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When the Angels Left the Old Country
A queer immigrant fairytale about individual purpose, the fluid nature of identity, and the power of love to change and endure.
Uriel the angel and Little Ash (short for Ashmedai) are the only two supernatural creatures in their shtetl (which is so tiny, it doesn't have a name other than Shtetl). The angel and the demon have been studying together for centuries, but pogroms and the search for a new life have drawn all the young people from their village to America. When one of those young emigrants goes missing, Uriel and Little Ash set off to find her.
Along the way the angel and demon encounter humans in need of their help, including Rose Cohen, whose best friend (and the love of her life) has abandoned her to marry a man, and Malke Shulman, whose father died mysteriously on his way to America. But there are obstacles ahead of them as difficult as what they’ve left behind. Medical exams (and demons) at Ellis Island. Corrupt officials, cruel mob bosses, murderers, poverty. The streets are far from paved with gold.
Uriel the angel and Little Ash (short for Ashmedai) are the only two supernatural creatures in their shtetl (which is so tiny, it doesn't have a name other than Shtetl). The angel and the demon have been studying together for centuries, but pogroms and the search for a new life have drawn all the young people from their village to America. When one of those young emigrants goes missing, Uriel and Little Ash set off to find her.
Along the way the angel and demon encounter humans in need of their help, including Rose Cohen, whose best friend (and the love of her life) has abandoned her to marry a man, and Malke Shulman, whose father died mysteriously on his way to America. But there are obstacles ahead of them as difficult as what they’ve left behind. Medical exams (and demons) at Ellis Island. Corrupt officials, cruel mob bosses, murderers, poverty. The streets are far from paved with gold.
408 pages, Hardcover
First published October 18, 2022
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August 29, 2023
In a Nutshell: A historical fantasy with a strong foundation of Judaism. With an angel and a demon and a queer woman leading the cast, this was a unique ride. I would have loved it even more had I understood all the Jewish references, but it was still amazing. The audiobook narrator was outstanding.
Story Synopsis:
The blurb says that this is ‘for fans of Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch’, but I admit I haven’t read the Neil Gaiman book yet, so I can’t compare the two.
(Editing to Add in August 2023: I have now read 'Good Omens'. So I can confidently say that the books have only one main thing in common: the lead characters are one angel and one demon. The stories are quite distinct, though both offer enough to ponder upon.
Click HERE for my review of 'Good Omens'.)
Where the book worked for me:
😍 It was a unique story for sure! History and fantasy are two disparate genres, and blending them isn’t easy. But this book does so in such an effortless way that it is tough to draw the line between where history ends and fantasy begins, though we all know the fantastical elements in the story. Amazingly written!
😍 The angel and the demon get top marks. Not just for their uniqueness but also for their characterisation. When you think ‘angel’ and ‘demon’, you don’t think ‘best friends’! The connection between the two was so powerful and their friendship, so genuine! I simply loved how they didn’t stick to their clichéd roles of ‘good angel’ and ‘bad demon’ but fell in the grey area at times, just to ensure that the other doesn’t feel let down. These will be among the most memorable characters I have ever read in fiction.
😍 For a book with two clear leads with extended roles, there are some amazing secondary characters as well. The female ones are strong and impactful, with Rose Cohen being so noteworthy that I would love to read a spinoff story of her life.
😍 What amazing rep! A genderless angel. A partially disabled demon. A queer Jewish female. And none portrayed in an apologetic or exaggerated way. Loved it!
😍 The plot covers quite a few serious topics connected to anti-semitism, immigrant experiences, and labour rights. It also includes some personal themes such as self-discovery, friendship, and coming of age. All topics and themes are handled well. (Notice one thing? There’s no homophobia. I loved how the LGBT angle was incorporated into the story in a seamless, matter-of-fact way.)
😍 Despite the heavy content, there are plenty of funny scenes to break the intensity and offer you a smile. The repartee between Little Ash and the angel was enjoyable.
😍 The omniscient narration is put to brilliant use in this book. We not only get to see what everyone is up to, but the narrator also grabs a few opportunities to reveal his opinion on the angel and Little Ash.
😍 While the story was fantastic by itself, the audiobook narrator elevated the experience. Details below.
Where the book could have worked better for me:
😑 This first point isn’t a shortcoming of the book per se, but it did affect my experience. A lot of the content is grounded in Jewish norms (terms, customs, beliefs). Some things were clear from the context but some left me confused, all the more in the audio version. (Like, I googled to see what “dibuk” was, and discovered the existence of “dybbuk”!) I am sure I would have grasped the subtler nuances better had I been more familiar with Yiddish terms, rituals, and superstitions.
😑 The book begins to drag a little in the final quarter, while it should have been the most fast-paced there. The story still moves on, but in a somewhat rambling way.
😑 I do get that it is a Jewish story, but portraying all the non-Jewish characters as villainous became too one-sided and predictable. Some variety both ways would have been better.
The audiobook experience:
The audiobook, clocking at approximately 9 hours, is narrated by Donald Corren. He was simply amazing! While he doesn’t go out of his way to voice the angel and Little Ash (and even the secondary characters) differently, his narrative style ensures a distinct manner of expression for each of the characters. It makes the audiobook so much easier to listen to, especially when there are quite a few spoken dialogues between the characters and knowing who was who is vital. I would definitely recommend the audio version for this book.
‘Good Omens’ fans will certainly experience the book differently. As will readers of Judaic background. I am neither. I still enjoyed this whimsical #OwnVoices novel and would gladly read more books by this author. I was surprised to discover that this is a YA book! Give me more of such YA any day.
4.25 stars.
My thanks to RB Media and NetGalley for the ALC of “When the Angels Left the Old Country”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the audiobook.
Editing to add: Some other reviews have revealed that there is a glossary at the end. This would certainly be very helpful to the likes of me. It wasn’t present in my advanced audio copy.
————————————��—��
Connect with me through:
My Blog | The StoryGraph | Facebook | Twitter
Story Synopsis:
An angel (who picks names as per the situation) and Ashmedai the demon (known as ‘Little Ash’ to distinguish himself from his homonymous father Ashmedai the demon king) have been studying the Talmud for centuries in their tiny shtetl. However, when they hear that one of the local girls, who had emigrated to America, has gone missing, the two set off on a journey, for very different reasons. Little Ash wants some adventure, while the angel wants to serve its purpose by rescuing her from supposed danger.
This story is about their long journey from Eastern Europe to the US, their adventures along the way, the characters they meet, and of course, their rescue mission in a country whose streets weren’t paved with gold as the shtetl newspapers had promised them.
The blurb says that this is ‘for fans of Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch’, but I admit I haven’t read the Neil Gaiman book yet, so I can’t compare the two.
(Editing to Add in August 2023: I have now read 'Good Omens'. So I can confidently say that the books have only one main thing in common: the lead characters are one angel and one demon. The stories are quite distinct, though both offer enough to ponder upon.
Click HERE for my review of 'Good Omens'.)
Where the book worked for me:
😍 It was a unique story for sure! History and fantasy are two disparate genres, and blending them isn’t easy. But this book does so in such an effortless way that it is tough to draw the line between where history ends and fantasy begins, though we all know the fantastical elements in the story. Amazingly written!
😍 The angel and the demon get top marks. Not just for their uniqueness but also for their characterisation. When you think ‘angel’ and ‘demon’, you don’t think ‘best friends’! The connection between the two was so powerful and their friendship, so genuine! I simply loved how they didn’t stick to their clichéd roles of ‘good angel’ and ‘bad demon’ but fell in the grey area at times, just to ensure that the other doesn’t feel let down. These will be among the most memorable characters I have ever read in fiction.
😍 For a book with two clear leads with extended roles, there are some amazing secondary characters as well. The female ones are strong and impactful, with Rose Cohen being so noteworthy that I would love to read a spinoff story of her life.
😍 What amazing rep! A genderless angel. A partially disabled demon. A queer Jewish female. And none portrayed in an apologetic or exaggerated way. Loved it!
😍 The plot covers quite a few serious topics connected to anti-semitism, immigrant experiences, and labour rights. It also includes some personal themes such as self-discovery, friendship, and coming of age. All topics and themes are handled well. (Notice one thing? There’s no homophobia. I loved how the LGBT angle was incorporated into the story in a seamless, matter-of-fact way.)
😍 Despite the heavy content, there are plenty of funny scenes to break the intensity and offer you a smile. The repartee between Little Ash and the angel was enjoyable.
😍 The omniscient narration is put to brilliant use in this book. We not only get to see what everyone is up to, but the narrator also grabs a few opportunities to reveal his opinion on the angel and Little Ash.
😍 While the story was fantastic by itself, the audiobook narrator elevated the experience. Details below.
