The Very Unremarkable Life of Mrs. Etty Bloom

A novel by Talya Jankovits

It takes a lifetime for a profoundly flawed Hasidic woman to learn that there is beauty in even the most mundane of lives.

In the insulated Hasidic community of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, tradition and cultural norms are as sacred as religion. Childhood friendships are cultivated to climb social ladders, matchmakers dictate futures, and young girls are primed for marriage and motherhood. So, when Etty Greenberger, a headstrong redhead and the only child of Holocaust survivors, commits one ugly and thoughtless act, she believes she has sabotaged her opportunity to secure a desirable match. Reluctantly, she agrees to marry Benji Bloom, a fishmonger’s son far below her marital aspirations, becoming Mrs. Etty Bloom.

With each passing year, Etty grows further from the life she had hoped for, filled with disappointment and delusions of grandeur. As she grapples with loss, grief, and the challenges of motherhood, she also discovers friendship, love, and joy in the most unexpected places. It may take a lifetime, but Etty Bloom finally learns that an unremarkable life can be remarkable after all.

Praise for Etty Bloom

Booklist Starred Review! "Etty Greenberger, the only child of Holocaust survivors, has a spirit as fiery as her red hair. Growing up in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, in a Hasidic community that breathes marriage and children, she wants so much to be liked that she commits a cruel act for attention. As she gets older, she is determined that she won’t marry just any schlep that comes along; however, her childhood cruelty may have sabotaged that opportunity. Etty is set up with many dates by matchmakers and turns them all away. Finally, she ends up with Benjamin Bloom, three years her junior, transitioning from a mischievous child into a young wife navigating the turbulent seas of motherhood, grief, friendship, and life expectations. Jankovits, an award-winning poet, shines in this immersive, beautifully written debut. Etty is inimitable, as are the secondary characters, like Etty’s Italian neighbor, Mrs. Marini, to whom Etty feels safe spilling all of her feelings, since she believes Mrs. Marini doesn’t speak English. Sad, silly, thought-provoking, and beautiful, and with a helpful glossary, this intimate look at the Hasidic community is a must-read for those who enjoy character-driven literary fiction and for fans of Naomi Ragen."

Cassandra Smith Booklist

"Original, deftly crafted, emotionally engaging, intellectually compelling, 'The Very Unremarkable Life of Mrs. Etty Bloom' by Talya Jankovits is most remarkable in how the author's character and narrative driven storytelling style raises her novel to an impressive and memorable level of literary excellence. One of those books whose story will linger in the mind of the reader long after it has been finished and set back upon the shelf, 'The Very Unremarkable Life of Mrs. Etty Bloom' is an unreservedly recommended pick for community and college/university library Contemporary Literary Fiction collections."

MBR: Small Press Bookwatch

July 2026:

A photo-real book that almost reads like a fairytale, and a full exploration of a thoroughly unremarkable life in an utterly remarkable debut novel, Etty’s story is deftly and deeply crafted, and her very particular voice—at times hilarious, at others despondent—will haunt you long after you finish the book.

Jessica Elisheva Emerson

award-winning author of the critically-acclaimed novel Olive Days

"Jankovits, an award-winning poet, shines in this
immersive, beautifully written debut...Sad, silly, thought-provoking, and beautiful....this intimate look at the Hasidic community is a must-read for those who enjoy character-driven literary fiction and for fans of Naomi Ragen."

Starred Booklist Review

Talya Jankovits’ secret ingredient is compassion—even when Etty is being a bit meshuggah, Jankovits writes her with so much love and care, we can’t help but love her (and the fire inside her) too. Etty and her family will forever be part of the mishpucha of my heart.

Gayle Brandeis

PEN/Bellwether Prize-winning writer and author of Drawing Breath: Essays on Writing, the Body, and Loss

Jankovits renders the claustrophobic world of post-war Hasidic Williamsburg with ethnographic precision and wry tenderness. We watch as Etty—a funny, smart, fiery girl—becomes smaller and smaller, all of her ambitions channeled into the power politics of kugel and reputation management. A beautifully sad and unexpectedly funny representation of the myriad ways women retain a sense of self in the midst of a patriarchal society.

Sarah Yahm

author of Unfinished Acts of Wild Creation, winner of the Eric Hoffer Book Award and a national Jewish Book Award finalist

The unforgettable Etty Bloom grows from childhood to womanhood as she learns humility, compassion, friendship, love, and discovers beauty in the mundane. With great humor and pathos, author Talya Jankovits reveals that all life, no matter how ordinary or small, is extraordinary when lived fully. Etty Bloom is not only full of life, she is remarkable.

Zeeva Bukai

author of The Anatomy of Exile, winner of the Goldberg Prize for debut fiction

Talya Jankovits delivers the delicious goods in her new novel, The Very Unremarkable Life of Mrs. Etty Bloom. Through the lenses of three generations of fierce, funny women, Shaindel, Etty, and Sarala, we share joy, tsuris, daily minutia, and life-changing events. Both bound and protected by a deeply observant community, their present lives shadowed by Jewish generational pasts, these women move forward, imperfectly, but always with courage and spunk. Powerful, poignant, and joyful, The Very Unremarkable Life of Mrs. Etty Bloom is nothing short of remarkable!

Diane Gottlieb

editor of Manna Songs: Stories of Jewish Culture & Heritage