By Rabbi Rachel Esserman
When I was talking to a non-Jewish friend this summer about a Jewish fantasy novel that I was reading, he expressed surprise that there was such a thing as Jewish fantasy. The elements of these works can be found as far back as talmudic times: the belief in demons, dybbuks, golems, angels and more have been part of Jewish culture for centuries. They were treated as real creatures, something that changed as many Jews focused more on the rational aspects of the religion. However, writers of fantasy now include them in their works – whether or not they believe the creatures are real – and combine tales of them with aspects of Western culture.
Two novels of the five novels in this review take place in imaginary variations of our world: The first offers a kingdom where Judaism reigns supreme, while the other features more uncomfortable aspects of the Jewish past. The third novel takes place in a world similar to ours, but which offers an alternate view of Jewish history and theology. The fourth uses Jewish magic in the midst of an otherwise ordinary version of our world. The last features a Jewish character as a jumping point for a fantasy with little other Jewish content. Lovers of fantasy are certain to find something of interest in these novels.
“The Lure of Their Graves”
If you read and enjoyed Laura R. Samotin’s “The Sins on Their Bones,” the first book in her “The Cursed Crown Duology,” you’ve probably already ordered its sequel “The Lure of Their Graves” (Random House Canada). (To read The Reporter’s review of the first book, visit www.thereportergroup.org/book-reviews/off-the-shelf-fantasy-jewish-style.) I’m happy to report that the conclusion is just as thrilling, exciting and suspenseful as the first book. The world portrayed resembles that of Tzarist Russia, but a variation of Judaism is the country’s religion. The danger doesn’t arise from repression of that religion, but the fight against those who would use its Holy Science for evil.
Once again, the author offers three characters’ points of view: Dimitri Alexeyev, Alexey Balakin and Vasily Sokolov. Dimitri is once again tzar after having defeated Alexey, his former husband, who became tzar after using the Holy Science and allying himself with demons, rather than God. Vasily is not only Dimitri’s aid in battle and politics, but also his lover. However, the kingdom is in danger from outside forces and Dimitri must consider marriage to prevent yet another war. He agrees to hold a summit where the heirs from three different kingdoms arrive to privately vie for his hand, something that breaks both his and Vasily’s hearts. While each of the three offer something that might make Dimitri happy, none of them will be Vasily. However, Dimitri believes that, as tzar, his country matters more than his personal happiness.
Those who have read the first book know something of which Dimitri and Vasily are not aware: Alexey, whom they think is dead, has come back to life with help from a demon. He plans to break the barriers between the worlds of human and demons even though that might destroy the human world. What makes Alexey’s wishes feel so tragic is that he still loves Dimitri, even as he seeks to destroy him, and believes that God approves of his plans.
Jewish ideas can be found throughout the work, including the kabbalist idea of the broken shards that occurred during the creation of the world. The novel also contains a beautiful description of the meaning of the phrase “may someone’s life be for a blessing.” One character notes, “When a person dies, it is up to us to keep their memory alive. And even though it hurts to remember, no one is truly gone from our lives if their memory remains – that is the blessing, if we choose to welcome it. We are going to grieve this together,... so that the sadness can abate and space for the blessed memory can be carved into your heart.”
The plot is far more complex than can be explained in this short review, but it is extremely well done. Readers should be aware that the novel contains a great deal of male-on-male sex and, at times, features sexual violence and sexual abuse. The sex does not feel gratuitous, though, because it explains the relationships between characters, particularly Alexey and Dimitri, and Dimitri and Vasily. The author makes the characters’ thoughts and desires so vivid that readers will become emotionally involved and feel deeply for them. I highly recommend this duology for lovers of fantasy.
“The Maiden and Her Monster”
Like many fantasy novels, the world of “The Maiden and Her Monster” by Maddie Martinez (Tor Publishing Group) resembles that of Medieval Europe. The main religion of the kingdom is the Ozmini Church, which oppresses the Yahads (Jews) whose separate language and customs are despised. The European origins of the novel can also be found in the blood libels against the Yahads, who are thought to kill members of the Ozmini Church for nefarious purposes. This feels ironic because the forest surrounding the Yahad’s village is inhabited by a horrific creature who has been killing young Yahad women. The danger is so great that women hide in their homes the minute the sun sets. While the men of the village search for the evil creature doing the killing, they are unable to discover the nature of the creature or stop it.
When members of the government come to the village demanding funds, they refuse to accept the reality that the village is poor now that the forest seems to have turned against the villagers. After one of the government women is found dead, the local Yahad healer is accused of killing her. That healer is the mother of Malka (the maiden of the title), who declares she will deliver the monster who killed the Ozmini woman and save her mother from death. She is given several weeks to search the forest, or her mother’s life will be forfeit.
It’s difficult to speak of what happens next without giving away too much of the plot, but there is a golem (the monster of the title) in the forest, although the story behind her creation is far more complex than it appears at first. The golem, whose name is Nimrah, agrees to help Malka – which means forfeiting her own life to save Malka’s mother – on the condition that they must first save the man who created her: the Maharal, a rabbi who has been illegally jailed in the kingdom’s capital. Making their task more difficult is that the two women have very different feelings about Kefesh, Jewish magic. Malka was taught that its use is forbidden because it is dangerous. The Maharah and Nimrah, on the other hand, believe that one can use the magic for good, including healing those who are ill.
The plot of the novel is complex, but satisfying. What was of particular interest is the large role religion plays in the work, including the discussion of the role of magic in the world. The Maharal tells Malka that magic is already a part of her, one included in her “belief in God. You nurture it every time you close your eyes to pray, when you kiss your hand and raise it to the mezuzah, when you strike the match and light candles for the Sabbath. We do not do these things to please Yoev [their name for God] as we would a king, or to meet certain expectations as we would a child looking to appease their parents. We do them to strengthen ourselves, to give order in the chaos.”