Where the book could have worked better for me:
😑 This first point isn’t a shortcoming of the book per se, but it did affect my experience. A lot of the content is grounded in Jewish norms (terms, customs, beliefs). Some things were clear from the context but some left me confused, all the more in the audio version. (Like, I googled to see what “dibuk” was, and discovered the existence of “dybbuk”!) I am sure I would have grasped the subtler nuances better had I been more familiar with Yiddish terms, rituals, and superstitions.
😑 The book begins to drag a little in the final quarter, while it should have been the most fast-paced there. The story still moves on, but in a somewhat rambling way.
😑 I do get that it is a Jewish story, but portraying all the non-Jewish characters as villainous became too one-sided and predictable. Some variety both ways would have been better.
The audiobook experience:
The audiobook, clocking at approximately 9 hours, is narrated by Donald Corren. He was simply amazing! While he doesn’t go out of his way to voice the angel and Little Ash (and even the secondary characters) differently, his narrative style ensures a distinct manner of expression for each of the characters. It makes the audiobook so much easier to listen to, especially when there are quite a few spoken dialogues between the characters and knowing who was who is vital. I would definitely recommend the audio version for this book.
‘Good Omens’ fans will certainly experience the book differently. As will readers of Judaic background. I am neither. I still enjoyed this whimsical #OwnVoices novel and would gladly read more books by this author. I was surprised to discover that this is a YA book! Give me more of such YA any day.
4.25 stars.
My thanks to RB Media and NetGalley for the ALC of “When the Angels Left the Old Country”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the audiobook.
Editing to add: Some other reviews have revealed that there is a glossary at the end. This would certainly be very helpful to the likes of me. It wasn’t present in my advanced audio copy.
————————————��—��
Connect with me through:
My Blog | The StoryGraph | Facebook | Twitter
October 8, 2022
This isn't "Good Omens fanfic with the serial numbers filed off", it's a different take on the basic set-up, "what if a bookish angel and an unimportant demon were friends". The difference is, what if they were Jewish, and not operating in a world defined by Christian traditions (like Heaven & Hell, or the Fall of Man).
The demon Little Ash is very Crowleyish: restless, walks funny (he has rooster feet and shoes are very painful), fond of small tricks and disobedience, pushy and impulsive. The angel is less Aziraphale-like because it starts out (apparently) without a true personality, just a series of tasks, and grows into being a true person during the book--though one who remains without gender. [I do wonder how an entity who at first speaks only Hebrew can use "it" as a pronoun, given that Hebrew doesn't have a true grammatical gender. (Google Translate suggests "this"--not unlike my friend who says "my pronouns are I/me/mine")] In any event, the angel is the character who has the strongest arc and most interesting transformation--and in that way is parallel to Aziraphale, the character who changes most in Good Omens.
This is the Jewish world of approximately 1904, moving from a shtetl so small it's only called "Shtetl" to Hester Street and the sweatshops of New York City. As in the stories of Sholem Aleichem and the paintings of Marc Chagall, people expect angels and demons, ghosts and dybbuks to be present already, they're not anomalous. The magic (miracles) and "real life" feel more seamless than they do in Good Omens itself, or in most "what if magic was real" alternate histories.
The book feels very Pratchettian to me, with asides & parentheticals instead of footnotes. It's got many of the same character types--the old lady who needs help but sees more than others, the hard-working woman who doesn't fit in, the thug and his brother. And, like Pratchett, it has a very practical kindness, and a belief that "unimportant" people are important.
I'd be interested in hearing how people who are neither Good Omens fans nor Jewish react to this book, because I am too close to the target zone to guess. Both my children are friends with the author so I had no real choice about getting the book--but they assured me that I would love it as though it was written for me personally. And they're right!
The demon Little Ash is very Crowleyish: restless, walks funny (he has rooster feet and shoes are very painful), fond of small tricks and disobedience, pushy and impulsive. The angel is less Aziraphale-like because it starts out (apparently) without a true personality, just a series of tasks, and grows into being a true person during the book--though one who remains without gender. [I do wonder how an entity who at first speaks only Hebrew can use "it" as a pronoun, given that Hebrew doesn't have a true grammatical gender. (Google Translate suggests "this"--not unlike my friend who says "my pronouns are I/me/mine")] In any event, the angel is the character who has the strongest arc and most interesting transformation--and in that way is parallel to Aziraphale, the character who changes most in Good Omens.
This is the Jewish world of approximately 1904, moving from a shtetl so small it's only called "Shtetl" to Hester Street and the sweatshops of New York City. As in the stories of Sholem Aleichem and the paintings of Marc Chagall, people expect angels and demons, ghosts and dybbuks to be present already, they're not anomalous. The magic (miracles) and "real life" feel more seamless than they do in Good Omens itself, or in most "what if magic was real" alternate histories.
The book feels very Pratchettian to me, with asides & parentheticals instead of footnotes. It's got many of the same character types--the old lady who needs help but sees more than others, the hard-working woman who doesn't fit in, the thug and his brother. And, like Pratchett, it has a very practical kindness, and a belief that "unimportant" people are important.
I'd be interested in hearing how people who are neither Good Omens fans nor Jewish react to this book, because I am too close to the target zone to guess. Both my children are friends with the author so I had no real choice about getting the book--but they assured me that I would love it as though it was written for me personally. And they're right!
May 25, 2023
A whimsical and unique fairytale of adventure, friendship, and justice. Using both religion and folklore, history and fantasy, When Angels Left the Old Country is a charming whirlwind of action and self discovery. With exciting twists and tenderness we also see the pivotal moments that define friendships, new romance, and self identity. Delightfully fresh and wonderfully representative, this is a journey that is worth the read, and will leave you looking fondly at those little shadows that dance between bookshelves.
December 6, 2023
Real Rating: 4.5* of five
A 2022 New York Public Library Best Young Adult book!, winner of a 2023 Stonewall Book Award for Children’s & Young Adult Literature, winner of a 2023 Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature, winner of a 2023 Sydney Taylor Book Award for Young Adult
The Publisher Says: A queer immigrant fairytale about individual purpose, the fluid nature of identity, and the power of love to change and endure.
Uriel the angel and Little Ash (short for Ashmedai) are the only two supernatural creatures in their shtetl (which is so tiny, it doesn't have a name other than Shtetl). The angel and the demon have been studying together for centuries, but pogroms and the search for a new life have drawn all the young people from their village to America. When one of those young emigrants goes missing, Uriel and Little Ash set off to find her.
Along the way the angel and demon encounter humans in need of their help, including Rose Cohen, whose best friend (and the love of her life) has abandoned her to marry a man, and Malke Shulman, whose father died mysteriously on his way to America. But there are obstacles ahead of them as difficult as what they’ve left behind. Medical exams (and demons) at Ellis Island. Corrupt officials, cruel mob bosses, murderers, poverty. The streets are far from paved with gold.
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.
My Review: Multiple awards and honors and nominations later, it's very clear that the Industry recognized this story as one that has a lot to say, and a very winning way of saying it. The publisher tells us it's got a very Good Omens vibe...true enough, but don't expect Aziraphael and Crowley's intimate dynamic here. Like Good Omens there is an omniscient narrator, well used to keep us on the track of our angel and demon as they set about trying to right the wrongs "their" humans, the ones from the shtetl they've adopted as their home, endure.
Here I pause to mention something that could impact your readerly pleasure. There is a lot of Yiddish used in the story, which for the time and place is absolutely correct. It isn't translated, and at times the word or concept isn't entirely obvious from context only. I recommend that you have the browser open on some device, if you're reading a tree-book, to look up the words you don't think you've got right in your mind's eye. Ebooks usually have adequate dictionary access to tell you what you need to know if it isn't in the provided glossary. I myownself wasn't thrown by this but as anyone who's not here for the first time knows, I'm weird.
Rose is our main human character, a young woman just coming to terms with her lesbian identity. The early twentieth century was a lousy time to be a woman, let alone one who loved other women! Her best friend and love object has just gone away to the Lower East Side of Manhattan to marry a man, as is expected of any frum young woman in that place and time. Our supernatural entities are, for a contrast to everyone else, utterly unfazed by Rose's love for Dinah. They know their purpose is to help Rose (among others) get to the New World and take her shot with Dinah...if it can work out, as she's got this impending marriage thing....
Assisting a dead rabbi's ghost in finding his daughter so she can mourn him properly and thus prevent him fom entering awful dybbukhood, dispensing social justice to exploitive sweatshop owners, not to mention greedy steerage-selling profiteers gouging their fellow Jews out of the last tiny hint of savings, the evil christian supernaturals posing as immigration doctors to prevent Jews from entering the US...all this and more must be taken into righteousness before our supernatural duo can go back to Torah study and peace in Shtetl.
