
The Evil Inclination
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed

Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $24.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Laura Patinkin
-
By:
-
Daniel Victor
About this listen
"An exhilarating, spellbinding tale ... that will surprise, astonish and move you deeply."—Joseph Telushkin, best-selling author of Words That Hurt, Words That Heal
"A captivating love story pitting passion against faith ... an irresistible read..."—Judith Shulevitz, best-selling author of The Sabbath World
"A riveting—and surprising—book about family, faith, lust, heresy, temptation, wisdom and God."—Ari Goldman, Professor and author of the best-selling The Search for God at Harvard.
Lev Levitski, devoted son and upright young man, walks the path of Jewish observance without giving it a second thought. But one day in college, Lev encounters Angela Pizatto, a dark-haired knockout, and suddenly, what used to mean everything to him is no longer enough.
Angela pulls Lev from a prudish existence into a passionate romance that must remain a secret because she is Catholic and he is Jewish. As the young lovers gallivant throughout Brooklyn, and as their devotion to each other builds, they realize that they are headed toward a pivotal crossroad. Can they possibly overcome the seemingly insurmountable differences in their backgrounds? It is a question they must confront if they are ever to have a shared future.
Layered into this love story are themes about identity and longing: how desire—what traditional Judaism calls the "evil inclination"—can define who we think we are. It's a novel not only about the burdens of tradition clashing with the power of passion, but also about the struggle to understand how the people we fall for can change us in profound and unexpected ways.
©2023, 2024 Daniel Victor (P)2025 Daniel VictorThis book made me think..
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Listener received this title free
Lev Levitski and his family are a devout Orthodox Jewish family. Lev tries to live his life by the Torah and the Talmud. His faith is put to the test when he spies Angela Pizatto in his economics class. She’s a stereotypical Italian American Catholic from New York, so the polar opposite of everything he tries to be. She’s loud, brash, and actually rather hard to like at first.
She comes across as a rather dreadful human being during their first date, so it all looks doomed, but of course being the main characters, you know it has to get better. What follows is a whirlwind romance coupled with a crisis of faith as they both dive headlong into the relationship. Angela as a character settles down quickly from the person we first met into someone who is genuinely interested in learning more about Lev and his traditions.
This was in part a romance and at the same time a lesson or brief introduction, to what it means to be someone of the Jewish faith. From Talmudic quotes to the intricate customs and traditions of Judaism they must follow that I’d never heard of before such as a prohibition on turning on lights during the sabbath to not dating outside of your religion.
While the latter is not exactly prohibited, the struggles the Lev has as he hides the relationship from everyone he knows as they wouldn’t understand was a bit of an eyeopener. He feels as if it’s a betrayal of everything he holds to be true while also accepting his love for Angela is also true.
Lev and Angela crisscross New York using the multitude of subway lines as they seek to keep their relationship secret. From gritty out-of-the-way diners to a tiny rundown apartment, they pursue their relationship. The writing is excellent, and I could picture these parts of the city most people never see without ever having visited.
Narration by Laura Patinkin was excellent and well-paced. She has a voice that’s easy to listen to, and the production was clean and error free.
This was an eye-opening and thoroughly enjoyable story of two people in love and an exploration of “the evil inclination” from Jewish theology. As I understand it from this book, the evil inclination refers to the human inclination toward things like selfishness, base desires, and moral failing. Not inherently “evil” in a purely negative sense but as part of the tension between self-interest and spiritual or ethical living.
Victor digs into this concept with Lev as his emotions and mind war with what he was brought up to believe and the life he finds himself presented with. So overall, a heartfelt exploration of faith, identity and love that I think will give me things to ponder on for a while.
Couldn't stop listening!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Wow!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A heart rending and thought provoking story
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I listened to the audio version and loved it ! The slang in the audio was spot on .
Highly recommend
If you want to keep a secret you can
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Windows into 2 worlds
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The narration is wonderful and is so enjoyable to listen to. I learned so much and cannot forget the characters. I continue to think about them.
Brought into another world so fabulously
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Great narrator and enjoyable characters!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Great book
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Beautifully written, wonderful story
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.