When the Angels Left the Old Country has an intriguing and magical story. A very colourful cast of characters and a story with a lot fo heart. I appreciated the Jewish perspective here especially as I am not Jewish and it was nice to read about the tradition and religion aspect of it while in a setting that was easy to digest.

I admit, I had a hard time getting into this book due to the writing style but I think that's something on my end rather than the author. I think the whimsy was perfectly capture and the story was digestible that it was easy to understand and follow along even if you don't have much knowledge in what it is based on.

Narrator was awesome. Very easy to listen to.



This was a sweet, wise modern fairy tale with plenty of tongue in cheek humour. It was neat to see a story rooted so firmly in Jewish mythology and from what I know of it, the voice was perfect. Ash was an oddly endearing character for a demon. The angel was...there. Not a lot to hang on to. And the cast of humans helped keep things interesting because what are an angel and a demon going to do without humans? Overall I enjoyed this, though I can't help noticing that a lot of people want to tackle the angel + demon dynamic in the wake of the TV adaptation of Good Omens, and most of them don't quite hit that mark. This one succeeds by coming at it from a different angle, but it's still quite difficult not to think of GO. Still a good book. Recommended.

Do you ever pick up a book that you know nothing about completely based on the cover? That's exactly how I wound up reading When The Angels Left The Old Country. I was scanning Netgalley and the cover just really called to me. I'm so glad I requested this book because this was such a unique and interesting book.

Angels follows an angel and a demon as they try to protect a member of their shtetl who immigrates to the United States. It sounds bizarre and in some ways it is, but oh my goodness did I enjoy this book. The characters were unique, the plot was engaging, and it was a good balance of mystery, humor, and suspense.

First of all, both the angel and the demon were such interesting characters. I loved their unexplainable bond and the humor they share throughout the story. I was invested in who they were and what their purpose was. I also found the human characters well thought out and realistic.

The immigration process through Ellis Island was both unique for the Angel and Demon, but oddly realistic too. We see people arbitrarily trapped for being a single woman, for potential illness, or just because a guard didn't like them. It echoes a lot of the stories I learned about when I visited the Ellis Island museum.

I also really enjoyed the Jewish cultural elements in this story. I felt like I learned a handful of things and it made the story feel so rich and real.

All in all, this was a wonderfully interesting story with memorable characters. I would recommend it if you want a unique adventure of immigration from one continent to another or if you enjoy contemporary fiction with a splash of humor. I will definitely read future books by Sacha Lamb in the future.

Thank you NetGalley for the E-Arc!
Everyone saying that this is so much like good old man's is completely correct! I am a huge good omens fan and watch it all the time. This book is extremely similar vibes and couldn't have been more excited to read it. This book bring so much fun and emotion and discussion. It is entertaining and exciting while also talking about bigger issues and open up a conversation about so many different topics. I absolutely love books that broaden my horizons and really make me think about different perspectives and lives which I think this book did fantastically well also being extremely fun to read.
The angel and the demon throughout the story are so well written and bring so much depth to the story. You see the angel becoming less naïve and the angel becoming more aware of good. Both of the characters are on opposite ends of the spectrum and getting to see them interact not only with their journey but with each other brings a very well told and interesting story.

Many thanks to Netgalley, RB Media, Recorded Books and the author, for the ALC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was hilarious, funny and heartwarming. We follow the story of Little Ash (a jewish demon) and an angel that does not take a name or a gender (a jewish angel) out on an adventure to find and save a girl from their Shtetl. We enter the story where Little Ash is convincing the angel (who little Ash names Uriel for immigration purposes) to travel to America in search of adventure and experiences. As Uriel always needs a higher purpose for any task, Little Ash convinces 'it' that they need to save a girl who immigrated from their shtetl to America and never been heard from since. Having a noble purpose to work towards, Uriel agrees and thus begins the journey to America (and to its humanity).

The story is sweet and short and is perfect for fans of Good Omens. The narrator was spot on. However, oweing very little knowledge of Judaism and the culture on a whole, I felt like I was missing a good chunk of the experience. The potrayal of immigrant life was perfectly adequate and well researched.

TW: Gore, Gun Violence, Antisemitism, Racism, Sexism, Blood, Death, Grief

What a delightful story! If you enjoyed the friendship/affection between Crowley and Aziraphale in GOOD OMENS, you're going to love Lamb's Jewish angel and demon duo: Uriel and Little Ash. Lamb perfectly captures the excitement of moving to a new country along with the darker side of how people desperate for a better life are taken advantage of by the people in power. Rose Cohen is a gem and I need Lamb to write a follow-up novel with more of Rose's adventures because I need to know what she gets herself into next.