I genuinely think the playfulness of Author Lamb's imagination makes the difficult and unfair nature of the issues to be surmounted less unhappy than it would be in less amusing hands. I know the entire time Rose shows a brave face to the world, where we-the-readers know she's completely terrified but too outraged to let whatever it is pass unchallenged is the kind of message I want to send to all young women. Especially young Jewish women in the rising anti-semitic culture we've allowed to metastasize. It's a good read as a fantasy novel for adults, too; the Mythopoeic Society doesn't pass out their accolades with a shovel.
I can't go with a perfect rating because there are points towards the end that just go on too long. The pace overall is never breakneck, or really even brisk. The aforementioned Yiddish-language heavy text does wear on the Anglophone inner ear after a while. All that said, I still think this is a great Booksgiving choice for your thirteen-and-up nieces who enjoyed Good Omens.
And yourownselves, of course, why should those little pishers have all the fun?
A 2022 New York Public Library Best Young Adult book!, winner of a 2023 Stonewall Book Award for Children’s & Young Adult Literature, winner of a 2023 Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature, winner of a 2023 Sydney Taylor Book Award for Young Adult
The Publisher Says: A queer immigrant fairytale about individual purpose, the fluid nature of identity, and the power of love to change and endure.
Uriel the angel and Little Ash (short for Ashmedai) are the only two supernatural creatures in their shtetl (which is so tiny, it doesn't have a name other than Shtetl). The angel and the demon have been studying together for centuries, but pogroms and the search for a new life have drawn all the young people from their village to America. When one of those young emigrants goes missing, Uriel and Little Ash set off to find her.
Along the way the angel and demon encounter humans in need of their help, including Rose Cohen, whose best friend (and the love of her life) has abandoned her to marry a man, and Malke Shulman, whose father died mysteriously on his way to America. But there are obstacles ahead of them as difficult as what they’ve left behind. Medical exams (and demons) at Ellis Island. Corrupt officials, cruel mob bosses, murderers, poverty. The streets are far from paved with gold.
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.
My Review: Multiple awards and honors and nominations later, it's very clear that the Industry recognized this story as one that has a lot to say, and a very winning way of saying it. The publisher tells us it's got a very Good Omens vibe...true enough, but don't expect Aziraphael and Crowley's intimate dynamic here. Like Good Omens there is an omniscient narrator, well used to keep us on the track of our angel and demon as they set about trying to right the wrongs "their" humans, the ones from the shtetl they've adopted as their home, endure.
Here I pause to mention something that could impact your readerly pleasure. There is a lot of Yiddish used in the story, which for the time and place is absolutely correct. It isn't translated, and at times the word or concept isn't entirely obvious from context only. I recommend that you have the browser open on some device, if you're reading a tree-book, to look up the words you don't think you've got right in your mind's eye. Ebooks usually have adequate dictionary access to tell you what you need to know if it isn't in the provided glossary. I myownself wasn't thrown by this but as anyone who's not here for the first time knows, I'm weird.
Rose is our main human character, a young woman just coming to terms with her lesbian identity. The early twentieth century was a lousy time to be a woman, let alone one who loved other women! Her best friend and love object has just gone away to the Lower East Side of Manhattan to marry a man, as is expected of any frum young woman in that place and time. Our supernatural entities are, for a contrast to everyone else, utterly unfazed by Rose's love for Dinah. They know their purpose is to help Rose (among others) get to the New World and take her shot with Dinah...if it can work out, as she's got this impending marriage thing....
Assisting a dead rabbi's ghost in finding his daughter so she can mourn him properly and thus prevent him fom entering awful dybbukhood, dispensing social justice to exploitive sweatshop owners, not to mention greedy steerage-selling profiteers gouging their fellow Jews out of the last tiny hint of savings, the evil christian supernaturals posing as immigration doctors to prevent Jews from entering the US...all this and more must be taken into righteousness before our supernatural duo can go back to Torah study and peace in Shtetl.
I genuinely think the playfulness of Author Lamb's imagination makes the difficult and unfair nature of the issues to be surmounted less unhappy than it would be in less amusing hands. I know the entire time Rose shows a brave face to the world, where we-the-readers know she's completely terrified but too outraged to let whatever it is pass unchallenged is the kind of message I want to send to all young women. Especially young Jewish women in the rising anti-semitic culture we've allowed to metastasize. It's a good read as a fantasy novel for adults, too; the Mythopoeic Society doesn't pass out their accolades with a shovel.
I can't go with a perfect rating because there are points towards the end that just go on too long. The pace overall is never breakneck, or really even brisk. The aforementioned Yiddish-language heavy text does wear on the Anglophone inner ear after a while. All that said, I still think this is a great Booksgiving choice for your thirteen-and-up nieces who enjoyed Good Omens.
And yourownselves, of course, why should those little pishers have all the fun?
June 1, 2023
i liked it but i have no thoughts
read as part of 202-Queer 🌈✨
read as part of 202-Queer 🌈✨
September 14, 2022
I don't know where to begin with the adjectives. Magical. Funny. Touching. Joyful. Poignant. Damn, this is a terrific book.
An angel (who at first has no fixed name) and a demon (Little Ash, so called because he's the last and smallest of King Demon Ashmedai's offspring), Talmudic study partners in a shtetl so tiny it has no name but Shtetl, go to America to find out why a young woman named Essie hasn't written to her father since leaving. Along the way they meet and make friends with Rose, who's leaving her home in Belz brokenhearted because her friend Dinah, who was supposed to emigrate with her, has gotten married instead. Rose isn't quite sure why she's brokenhearted, but all will become clear, eventually.
I don't want to say any more about the plot, because an adjective I left out of that initial list is "suspenseful" -- I mean, I knew things were going to work out well, but the twists and turns kept me on edge anyway.
There are two love stories in this book. One is Rose's, which you can probably guess at even if you know nothing but what I've put in this review, and the other is between Ash and the angel. I want to say a little bit about that one. Ash can change the appearance of his body at will but experiences himself as male. The angel, who eventually takes the name Uriel, doesn't think of itself (its pronoun is, indeed, "it") as either male or female or, I guess, as any combination thereof. Ash and Uriel love each other profoundly, and their feelings for each other, especially when they're at odds, provide some of the most moving parts of the book.
I think many readers will want to call them asexual; although Uriel could, in human terms, be called agender, for me it doesn't quite fit to describe their relationship in human terms. They're magical beings, both literally in the book's universe and figuratively, in that Sacha Lamb has made them transcendently ... I would say "sweet" if that word didn't have such revolting connotations, but, well, yeah, something like that. Any human label narrower than "good" and "love" is too small for them.
An unexpected pleasure of this book was the complex exploration of what it means to be good -- ugh, as with describing Ash and Uriel in human terms, that phrasing seems so heavyhanded when Lamb has a beautifully light touch. In a general way it's fair to say that Ash is good through following his "evil inclination" (yetzer horeh) and Uriel learns what it means to make choices about being good.
Which leads me to my next-to-last point: as joyful and funny as this book is, it also includes real historical suffering. Jews are leaving Eastern Europe for America because they're poor and because anti-Semites keep coming after them. Steerage is crowded and the air reeks of vomit. Ellis Island is at least as much a hurdle as it is a doorway. The streets of New York are not paved with gold. The boss is a crook who's in league with swindlers and murderers. People die by violence. Sacha Lamb has a light touch with heavy issues, but they're heavy issues all the same.
Last point: I know a little, not a lot, about Eastern European Jewish/Yiddish culture and about early-20th-century NYC. Suppose you know nothing, don't let that deter you. Lamb is very good at contextualizing language and information; if you don't understand something right away, let it pass because it'll become clear soon enough. And as a last resort, there's a glossary at the end.
I'm grateful to Netgalley for the ARC. When the Angels Left the Old Country is on the very short list of books I would like everyone I know to read. Please and thank you.
An angel (who at first has no fixed name) and a demon (Little Ash, so called because he's the last and smallest of King Demon Ashmedai's offspring), Talmudic study partners in a shtetl so tiny it has no name but Shtetl, go to America to find out why a young woman named Essie hasn't written to her father since leaving. Along the way they meet and make friends with Rose, who's leaving her home in Belz brokenhearted because her friend Dinah, who was supposed to emigrate with her, has gotten married instead. Rose isn't quite sure why she's brokenhearted, but all will become clear, eventually.
I don't want to say any more about the plot, because an adjective I left out of that initial list is "suspenseful" -- I mean, I knew things were going to work out well, but the twists and turns kept me on edge anyway.
There are two love stories in this book. One is Rose's, which you can probably guess at even if you know nothing but what I've put in this review, and the other is between Ash and the angel. I want to say a little bit about that one. Ash can change the appearance of his body at will but experiences himself as male. The angel, who eventually takes the name Uriel, doesn't think of itself (its pronoun is, indeed, "it") as either male or female or, I guess, as any combination thereof. Ash and Uriel love each other profoundly, and their feelings for each other, especially when they're at odds, provide some of the most moving parts of the book.
