Guide to Jewish Literature - July/August 2024

This critically acclaimed bestseller presents the captivating story of Clara Prinz, a remarkable woman forced to leave her native Berlin in 1939. As Clara traveled alone on a voyage into the unknown, she turned to memories of her adolescence during La Belle Époque – the Beautiful Era filled with optimism and cultural transformation at the dawn of the twentieth century. Through Clara’s chance encounters with notable personalities of the period, Clara’s Secret weaves an unforgettable tapestry of personal and historic events. Clara’s Secret is ultimately a compelling story of the advancement of humankind and the survival of its decline.

From the opening vignette in which a photograph is a silent witness to history to the powerful coda “Miracles,” a novella set against the vibrant panorama of the Yiddish theater in America, the fifteen memorable narratives in The Girls of Jerusalem and Other Stories span continents and eras as they chronicle love and loss, piety and heresy, mysticism and rationality to reinterpret ancient tropes of exile, dislocation, and profound change, revealing a new understanding of Jewish history and memory. “Luminous tales of exile and loss that bequeath new life” Kirkus Reviews (starred review). A best book of the year selection.

Forced to return to her parents’ roots in the Orthodox Syrian Jewish community in Brooklyn, Casey Cohen faces two opposing worlds as she explores the unfamiliar culture and finds love. “…a read-alike for Meg Wolitzer’s The Wife and Melissa Bank’s A Girl’s Guide to Hunting and Fishing and sets the weight of familial, romantic and cultural expectations against the terrifying freedom of the unknown.”—Booklist.

Imagine being at ground zero for an event that ignites a world war.  In 1939, Shayna Ozdoba Kaufman was at home near Warsaw with her seven-year-old daughter, Chaya-Sarah, when Germany invaded Poland. Her husband, Jonah, was thousands of miles away in America. Invading armies, long bread lines, and border guards were the new order.  Facing dangers she never knew existed, her survival and her child’s depend on her ability to make the right decisions.  Can she do the impossible to save herself and her daughter from the unimaginable?

Before World War II, there were two hundred Jewish children in Humenné, Czechoslovakia. After the war, there were six. Evitchka was one of them. Her survival is a testament to the luck, determination, and resilience of her parents and the bravery of a young Catholic couple. Her story crosses continents and spans decades, culminating in the unlikely chance to repay an unpayable debt.

Four amazing women, each with a dramatic story of heroism and loss during the Holocaust, and their young alcoholic lawyer, Joshua Logan, battle the corrupt real estate and political arena that is Miami Beach in 1968. Can Joshua save their home, and their lives, while trying to get justice for a client with a devastating injury who is facing a prejudiced judge and a defense lawyer who politically controls the judicial system of Miami? This is a fast-paced read with a compelling story line that takes us from sunny, corrupt Miami Beach back to the horrors of the Holocaust.

Felice and Ira Zaslow’s love story spanned almost four decades, from the beaches of Far Rockaway to a comfortable suburban existence on the south shore of Long Island. Then came the morning of September 11, 2001. Through the days, weeks, and months that followed, Felice had to find her way through unfathomable trauma, on a path she had to forge herself, seeking guidance and role models along the way. This remarkable and inspiring memoir puts a very personal face on a national tragedy, facing down the darkness by looking for the light that is always present.