted and thoughfully realised' Books+Publishing
'Brilliant, inspired, original and deeply disturbing. A truly fabulous debut.' ABC Radio
'A brave, challenging and important debut.' Newtown Review of Books

He who turns his ear away from hearing the Torah - even his prayer is an abomination. Proverbs 28-9

Melbourne 1999- Ezra and Yonatan are best friends whose lives are forever changed when their school, the ultra-Orthodox Jewish Yahel Academy, is rocked by a scandal and they are thrown onto divergent paths. Twenty years later, the lives of the two men are very different- Ezra identifies as secular and atheist, while Yonatan has been ordained as a rabbi and teaches at the academy. By chance they are reunited, and the events of their past and present collide with devastating consequences.

Abomination lays bare the clash between religious and secular worlds in contemporary Australia and provides a revealing glimpse into a closed community. With great tenderness and insight debut author Ashley Goldberg tells the story of an enduring and evolving friendship as Yonatan and Ezra struggle to come to terms with the choices they have made, search for meaning, and forge their own identities. This is a beautifully observed, moving story from an exciting young writer.