I think many readers will want to call them asexual; although Uriel could, in human terms, be called agender, for me it doesn't quite fit to describe their relationship in human terms. They're magical beings, both literally in the book's universe and figuratively, in that Sacha Lamb has made them transcendently ... I would say "sweet" if that word didn't have such revolting connotations, but, well, yeah, something like that. Any human label narrower than "good" and "love" is too small for them.
An unexpected pleasure of this book was the complex exploration of what it means to be good -- ugh, as with describing Ash and Uriel in human terms, that phrasing seems so heavyhanded when Lamb has a beautifully light touch. In a general way it's fair to say that Ash is good through following his "evil inclination" (yetzer horeh) and Uriel learns what it means to make choices about being good.
Which leads me to my next-to-last point: as joyful and funny as this book is, it also includes real historical suffering. Jews are leaving Eastern Europe for America because they're poor and because anti-Semites keep coming after them. Steerage is crowded and the air reeks of vomit. Ellis Island is at least as much a hurdle as it is a doorway. The streets of New York are not paved with gold. The boss is a crook who's in league with swindlers and murderers. People die by violence. Sacha Lamb has a light touch with heavy issues, but they're heavy issues all the same.
Last point: I know a little, not a lot, about Eastern European Jewish/Yiddish culture and about early-20th-century NYC. Suppose you know nothing, don't let that deter you. Lamb is very good at contextualizing language and information; if you don't understand something right away, let it pass because it'll become clear soon enough. And as a last resort, there's a glossary at the end.
I'm grateful to Netgalley for the ARC. When the Angels Left the Old Country is on the very short list of books I would like everyone I know to read. Please and thank you.
October 18, 2022
I received an ARC from Edelweiss
TW historic antisemitism & xenophobia, fire
4.2
If you love Jewish stories and/or Good Omens, I absolutely recommend this book! It's well written, it's fun, the dialogue is clever and unique, and this feels like an entire experience in itself.
I do love how inherently Jewish this entire book is. It feels, as it was at one point pitched, like a new take on classic Jewish stories, which is a celebration in a way, and also makes the whole work feel like it stands alone even while being supported by its ancestors.
The quality of the Jewishness also helps the characters come more alive, and makes the banter something to behold. While I do love the moments that feel similar to the way Good Omens makes me feel, it's the characters and the very specific way they interact which sets it apart and makes comparisons moot.
There is a simplicity to this story- it's two people setting off from their small community- and yet it's complex. There is a build as more and more obstacles are discovered much the way someone digging their heel into the dirt begins to find more and more rocks. It's hard to pull away once you've gotten invested, it does in fact pull you in even as it refuses to shuck off an unflappable tone.
The one thing I'm on the fence about is the queerness. I truly love how unforced and organic the queerness is as a whole, and I can't complain- yet I did wish it had become more apparent sooner in the case of Little Ash & Uriel. And while their connection and romance is so tender, the other romance fell flat in a way that felt underdeveloped.
And while this story is engrossing once you get invested, the very slow start I'm afraid will backfire for some readers by scaring them off. The fact that this doesn't read at all like a commercial YA means it will likely need to win readers over, and the pacing at the start may wind up hurting its chances with them.
Over all this is a really fun story you won't expect the journey or ending of, that makes you truly happy to be along for the ride with such witty and affectionate traveling companions.
Pre-review comments below
I just got an ARC for this, weeping!!
TW historic antisemitism & xenophobia, fire
4.2
If you love Jewish stories and/or Good Omens, I absolutely recommend this book! It's well written, it's fun, the dialogue is clever and unique, and this feels like an entire experience in itself.
I do love how inherently Jewish this entire book is. It feels, as it was at one point pitched, like a new take on classic Jewish stories, which is a celebration in a way, and also makes the whole work feel like it stands alone even while being supported by its ancestors.
The quality of the Jewishness also helps the characters come more alive, and makes the banter something to behold. While I do love the moments that feel similar to the way Good Omens makes me feel, it's the characters and the very specific way they interact which sets it apart and makes comparisons moot.
There is a simplicity to this story- it's two people setting off from their small community- and yet it's complex. There is a build as more and more obstacles are discovered much the way someone digging their heel into the dirt begins to find more and more rocks. It's hard to pull away once you've gotten invested, it does in fact pull you in even as it refuses to shuck off an unflappable tone.
The one thing I'm on the fence about is the queerness. I truly love how unforced and organic the queerness is as a whole, and I can't complain- yet I did wish it had become more apparent sooner in the case of Little Ash & Uriel. And while their connection and romance is so tender, the other romance fell flat in a way that felt underdeveloped.
And while this story is engrossing once you get invested, the very slow start I'm afraid will backfire for some readers by scaring them off. The fact that this doesn't read at all like a commercial YA means it will likely need to win readers over, and the pacing at the start may wind up hurting its chances with them.
Over all this is a really fun story you won't expect the journey or ending of, that makes you truly happy to be along for the ride with such witty and affectionate traveling companions.
Pre-review comments below
I just got an ARC for this, weeping!!
December 15, 2022
Sacha Lamb'a When the Angels Lift the Old Country is a delight of a book, young adult lit that makes excellent reading for people of all ages, and a perceptive portrait of why and how we love. And the characters through whom Lamb achieves this? First, Little Ash and the angel (who has neither name nor gender), a demon and an angel who have been studying torah together for, literally, centuries in a shtetl so small its name is Shtetl. Essie, the daughter of Shtetl's baker, hasn't been heard from since she left for America. Little Ash sees an opportunity to use a search for Essie as an excuse to make trouble in new locations; the angel sees finding Essie as a mitzvah. Second, there's Rose, clearly in love with her best friend Dinah. When Rose's plans to travel to America with Dinah fall apart—because Dinah has accepted a marriage proposal—Rose is determined to travel to America alone and to build the life she dreams of there.
These three meet up in steerage on a boat to America and find themselves with a growing list of obligations. Besides finding Essie, they must undo the harm done by an unscrupulous arranger of passages to America; help Grandma Rivkah (who has more than a little in common with Little Ash) complete the ocean voyage and join her family in America; bring the ghost of a European Rabbi to his daughter in the U.S. so she can officially mourn him and prevent him from becoming a dybbuk; support a strike organized by workers in a shirtwaist factory; and bring the corrupt owner of that factory to justice.
There's so much to love in this tale of adventure, but as I've already observed, it's the central characters who make the book unputdownable. Little Ash and the angel, who are already more tightly bonded than they realize, find new depths to their relationship. Rose marches into every situation putting on an air of courage and power, even though inside she's terrified to be in this strange new country on her own.
To say the tale ends well is no spoiler. As Oscar Wilde would have put it: The good end happily, and the bad unhappily. That is what fiction means.
Treat yourself (and any young adult readers you know) to this read as soon as possible and give yourself the pleasure of confronting injustice with a very unusual band of heroes.
I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via EdelweissPlus; the opinions are my own.
These three meet up in steerage on a boat to America and find themselves with a growing list of obligations. Besides finding Essie, they must undo the harm done by an unscrupulous arranger of passages to America; help Grandma Rivkah (who has more than a little in common with Little Ash) complete the ocean voyage and join her family in America; bring the ghost of a European Rabbi to his daughter in the U.S. so she can officially mourn him and prevent him from becoming a dybbuk; support a strike organized by workers in a shirtwaist factory; and bring the corrupt owner of that factory to justice.
There's so much to love in this tale of adventure, but as I've already observed, it's the central characters who make the book unputdownable. Little Ash and the angel, who are already more tightly bonded than they realize, find new depths to their relationship. Rose marches into every situation putting on an air of courage and power, even though inside she's terrified to be in this strange new country on her own.
To say the tale ends well is no spoiler. As Oscar Wilde would have put it: The good end happily, and the bad unhappily. That is what fiction means.
Treat yourself (and any young adult readers you know) to this read as soon as possible and give yourself the pleasure of confronting injustice with a very unusual band of heroes.
I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via EdelweissPlus; the opinions are my own.
June 9, 2023
What a wonderful old fashioned story! I was immediately swept up in the immersive world, its endearing characters, and the page-turning plot. Two longterm queer platonic partners -- a demon and an angel -- leave their tiny shtetl in Poland to find out why a teenage girl who left for America hasn't been in contact with her parents. Along the way they meet a ton of characters -- from shady Irish American gangsters and Christian demons masquerading as immigration doctors to wise Jewish grandmothers who see them
for the supernatural creatures they are.
They also meet Rose, a smart, brave teenage Jewish girl also from a small shtetl. Rose was supposed to go to America with her best friend Dinah, but Dinah stayed home to get married instead. Rose is unsure why she can't even bare to think of Dinah (spoiler but not really: she's gay), so she grows herself headfirst into a friendship with two young "men" -- the angel and demon -- who she meets on the ship. The three of them become a mischievous trio of sorts, getting themselves into all sorts of adventures.