The writing in “The Maiden and Her Monster” is dense and detailed. The novel’s pacing is well done and its ending – the last 30 pages or so – were particularly exciting. While not containing as many gruesome sections as “The Lure of Their Graves,” it does have its share of gore. While slightly less satisfying than Samotin’s work, it does have its charms, particularly for those who enjoy the idea of powerful, female golem.
“Beinoni”
Mari Lowe offers a work for younger readers, “Beinoni” (Levine Querido), which, like her previous non-fantasy novels,* offers interesting questions for readers of all ages to debate. Lowe has created a world much like our own with one great exception: A Nivchar – a boy or girl who is identified at birth by a sign on their skin – must fight a fiery beast of unknown form (it’s different each time) in order to create what is known as Beinoni time. During Beinoni times, there is no crime, war or other forms of violence.
This creates a great deal of pressure on Ezra: not only must he prepare for his upcoming bar mitzvah, but train to fight the beast on the day he turns 13. It’s not that he hasn’t been preparing for this moment, but he’s still nervous. The Sanhedrin, of which his father is a member, is depending on Ezra to win. However, to complicate matters, some strange things are happening: Ezra is suddenly no longer doing well in school. Wars are beginning to break out and other strange events are happening. Even worse, there is a group trying to kidnap him, although he has no idea whom they are or why they might not want him to succeed.
In “Beinoni,” Ezra ponders the question of whether people can truly be considered good if they don’t have the choice of being evil. He also must decide whether the monster he faces is truly evil and thus someone or something he should destroy. The plot is well done and has some great twists and turns. Judaism plays a major role in the story and the book includes a glossary of Jewish terms for those unfamiliar with them. However, it is the idea of Beinoni time that will intrigue readers and allow for debates at book clubs for teens and adults.
*The Reporter’s reviews of Lowe’s first two novels can be found Off the Shelf: Romance, fantasy or a combination of the two: Part two and Off the Shelf: Great gifts for Hanukkah: books for tweens/teens.
“The Magic Maker”
Is being a kishuf macher – a Jewish magician – a positive or negative thing since, according to some sources, Judaism forbids the use of magic and sorcery? Fortunately Rabbi Meir Poppers, the hero of Mickey Dubrow’s novel, “The Magic Maker” (Brother Mockingbird), who is a professional kishuf macher, belongs to a group of Jews who use magic to help those in need. Meir is approached by Esther Luna, who works at the Tenement Museum in New York City, because she saw something impossible: a young woman waved to her from one of the windows in the museum. However, according to the museum’s records, that apartment has been empty for a century. Almost no one believes her, but Meir travels to New York City to discover what really occurred.
Readers learn that Esther and Meir are correct: alternate chapters of the novel portray what occurred during a Passover seder in 1917, when Baruch Rosenfeld invited a beggar to share his family’s meal. His good deed backfires: the beggar is also a kishuf macherwho condemns the family to live in a time bubble. Baruch, his wife Rebekah and their children, Nathan, Jacob and Sadie are not only unable to leave their three-room apartment, but don’t age. As Meir and Esther discover, the Rosenfeld family seemed to just disappear one night. It’s now up to Meir to help them, but other forces, including another Jewish sect of magicians, are working against him.
Dubrow does a good job placing Meir’s profession in context (for example, rabbis in the Talmud are said to have performed magic) and creating an interesting plot and characters. The ending of the work is extremely moving: it left me in tears. Meir also has an excellent perspective on his work, noting that a magician “wasn’t an athlete or superhero. When he or she performed Jewish magic, his or her goal was not to win or lose. [Their] only goal was to relieve someone’s suffering. The same goal of all Jews. The same goal of all humanity.”
“The Book of Lost Hours”
Every fantasy novel offers different fantasy elements. Some take place in our world, but also contain a separate dimension for their characters to inhabit. In the case of “The Book of Lost Hours” by Hayley Gelfuso (Atria Books), which opens in 1938 Germany and then moves to the United States in 1965, our normal, everyday world does exist. However, there is also another dimension of which only a few are aware: a dimension known as time space where memories are stored and where, in the wrong hands, they can be destroyed.
The only Jewish element of the book is what sets the action in motion. Readers familiar with 1938 Germany will know something of which 11-year-old Lisavet Levy is unaware: the night the novel opens on is Kristallnacht, a pogrom led by the Nazis that, in many ways, was the beginning of the Holocaust. Lisavet’s father gets her to safety by means of a watch that opens the time space dimension, a place where she will be safe, although the rest of her family is unable to join her. Unfortunately, without her own watch, Lisavet is unable to return to what she thinks of as the real world.
The novel moves forward in time and focuses on two characters: 16-year-old Amelia Duquesne, who is mourning her Uncle Ernest, who has been called a Soviet spy. She is approached by a CIA agent who is looking for the watch Amelia’s uncle gave her, which can access the time space dimension. The CIA is worried not only about Soviet spies, but those who enter the time space dimension to erase memories, thereby changing history. Of course, nothing is exactly what it seems and Amelia must navigate dangers that threaten her life and the world.
Although this summary makes it sound as if Gelfuso’s main emphasis is on plot, this moving work features interesting characters and moral dilemmas over which to puzzle. What stands out is the beautiful writing. Even when the action slows in the middle of the book, the prose and characters will make readers continue to turn its pages. Ultimately, the novel focuses on what these characters will do to protect those they love. What that means will surprise readers. Book club members may also want to discuss how changing one’s thoughts about the past can affect the future they create.