Overall this was an enjoyable read that is packed with adventure, mystery, and the hope of emigrants fighting for a new life (for themselves and their community) despite all the hardships thrown at them.

The one thing I will note, is that this really isn't a YA novel and would have done better if marketed as Adult Sci-Fi/Fantasy. Not to say that there won't be teens that enjoy reading this, but the publisher is doing a disservice to Lamb marketing this as a YA novel.

Donald Corren does a great job with the audiobook narration.

Advanced Reader’s Copy provided by NetGalley, RB Media, and Recorded Books in exchange for an honest review.

This is utterly lovely, but I’m not sure any description could do it justice. It’s just such a surprising mélange of fantasy, historical fiction and magical realism set in a time and place that manages to be both far away and very close, all at the same time.

It’s also steeped in the experiences of Jewish immigrants from the Pale of Settlement in Eastern Europe to the new, exciting, strange and sometimes dangerous “golden land” of America. And in this particular case, all the ways they got fleeced and all the ways they fought back and endured along the way.

What makes the story so much fun and works so very well is that the story is told from the perspectives of Little Ash the demon and his study partner – an angel who begins the story with no name at all. Little Ash is a very small demon with very little magic, while his friend the angel hears the voice of heaven and lets it guide him into good deeds. Which, most of the time, consists of keeping his friend the demon busy studying the Torah and the Talmud.

But Little Ash is getting bored in their tiny shtetl, so small it doesn’t even have a name. The demon wants to follow all the young people from their shtetl who have left for America, because they were all the interesting people he enjoyed following while they made a bit of mischief. Which Little Ash likes very much.

Little Ash searches for a way of convincing the angel to go to America with him. When they learn that Simon the baker’s daughter Essie arrived in America but hasn’t written since, they have a mission. A mitzvah, or good deed, that the angel can undertake, and a whole lot of mischief that Little Ash can make along the way.

Neither of them is remotely prepared for what they find, not along the way, and certainly not after they arrive in America.

Escape Rating A+: In the foreword, the publisher claims that they’ve been referring to this book as the “queer lovechild of Philip Roth and Sholem Aleichem” – which is a lot to live up to. I think it read as Good Omens and Fiddler on the Roof (the original story for which was written by Sholem Aleichem) had a book baby midwifed by The Joys of Yiddish by Leo Rosten (which I wish I popped up every time there was a Yiddish or Hebrew phrase that I don’t remember – but don’t worry, there’s a glossary at the end) resulting in When the Angels Left the Old Country. Up to and including the ineffable relationship that is finally acknowledged at the end.

The story is told from the perspectives of Little Ash and the angel, who initially does not have a name and never takes on a gender no matter what its identity papers say. And the story is significantly the angel’s journey from being an entity that exists mostly as a vessel to serve the purposes of heaven to a person in its own right. Without a name, it doesn’t have an identity of its own to hang its memories on, to help it retain any purpose of its own. It’s easily overwhelmed by competing thoughts and missions.

Little Ash likes that his friend is a bit forgetful and easily manipulated. He’s able to get away with rather a lot. But Little Ash is a small demon with little magic and small sins. He likes causing trouble but even that is a bit childlike. As childlike as the angel’s innocence.

One of the things they lose on the trip to America is their naivete. The angel, now calling himself Uriel, still tries to see the good in everyone – but now it can see the evil as well even if it doesn’t want to. Little Ash, who always looked for people’s sins, can see more of the good and feel more duty towards fostering that good than he ever imagined.

When they arrive in America they become deeply involved with the Jewish immigrant community on Hester Street, taking on the cheats who keep people nearly enslaved to the garment shops, getting caught in the middle of a strike – and doing their best to exorcise not just one but two dybbuks – malicious spirits who haunt evildoers hunting for revenge.

With the help of their friend Rose, a young immigrant they met in steerage on the way to America, with more than a little bit of mischief and a whole lot of seeing the best while preparing for the worst, they manage to rescue Essie and make a new life for themselves in America.

Still studying Torah and Talmud, and always together.