I especially liked Uriel, the angel who doesn't have a name for the first quarter of the book. Uriel is a spiritual creature who doesn't have a gender and is referred to as "it" throughout the book. Its journey to a kind of selfhood that is part angel and part human was so lovely and unique.
This is very queer and very Jewish and had amazing early 20th century historical details about Jewish immigration to the US! I only wish some of the Jewish references hadn't gone over my head. Although it was nice to have Yiddish terms pronounced for me by the voice actor in the audiobook, who did a great job!
for the supernatural creatures they are.
They also meet Rose, a smart, brave teenage Jewish girl also from a small shtetl. Rose was supposed to go to America with her best friend Dinah, but Dinah stayed home to get married instead. Rose is unsure why she can't even bare to think of Dinah (spoiler but not really: she's gay), so she grows herself headfirst into a friendship with two young "men" -- the angel and demon -- who she meets on the ship. The three of them become a mischievous trio of sorts, getting themselves into all sorts of adventures.
I especially liked Uriel, the angel who doesn't have a name for the first quarter of the book. Uriel is a spiritual creature who doesn't have a gender and is referred to as "it" throughout the book. Its journey to a kind of selfhood that is part angel and part human was so lovely and unique.
This is very queer and very Jewish and had amazing early 20th century historical details about Jewish immigration to the US! I only wish some of the Jewish references hadn't gone over my head. Although it was nice to have Yiddish terms pronounced for me by the voice actor in the audiobook, who did a great job!
October 19, 2023
Delightful. Jewish "Good Omens" with all the attendant humor that suggests, plus lots of queer representation and a cool take on angels. Lots and lots of loving banter, and a reminder that hardship is not the same as being hardened.
May 6, 2022
I don't know how to put how much I LOVE THIS BOOK into words. I was lucky enough to get to read this early, and I'm OBSESSED with it. It's all I can think about now. Everyone must read this book. AAAAAAA
First of all, the setting is amazing. I don't generally read historical fiction, but this book felt super accessible even to me, and I know nothing about history. The author did a great job of contextualizing everything so that I could feel like I was really IN the story. I never lost sight of it being In The Past but it also felt achingly familiar and contemporary and In The Now, too, and I loved that.
Second of all, I loved the narration style. It's like this omniscient voice watching everything unfurl and providing snide side comments as necessary and it's so fun and whimsical and charming. It made the world feel expansive, while the focus on Jewish community and especially our main characters made it feel cozy and well-contained.
Third of all, the characters. THE CHARACTERS. Rose is analytical and headstrong and so excellent. She's so stubbornly set on being excited to live in this new adventure, even when things get bad, and it's just so great to watch her learn more about herself and push herself to her limits and come out the other side laughing. Little Ash is so witty and snarky and funny and the personification of a devilish, off-putting grin, but also so thoughtful and kind and understanding when it comes to Uriel (but he will eat your soul if you cross him or Uriel, and I love that for him). And Uriel is just trying to live its best life, trying to figure out who it is and what it wants, and trying to be the best version of itself that it can be while still finding some semblance of individuality when angels have never really been granted that before.
And the relationship between Little Ash and Uriel was so special to read. It was so, idk, healing to see how wholeheartedly and without question Little Ash understood Uriel's identity as a genderless person, and fought for it to be seen as it is, and was willing to set fire to pretty much anything that made Uriel feel uncomfortable in its body or like it wasn't being perceived as its true self. And Uriel understands Little Ash and accepts him for who he is, even when who he is means doing things angels generally wouldn't approve of. It watched out for Little Ash when he was getting himself into trouble, or pushing himself beyond his limits when he was hurting himself (since he has chronic pain). I cried happy tears reading some of their interactions. I'm gonna cry rn tbh
This is such a special book and I really hope everyone picks it up and gets to love it as much as I did!!
First of all, the setting is amazing. I don't generally read historical fiction, but this book felt super accessible even to me, and I know nothing about history. The author did a great job of contextualizing everything so that I could feel like I was really IN the story. I never lost sight of it being In The Past but it also felt achingly familiar and contemporary and In The Now, too, and I loved that.
Second of all, I loved the narration style. It's like this omniscient voice watching everything unfurl and providing snide side comments as necessary and it's so fun and whimsical and charming. It made the world feel expansive, while the focus on Jewish community and especially our main characters made it feel cozy and well-contained.
Third of all, the characters. THE CHARACTERS. Rose is analytical and headstrong and so excellent. She's so stubbornly set on being excited to live in this new adventure, even when things get bad, and it's just so great to watch her learn more about herself and push herself to her limits and come out the other side laughing. Little Ash is so witty and snarky and funny and the personification of a devilish, off-putting grin, but also so thoughtful and kind and understanding when it comes to Uriel (but he will eat your soul if you cross him or Uriel, and I love that for him). And Uriel is just trying to live its best life, trying to figure out who it is and what it wants, and trying to be the best version of itself that it can be while still finding some semblance of individuality when angels have never really been granted that before.
And the relationship between Little Ash and Uriel was so special to read. It was so, idk, healing to see how wholeheartedly and without question Little Ash understood Uriel's identity as a genderless person, and fought for it to be seen as it is, and was willing to set fire to pretty much anything that made Uriel feel uncomfortable in its body or like it wasn't being perceived as its true self. And Uriel understands Little Ash and accepts him for who he is, even when who he is means doing things angels generally wouldn't approve of. It watched out for Little Ash when he was getting himself into trouble, or pushing himself beyond his limits when he was hurting himself (since he has chronic pain). I cried happy tears reading some of their interactions. I'm gonna cry rn tbh
This is such a special book and I really hope everyone picks it up and gets to love it as much as I did!!
April 26, 2023
Sometimes you come across a book which has some clear flaws, but which is so delightful regardless that you find it a five-star read. When the Angels Left the Old Country is just such a book. It has some pacing wobbles, and some spots where you could feel Sacha Lamb trying to shoehorn in some action-adventure beats that weren't quite playing to the book's strengths.
But overall this is such a delight. An angel and a demon have spent centuries living together as Talmudic study parters in a Polish shtetl so small it's only called Shtetl. For Reasons they have to emigrate to turn-of-the-century New York City, where they team up with Rose, a teenage Jewish lesbian who has also recently arrived in the U.S. WtALtOC is throughout suffused with a deeply Jewish and queer sensibility, one that's clearly derived from a deep affection from and knowledge about these topics. I've seen a number of comparisons between this book and Good Omens, which aren't that surprising given that this is a book that's in large part about an angel and a demon who Make Each Other People, and that Lamb's narrative voice is often wryly funny. But I think in sensibility, WtALtOC hews closer to Pratchett's solo work: it's deeply human, concerned with the complexities of good and evil and intent and choosing, all without ever losing sight of its fondness for people as people.
But overall this is such a delight. An angel and a demon have spent centuries living together as Talmudic study parters in a Polish shtetl so small it's only called Shtetl. For Reasons they have to emigrate to turn-of-the-century New York City, where they team up with Rose, a teenage Jewish lesbian who has also recently arrived in the U.S. WtALtOC is throughout suffused with a deeply Jewish and queer sensibility, one that's clearly derived from a deep affection from and knowledge about these topics. I've seen a number of comparisons between this book and Good Omens, which aren't that surprising given that this is a book that's in large part about an angel and a demon who Make Each Other People, and that Lamb's narrative voice is often wryly funny. But I think in sensibility, WtALtOC hews closer to Pratchett's solo work: it's deeply human, concerned with the complexities of good and evil and intent and choosing, all without ever losing sight of its fondness for people as people.
