What do you think attracted Noelle to Amran? Do you find him likable?

When compared to David, Amran is a more difficult human being. What do you think attracted Noelle to him? Do you find Amram likable?

I would not have been attracted to Amran. He seemed always needing to prove something instead of living his life and enjoying it. A very insecure character. Perhaps Noelle was drawn to having set guidelines . Possibly these grounded her after such a wild young adult lifestyle.

I think Noelle desperately needed structure and somewhere completely out of the venue of her family where she could feel competent and in control. Amran wasn't an appealing character but - on the surface - neither was Noelle.

I'm not sure what attracted Noelle to Amram. Possibly, like the previous posts say, since Noelle was very promiscuous as a youth and she might have needed some kind of structure and rules in her life. That could explain why she was attracted to both Amram and the need to follow her religious beliefs so vehemently. I did not find the character of Amram likeable at all. I actually hoped that, once he had disappeared, he simply would stay gone and not come back.

Good question to which I have no good answer. As dipiano, dorothym and jeffs all indicated, Noelle seems to have been seeking stability in her life. No, I did not find Amram a sympathetic character and I too was hoping his disappearance would be permanent.

I'm not sure even Noelle knows what first attracted her to Amram. I did not find him particularly likable or possessed of many redeeming qualities. He was actually a pretty irresponsible person, in that his ego and attitude at work kept getting in the way of him holding a job, and he never seemed to get it.

I have no idea why she found him attractive. He was a bully and totally unsympathetic. I too wanted him gone for good. I also can't imagine what he said or did that caused Gretchen to return with him -- a most unrealistic incident in the book and one that was never really explained!

I think her promiscuous ways in her youth caused her to think she should marry this guy to stop herself and maybe subconsciously as a kind of punishment for her behavior. I think that in a way she was trying to snub her family by being so different and living such a different life, it is as if she is saying she doesn't need, want or respect their way of life. It also makes her look like she is above her family.

I think she was tired of her play girl days and Amran was the there at the time. As she got into the the role I think it made her feel more sure of herself and gave her confidence and sense of a purpose in life which she had lacked. I think she was becoming less and less infatuated with Amram and his controlling ways and will probably remake or end that relationship in the future.

It seemed to me that she wanted or felt a need for all of the boundaries and rules that Amram and their religion represented. She didn't have to think and possibly make a mistake until she came home where the rules weren't enforced when Amram went AWOL. I don't see this character though continuing in a stifling, controling relationship mush longer. Once her children are older, unless she develops strong relationships in her community, I see her as needing to end the relationship and attachment to her Judaism to be happy.

And I should have added that Amram was amazingly selfish with his temper trantum and not showing for the memorial service that meant so much for his wife. Bringing Gretchen to the family does not excuse the lack of support he gave her during this time and leaving her with the children who were concerned about their father.

I don't findhim likable. I think he is egotistic and thinks and thinks only of himself. She was probably more attracted to his way of life and living in a foreign country than to him.

I agree with the other readers who felt that the attraction to Amran was the structure he provided. I think she felt inferior to her siblings and that somehow marrying someone so different than her own family and becoming Orthodox was a way to set her apart and seem superior? I am not sure that is even it perhaps it is more of her rebellion being demonstrated. She certainly seems to be embarassed by him most of the time. He seems arrogant and brutish and not at all likable.

She was trying to change her past by choosing someone totally different from the questioning and promiscuous young woman she had been. I dod not find him like able.

As Jeffs said earlier, I think Noelle was looking for structure but I also think she always was looking for a way to get attention. It was almost as if she was trying on various "personalities" to see what would fit. Her choice in Amran turned out to be a huge disappointment.

I agree with vickys comment. Amran is the manchild that Noelle has to parent. He takes selfishness to a new level. I like to think that without him Noelle will finally make it on her own--with the help of a good therapist and mentoring in parenting.

Noelle thought Amran (Arthur) was sweet. They did new things together in Israel. She said when she was with Arthur she felt "less likely to be carried off by the things that had always carried her." Noelle and Arthur entered into the more religious life together. But now, especially when Amran is out of Israel and someplace where he feels insecure, he embarrasses her. She also begins to see him in a different, less attractive, light. I did not find him likable myself. He was too self-centered.

I think that Noelle saw in Amran the complete opposite of how she perceived her life to be. I think that she needed structure and felt that structure would make her a more likable person. I did not like this character. I found him to be abusive on many levels.

I, as others have stated, would not have found Amram attractive. I think Noelle must have needed someone to make decisions for her, and possibly even create a new persona for her.

I think she thought he was the best that she could get. Her promiscuity didn't speak of someone who thought to much of herself

I don't understand why she was attracted to him..I hoped he'd stay away at the end . I didn't find anything likable about him at all.

Amram was not likable...he seemed to be a "wanna be" and a "blow hard" definitely had high regard for himself..or at least tried to play the part although he was probably very insecure. I believe Noelle was attracted to him because it was a means for her to show penance for her former life of promiscuity and what she felt were failures.