April 23, 2023
an absolutely ecstatic little book, palpably weakest when it fits itself to the standard of "modern action-packed SFF" and strongest when it operates in the idioms of fairy tales and Yiddish pamphleteering which are, if not a mamaloshn for the author, clearly at least a beloved sister. have seen reviews saying this is difficult to enjoy to full capacity if you aren't already familiar with Jewish culture, which is wild; a, everything is highly Googleable and I know you all have access to the World Wide Web, and b, there's a fucking glossary ? anyway, the one thing which can't fit in a glossary is the wonderful voice, which is very distinctly the warm, sly, learned, lecturing narrator of Chelm stories and bubbe-mayses and some Talmud and, of course, Isaac Bashevis Singer. saw some comparisons to Pratchett; understandable, given that there's an angel and a demon in this, but what you are hearing that Pratchett was familiar with 2000 Year Old Man and Mel Brooks is one of the most groundbreaking people in comedy but very much one of the least original voices in Yiddishkeit (which is a compliment on both fronts).
anyway, as I say, the voice is very, very suited to the portions of the book in the Pale of Settlement, when its heroes are firmly in the folktale milieu. it is also very suited to the descriptions of factory and tenement life, and frankly I would have loved to spend more time wandering around the Lower East Side with the pushcarts and the socialists and the charity workers and the Yiddish newspaperists and the factory workers and the Westjuden-Ostjuden social divisions and the tiny shuls and was genuinely pretty sad every time the angel and demon hauled off toward another "how will we sneak into THIS location" in order to advance the plot; I am habitually more interested in the intimate lives of human beings than I am in worldbuilding, and the thing is, so is Good Omens, and also Isaac Bashevis Singer, and also, frankly, the Talmud imo, sorry @ HaKadosh Baruch Hu
and also honestly: so is this book! in addition some supernatural stakes (is our angel... still an angel?) are fitted onto the material stakes (will the factory strike come off?) in a way that feels slightly incongruent, and also leaves some questions straight-up unanswered: this is going to sound deranged but I sort of wish the angel and demon had like... had less material involvement in the story; I would've been pretty happy to have them flailing uselessly alongside, firmly within their angel/demon natures, as the humans get the actual plot done. (which is, I should point out, the structure of Good Omens, which is why it works so well as a humanist tract.)
in addition troubled by a number of overly quick resolutions; the writing of "queer attraction operating in a way that disguises itself as deep but acceptable friendship, except for the wracking jealousy" is pitch-perfect, but the resolution made me :/ a little—it feels a little cheap to end a scene with a kiss and have the reader go "well, I assume everything after the kiss was a happily ever after!" at the best of times, but especially in a historical setting where we have really limited information about one of the characters? really this + the conclusion of the main villain's plot () just needed, like, 1 more scene each to feel satisfactory; the publishing-wide plague of underediting leaves no book unmarred. oh well
where this book is very beautiful, and it is very beautiful, is when it talks about parents. two passages made me burst into tears: one when the human heroine tells her father that she has enough money for America, and he blesses her; one when a ghost remembers holding a baby in his arms. this is to some extent a book about the unbelievable grief of having left our parents behind in the Old Country, the fact that we did not save them—I say "we" because of the hundreds of parts of our parents we have not been able to carry from generation to generation, books and recipes and laws and languages and superstitions and beliefs, and in this same way the love of the human heroes for their parents, and gratefulness for what they gave us, reflects & refracts into the author's love for these characters, who are after all (& especially under this careful eye) our own parents. and, I should note, the voice of the fairy tale genre very much sounds the way it does because the imagined/ideal storyteller is a parent speaking to their child. this is really I think the weakness of this book, is rushing into the sweetness of what are really deeply bittersweet themes. but it is a sole weakness and the book is very good, and really the only reason to complain when an author has this kind of an ear for voice is because if I don't kvetch what should I do with myself all day?
anyway, as I say, the voice is very, very suited to the portions of the book in the Pale of Settlement, when its heroes are firmly in the folktale milieu. it is also very suited to the descriptions of factory and tenement life, and frankly I would have loved to spend more time wandering around the Lower East Side with the pushcarts and the socialists and the charity workers and the Yiddish newspaperists and the factory workers and the Westjuden-Ostjuden social divisions and the tiny shuls and was genuinely pretty sad every time the angel and demon hauled off toward another "how will we sneak into THIS location" in order to advance the plot; I am habitually more interested in the intimate lives of human beings than I am in worldbuilding, and the thing is, so is Good Omens, and also Isaac Bashevis Singer, and also, frankly, the Talmud imo, sorry @ HaKadosh Baruch Hu
and also honestly: so is this book! in addition some supernatural stakes (is our angel... still an angel?) are fitted onto the material stakes (will the factory strike come off?) in a way that feels slightly incongruent, and also leaves some questions straight-up unanswered: this is going to sound deranged but I sort of wish the angel and demon had like... had less material involvement in the story; I would've been pretty happy to have them flailing uselessly alongside, firmly within their angel/demon natures, as the humans get the actual plot done. (which is, I should point out, the structure of Good Omens, which is why it works so well as a humanist tract.)
in addition troubled by a number of overly quick resolutions; the writing of "queer attraction operating in a way that disguises itself as deep but acceptable friendship, except for the wracking jealousy" is pitch-perfect, but the resolution made me :/ a little—it feels a little cheap to end a scene with a kiss and have the reader go "well, I assume everything after the kiss was a happily ever after!" at the best of times, but especially in a historical setting where we have really limited information about one of the characters? really this + the conclusion of the main villain's plot () just needed, like, 1 more scene each to feel satisfactory; the publishing-wide plague of underediting leaves no book unmarred. oh well
where this book is very beautiful, and it is very beautiful, is when it talks about parents. two passages made me burst into tears: one when the human heroine tells her father that she has enough money for America, and he blesses her; one when a ghost remembers holding a baby in his arms. this is to some extent a book about the unbelievable grief of having left our parents behind in the Old Country, the fact that we did not save them—I say "we" because of the hundreds of parts of our parents we have not been able to carry from generation to generation, books and recipes and laws and languages and superstitions and beliefs, and in this same way the love of the human heroes for their parents, and gratefulness for what they gave us, reflects & refracts into the author's love for these characters, who are after all (& especially under this careful eye) our own parents. and, I should note, the voice of the fairy tale genre very much sounds the way it does because the imagined/ideal storyteller is a parent speaking to their child. this is really I think the weakness of this book, is rushing into the sweetness of what are really deeply bittersweet themes. but it is a sole weakness and the book is very good, and really the only reason to complain when an author has this kind of an ear for voice is because if I don't kvetch what should I do with myself all day?
Read
August 10, 2023Thank you so much to Levine Querido for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
I heard “Jewish historical fantasy about a disabled demon and a genderless angel” and had high hopes this book would give me Jewish Good Omens vibes (though of course Good Omens is fairly Jewish). And it absolutely delivered. At times, its charm felt manufactured (due to perhaps an attempt to mimic the voice of Good Omens), but was charming nonetheless, and eventually found its way into a shape of its own and wormed its way into my heart. It was cozy, it was whimsical, it was adventurous, and it was unapologetically queer and Jewish. How could you not fall in love with this immigrant fairytale?
CW: death, grief, gun violence, violence, blood, injury, fire, antisemitism, confinement
I heard “Jewish historical fantasy about a disabled demon and a genderless angel” and had high hopes this book would give me Jewish Good Omens vibes (though of course Good Omens is fairly Jewish). And it absolutely delivered. At times, its charm felt manufactured (due to perhaps an attempt to mimic the voice of Good Omens), but was charming nonetheless, and eventually found its way into a shape of its own and wormed its way into my heart. It was cozy, it was whimsical, it was adventurous, and it was unapologetically queer and Jewish. How could you not fall in love with this immigrant fairytale?
CW: death, grief, gun violence, violence, blood, injury, fire, antisemitism, confinement
December 13, 2023
This book was recommended by one of the delightful mods of the SFFBC group (Allison) and therefore it wasn’t exactly a surprise but it was a delightful surprise nonetheless.
Some would say, that this is a Jewish Good Omens, but two angels (a good one and a bad one i.e. a demon) working together is where the similarity ends.
We start out in Russia in a Shtetl without a name, then to Warsaw and the America (NYC) on a boat from Hamburg. They are on a mission to find a young woman from the Shtetl. They meet another young woman on the boat who decides to help them.
The relationship between the angel and the demon is very sweet. And the young women are both very independent for the early 20th century.
All in all this is a very fresh and refreshing story, delightful from beginning to end, which is quite satisfying.
Some would say, that this is a Jewish Good Omens, but two angels (a good one and a bad one i.e. a demon) working together is where the similarity ends.
We start out in Russia in a Shtetl without a name, then to Warsaw and the America (NYC) on a boat from Hamburg. They are on a mission to find a young woman from the Shtetl. They meet another young woman on the boat who decides to help them.
The relationship between the angel and the demon is very sweet. And the young women are both very independent for the early 20th century.
All in all this is a very fresh and refreshing story, delightful from beginning to end, which is quite satisfying.
December 22, 2022
Guys. GUYS. Everyone needs to read this. EVERYONE. I can't remember the last time I finished a book and then immediately wanted to start it again.
A Jewish angel and a Jewish demon who are Talmud study buddies go on a rescue mission to America to find a girl from their shtetl, and end up taking part in New York workers' union history!
It's like Terry Pratchett and Marge Piercy went over to Sholem Aleichem's house for dinner. Like Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch fused with Sex Wars: A Novel of Gilded Age New York but in Yiddish and with a queer agenda.
Because obviously the angel and the demon are in love and we mince not a single word about it. GUYS THIS WAS SO GOOD READ IT READ IT RIGHT THE FUCK NOW
A Jewish angel and a Jewish demon who are Talmud study buddies go on a rescue mission to America to find a girl from their shtetl, and end up taking part in New York workers' union history!
It's like Terry Pratchett and Marge Piercy went over to Sholem Aleichem's house for dinner. Like Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch fused with Sex Wars: A Novel of Gilded Age New York but in Yiddish and with a queer agenda.
Because obviously the angel and the demon are in love and we mince not a single word about it. GUYS THIS WAS SO GOOD READ IT READ IT RIGHT THE FUCK NOW
June 12, 2023
4.5
When the Angels Left the Old Country is a story following Uriel (an angel with no permanent name at first, no gender), and Ashmedai, a demon, who live in a tiny shtetl that has no other name but Shtetl. They've spent centuries there together, studying, until they take a journey following Essie, daughter of the shtetl's baker, who they believe is in danger. Their journey takes them to America and on that trip, they meet many humans, such as Rose (who travels to America, disappointed after her best friend, who she's in love with, marries a man), and encounter many hardships, from corrupt men at every corner to terrible immigration policies once they finally reach Ellis Island.
This novel had me simply enthralled while reading, the writing style is fairytale-, folktale-esque, and it fits the story beautifully. It is pretty much a queer Jewish folktale, set in the 20th century and it's filled with details of what Jewish immigration to the US looked like. The main point of the book really is the characters, their relationships, how they love, how they understand love, how they see themselves, what it means to be human, and what it means to wholeheartedly care for someone. It also deals with some incredibly heavy topics, like anti-semitism, poverty, corruption, grief, and pretty much all real tangible hardships people go through. It also focuses on what identity is to immigrants, what goes with you, what you leave behind, the family that you left, the traditions, and the overall bittersweet feeling of it.
I really enjoyed the characters, as I mentioned, they were certainly the driving force of the book, as all topics explored are explored through their circumstances. I loved reading about Uriel and Ash's relationship, the love, the understanding they had for each other. How in turn it seems gentle, and in turn sharp, but how real it felt to read about. They are polar opposites when it comes to their personalities, but they balance each other, and most importantly they see each other and accept each other as they are. The growth we see in them individually throughout the book was amazing, and I loved seeing how that affects their relationship, how it grows and changes with them. I also loved Rose as a character, she is headstrong, and passionate and often seems like she wears her heart on her sleeve. She is so strong, and truly an amazing and fun character to follow.
All in all, I would highly recommend this book! This is perfect if you love understated fantasy, stories with people at their center, and exploring emotions and identities, what makes a community. It is filled with Jewish culture and references, so prepare to do some research if you're not familiar with the details (as I have done reading this) so you enjoy this novel to the fullest! :)
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review!
When the Angels Left the Old Country is a story following Uriel (an angel with no permanent name at first, no gender), and Ashmedai, a demon, who live in a tiny shtetl that has no other name but Shtetl. They've spent centuries there together, studying, until they take a journey following Essie, daughter of the shtetl's baker, who they believe is in danger. Their journey takes them to America and on that trip, they meet many humans, such as Rose (who travels to America, disappointed after her best friend, who she's in love with, marries a man), and encounter many hardships, from corrupt men at every corner to terrible immigration policies once they finally reach Ellis Island.
This novel had me simply enthralled while reading, the writing style is fairytale-, folktale-esque, and it fits the story beautifully. It is pretty much a queer Jewish folktale, set in the 20th century and it's filled with details of what Jewish immigration to the US looked like. The main point of the book really is the characters, their relationships, how they love, how they understand love, how they see themselves, what it means to be human, and what it means to wholeheartedly care for someone. It also deals with some incredibly heavy topics, like anti-semitism, poverty, corruption, grief, and pretty much all real tangible hardships people go through. It also focuses on what identity is to immigrants, what goes with you, what you leave behind, the family that you left, the traditions, and the overall bittersweet feeling of it.
I really enjoyed the characters, as I mentioned, they were certainly the driving force of the book, as all topics explored are explored through their circumstances. I loved reading about Uriel and Ash's relationship, the love, the understanding they had for each other. How in turn it seems gentle, and in turn sharp, but how real it felt to read about. They are polar opposites when it comes to their personalities, but they balance each other, and most importantly they see each other and accept each other as they are. The growth we see in them individually throughout the book was amazing, and I loved seeing how that affects their relationship, how it grows and changes with them. I also loved Rose as a character, she is headstrong, and passionate and often seems like she wears her heart on her sleeve. She is so strong, and truly an amazing and fun character to follow.
All in all, I would highly recommend this book! This is perfect if you love understated fantasy, stories with people at their center, and exploring emotions and identities, what makes a community. It is filled with Jewish culture and references, so prepare to do some research if you're not familiar with the details (as I have done reading this) so you enjoy this novel to the fullest! :)
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review!
November 5, 2022
Just an absolutely fantastic read, loved the writing, the characters and the setting. Thank you Sacha Lamb for saving YA.
February 27, 2023
This book is rather brilliant and I adored it. For anyone who loves the humor and interpersonal dynamics in Good Omens, especially if they can appreciate the Jewish rep and Jewish content in this one.
This book is so unapologetically Jewish! And queer! Because it starts off in a shtetl in the old country, I've been describing it as queer Good Omens meets Fiddler on the Roof....though about a third of the way through, the main cast leaves the old country behind and embarks on a sea voyage to the U.S. via Ellis Island. What remains apt about the Fiddler reference is that these characters are all religious Jews, and the author casually and liberally peppers the text with all sorts of religious and cultural references with nary a pause for explanation for those who are not cultural insiders. I loved it, though am curious to know how it reads to those who may not have the background or context to understand it all organically.
The print book has glossary in the back, though I listened to the audiobook, which was absolutely fabulous. The narrator has a fantastic command of not only the Hebrew/Yiddish jargon, but also that particularly Jewish style of storytelling, which I appreciated because it added so much to the telling. Highly recommended.
This book is so unapologetically Jewish! And queer! Because it starts off in a shtetl in the old country, I've been describing it as queer Good Omens meets Fiddler on the Roof....though about a third of the way through, the main cast leaves the old country behind and embarks on a sea voyage to the U.S. via Ellis Island. What remains apt about the Fiddler reference is that these characters are all religious Jews, and the author casually and liberally peppers the text with all sorts of religious and cultural references with nary a pause for explanation for those who are not cultural insiders. I loved it, though am curious to know how it reads to those who may not have the background or context to understand it all organically.
The print book has glossary in the back, though I listened to the audiobook, which was absolutely fabulous. The narrator has a fantastic command of not only the Hebrew/Yiddish jargon, but also that particularly Jewish style of storytelling, which I appreciated because it added so much to the telling. Highly recommended.
February 2, 2023
This book deserves all the awards and accolades it's received. It's so wonderfully queer and Jewish (from an Ashkenazic perspective) and the narration has a classic, timeless feel. I read this over the span of 24 hours and I have a feeling this'll be one of my top re-read choices in the future (until Lamb publishes something else, then I'll prioritize reading that).
I will say that if you're not familiar with aspects of Jewish faith (e.g., the long tradition of questioning/arguing with texts like the Talmud), some of the story might seem odd. Same for the frequent use of Hebrew, Yiddish, and Aramaic words, although to the author's and publisher's credit, they did include a great glossary at the end of the book to define many of the words that may be unfamiliar.
Honestly, I can't say enough about this book and I hope now that it's won some ALA awards, it reaches even more readers because it's a fantastic addition to the canon of Jewish YA novels.
I will say that if you're not familiar with aspects of Jewish faith (e.g., the long tradition of questioning/arguing with texts like the Talmud), some of the story might seem odd. Same for the frequent use of Hebrew, Yiddish, and Aramaic words, although to the author's and publisher's credit, they did include a great glossary at the end of the book to define many of the words that may be unfamiliar.
Honestly, I can't say enough about this book and I hope now that it's won some ALA awards, it reaches even more readers because it's a fantastic addition to the canon of Jewish YA novels.
May 30, 2023
"You are the friend of my soul"
Llorando de felicidad por lo hermoso que es este libro. De esas historias que dejan el corazón calentito
Llorando de felicidad por lo hermoso que es este libro. De esas historias que dejan el corazón calentito
June 6, 2023
Beautiful use of Jewish folklore and religious tradition in a historical setting
May 6, 2023
DNF at 70% but this wasn’t a bad book at all, mostly I was distracted. Here is my joint review it’s Sirius, who finished.
https://dearauthor.com/book-reviews/d...
https://dearauthor.com/book-reviews/d...
December 14, 2022
4.2/5
My mom gave me this book as an early Christmas present, pitching it as “Jewish Good Omens”. And she was not wrong: This felt a lot like the best kind of ‘Good Omens’ fan fiction – which I 100% mean as a compliment! At the same time, the story is its own thing – “classic Yiddish novel, but it’s queer” is what the author said they were going for – and would thus be enjoyable even for someone who hasn’t read GO and doesn’t feel like they are visiting with alternate-universe Aziraphale and Crowley!
The reason for the strong GO vibe is two of the three main characters: a demon and an angel who have been studying the Talmud together for several centuries in a shtetl too small to have a name and have in the process have become friends. Ashmedai, more commonly known as Little Ash, is an easily-bored mischief-maker but not actually evil, and is the instigator of the adventure – in this case, a journey to America. Like Aziraphale, the angel is a genderless divine being who is rather distractible, out of touch with modern trends, and possibly more fond of books than people.
The structure of the story differs from Good Omens in being a relatively small-scale character-focused tale, with the stakes being “we need to see if this girl from our village is OK” rather than “we need to stop the apocalypse”, Since we are so focused on these two characters, plus a girl they meet on the boat named Rose, we really get to care about every bump in their relationships and the personal dangers they encounter.
I really liked Rose, whom the angel approves of as “a woman of valor” and the demon likes because she is just so angry. The reason she’s angry when they meet is that she was hoping to come to America with her friend Dinah…but then Dinah had to go off and get married, and she’s taking it really hard. It was very cute (and painfully relatable) to see her and Little Ash bonding by talking about the best friends who they are clearly in love with…despite neither of them realizing that that’s what they are doing!
This was a 5-star read for me most of the way through – I was having a great time – but I found the ending a bit abrupt and lack-luster. Rose’s happy ending felt a tad rushed, a little “congratulations, hero; here’s your princess!” By contrast, the ending for Little Ash and the angel was nice, but not really any more resolved in terms of whether it is a romantic relationship than Good Omens was. I mean, if it IS a sort of queer-platonic thing, that’s fine…I’m just not sure why the book doesn’t say so! Also, I couldn’t help feeling that the fates of the gangster vs. the factory owner were unbalanced; the latter probably did a lot more harm, without directly getting blood on his hands.
However, those are minor quibbles. This is overall a really excellent book, which I would highly recommend.
For full review, with some quotes: https://ajungleoftales.blogspot.com/2...
My mom gave me this book as an early Christmas present, pitching it as “Jewish Good Omens”. And she was not wrong: This felt a lot like the best kind of ‘Good Omens’ fan fiction – which I 100% mean as a compliment! At the same time, the story is its own thing – “classic Yiddish novel, but it’s queer” is what the author said they were going for – and would thus be enjoyable even for someone who hasn’t read GO and doesn’t feel like they are visiting with alternate-universe Aziraphale and Crowley!
The reason for the strong GO vibe is two of the three main characters: a demon and an angel who have been studying the Talmud together for several centuries in a shtetl too small to have a name and have in the process have become friends. Ashmedai, more commonly known as Little Ash, is an easily-bored mischief-maker but not actually evil, and is the instigator of the adventure – in this case, a journey to America. Like Aziraphale, the angel is a genderless divine being who is rather distractible, out of touch with modern trends, and possibly more fond of books than people.
The structure of the story differs from Good Omens in being a relatively small-scale character-focused tale, with the stakes being “we need to see if this girl from our village is OK” rather than “we need to stop the apocalypse”, Since we are so focused on these two characters, plus a girl they meet on the boat named Rose, we really get to care about every bump in their relationships and the personal dangers they encounter.
I really liked Rose, whom the angel approves of as “a woman of valor” and the demon likes because she is just so angry. The reason she’s angry when they meet is that she was hoping to come to America with her friend Dinah…but then Dinah had to go off and get married, and she’s taking it really hard. It was very cute (and painfully relatable) to see her and Little Ash bonding by talking about the best friends who they are clearly in love with…despite neither of them realizing that that’s what they are doing!
This was a 5-star read for me most of the way through – I was having a great time – but I found the ending a bit abrupt and lack-luster. Rose’s happy ending felt a tad rushed, a little “congratulations, hero; here’s your princess!” By contrast, the ending for Little Ash and the angel was nice, but not really any more resolved in terms of whether it is a romantic relationship than Good Omens was. I mean, if it IS a sort of queer-platonic thing, that’s fine…I’m just not sure why the book doesn’t say so! Also, I couldn’t help feeling that the fates of the gangster vs. the factory owner were unbalanced; the latter probably did a lot more harm, without directly getting blood on his hands.
However, those are minor quibbles. This is overall a really excellent book, which I would highly recommend.
For full review, with some quotes: https://ajungleoftales.blogspot.com/2...
November 30, 2022
full review here
Rep: Jewish cast, achillean mc, genderless mc, lesbian mc
CWs: antisemitism, violence
Rep: Jewish cast, achillean mc, genderless mc, lesbian mc
CWs: antisemitism, violence
June 1, 2023
This took about a hundred pages to get going (and that first hundred pages were... a struggle) but I ended up having a great time and really enjoying both the characters and the story. It's sweet! It's fun! It's funny! It wrestles with morality in a way that feels philosophical without being didactic! I like what it has to say about gender and queerness and brought back the longing I had as a kid to be Jewish in a delightfully pleasant way. And, honestly most importantly for me, even though it felt too long, it's the first YA book I've read in a LONG TIME that felt like it had an actual team of professionals behind it coaxing it into the best version of itself and what a(n embarrassing) breath of fresh air that is.
December 30, 2022
⭐⭐⭐ -- Love the cover on this one!
This was an...interesting read. I liked it. Didn't love it. It was definitely different and quirky. That said as someone who knows next to nothing about Judaism, I felt like I spent half the book confused and looking up definitions for words. 🤷🏻♀️
**ARC Via NetGalley**
This was an...interesting read. I liked it. Didn't love it. It was definitely different and quirky. That said as someone who knows next to nothing about Judaism, I felt like I spent half the book confused and looking up definitions for words. 🤷🏻♀️
**ARC Via NetGalley**
April 13, 2023
well this was just lovely. thx to the library for happening to deliver my copy the day after I went to Ellis Island again! excellent timing!
May 3, 2023
Name a better premise for a book than a Jewish angel and demon, in Love, team up with a wildcard bb lesbian to end worker exploitation. :') Most excellent and fun.
October 10, 2022
Friends, this book is very good, full of friendship and the sort of tender care that feels very soft, even if the story itself isn’t, always.
It is about Uriel the angel and Little Ash (short for Ashemdai) the demon, who have been study partners in their shtetl for so long the shtetl’s synagogue grew up around them, and how they decide one day to leave this place, to go to America, and search for Essie, a girl from their shtetl whose family has lost touch with her and fears she’s come to harm. This journey is more complicated, and adventuresome, than either Uriel or Little Ash anticipated.
On the way they meet Rose Cohen, a girl on a very determined journey of her own, a grandmother with a mischievous streak, and an old rabbi in need of help. Truly, all of the characters (well, the good ones anyway) were delightful, well-drawn and easy to root for. (The antagonists were believable as well but I sure wasn’t rooting for them.)
For me though, it was watching Little Ash, and especially Uriel, grow and change through this story that made my heart hurt in that particular way it hurts when I read something that feels true and real and painful but not sad, and that’s what I think I’ll most remember about it.
This is not a sad book, though it has moments of sadness, and fear, and even horror. (For example, I will never look at a button hook the same way again.) Instead, I feel like it’s shot through with joy -- the joy of friendship, of discovery, of self-identity and the ways we can choose who we are again and again. Throughout, Sacha Lamb’s voice carries the reader with such assurance that I never doubted everyone would be okay by the end (though at times I did wonder how).
Highly, highly recommend this one.
It is about Uriel the angel and Little Ash (short for Ashemdai) the demon, who have been study partners in their shtetl for so long the shtetl’s synagogue grew up around them, and how they decide one day to leave this place, to go to America, and search for Essie, a girl from their shtetl whose family has lost touch with her and fears she’s come to harm. This journey is more complicated, and adventuresome, than either Uriel or Little Ash anticipated.
On the way they meet Rose Cohen, a girl on a very determined journey of her own, a grandmother with a mischievous streak, and an old rabbi in need of help. Truly, all of the characters (well, the good ones anyway) were delightful, well-drawn and easy to root for. (The antagonists were believable as well but I sure wasn’t rooting for them.)
For me though, it was watching Little Ash, and especially Uriel, grow and change through this story that made my heart hurt in that particular way it hurts when I read something that feels true and real and painful but not sad, and that’s what I think I’ll most remember about it.
This is not a sad book, though it has moments of sadness, and fear, and even horror. (For example, I will never look at a button hook the same way again.) Instead, I feel like it’s shot through with joy -- the joy of friendship, of discovery, of self-identity and the ways we can choose who we are again and again. Throughout, Sacha Lamb’s voice carries the reader with such assurance that I never doubted everyone would be okay by the end (though at times I did wonder how).
Highly, highly recommend this one.
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