Personally, I found this book to be utterly enchanting. An enchantment that was multiplied by listening to the audiobook as narrated by Donald Corren. My grandparents were part of the same immigrant generation as the characters in When the Angels Left the Old Country. My mom’s parents came from the Pale of Settlement just as everyone in this story did. (My dad’s parents came from a bit further south and west.) Everyone in my grandparents’ generation spoke Yiddish as well as English – and generally used Yiddish as a way of hiding what they were talking about from child-me. The rhythms of their speech, whether in Yiddish or in English, sounded just the way that the narrator reads this book. It was a bit like sitting in the room when they spoke with my great-aunts and uncles, hearing the sounds of all their voices and the way that the ‘mother tongue’ of Yiddish influenced not just their accents but the way they phrased things, even in English.

In other words, I loved this book for the story it told, and I loved the narration for the nostalgia it invoked. For this listener, the entire experience was made of win. I hope you’ll feel the same.

Gayer than Good Omens. More religious than Good Omens. Reaching the humor of Good Omens quite often, but with a more contemplative, argumentative general tone, befitting of a book about Judaism. And, here's the BIG thing: it actually has romantic resolution!

Sacha Lamb definitely did their research on the Eastern European Jewish immigration experience. There's always this description of how things are meant to go, and then how things ACTUALLY go. Immigrants being extorted, delayed, lied to, facing virulent racism, and even being outright killed. And in the face of this, we have this angel and this actually rather well-meaning demon. (A well-meaning demon? Well, when a demon can only eat the souls of the wicked, then having a well-fed demon around can certainly help keep things quiet.) Even arrival to America isn't the end of trials, as the cast goes from fighting immigration officials to fighting sweatshop owners.

The issues of anti-Semitism and labor exploitation, sadly, resonate to today. So when good (and a tiny evil) prevail, it's very cathartic. Meanwhile, sexuality and gender discrimination isn't addressed much by antagonists (though I'd imagine the villains would happily use that as a tool, if they knew it was a potential weak spot), it's contemplated by angel and demon a LOT. Mostly about gender, and how they are not strictly men, despite their appearances. But also how they aren't men is very distinct ways.

It's a fascinating book. Judaism is a religion which encourages thought and debate, and that carries through in the text. Perfection!

A beautiful story about Jewish mythology and immigration to the United States.

I think those who enjoyed Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman will devour this book. A disabled demon and a non-binary angel sold me on this book, but also having it be so unabashedly Jewish and queer was just so fantastic. It was such a good story about Jewish history and family that I would recommend this to any and all.

Cw
Gore
Gun Violence
Antisemitism
Blood
Death
Grief

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:
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"’, but I admit I haven’t read the Neil Gaiman book yet, so I can’t compare the two.

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 felt 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.

A Jewish story not about the Holocaust. A demon and angel team up to help Jewish immigrants. Story adresses corruption and patriarchy of Ellis Island.

When The Angels Left The Old Country was a bit of a mixed bag for me.
It took me a while to get into it, the writink style needs some getting used to. But after about 20% I was fully emersed and I ended up liking tre writing a lot.
I think the Good Omens comparison is quite accurate since the writing is a little simmilar as is the humor and of course there's our two angels.
What I will say is that it was a very interesting account of the fate of jewish immigrants into pre WWI america. A perspective I've not read much about yet.
And when something is happening the story is pretty entertaining. The action scenes are well written, it is witty, delightfully queer and sometimes outright funny. Rose was definetely my favourite character.
Unfortunately I felt there were a lot of stretches were nothing was happening and I was quite bored.
So in total I give this book 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 for goodreads.

I loved this book! The plot was intriguing, the pacing was perfect, the characters were fantastic - overall, an incredible book. If you loved Good Omens, you should absolutely give When the Angels Lefts the Old Country a read.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sending me an ARC of the audiobook for review.

This is such a charming book about identity, culture, and the friendship between an angel and a demon. Uriel is a genderless angel that more or less confirms their identity to whatever emotion they are feeling or task they need to complete at the given moment, but finds comfort when given a name to disguise themself for the voyage to America. Little Ash is a demon who, when not antagonizing Uriel, cares deeply about his friend and study partner. These two team up to sail to America to find Essie, a girl from their shtetl who hasn't been heard from in some time after her own voyage.

The writing style provides such a simplicity to this mostly charming, but at the same time very complex and devastating story. (Here is where I'll add in a CW for antisemitism as well as themes of death and grief.)

Took me a while to adjust to the writing style, but overall I really enjoyed this beautiful story.

My thanks to @Netgalley , the publishers, and the author @kuzujuk for providing an ARC audiobook copy of this book inexchange for an hoenst review!

"An angel and a demon were not supposed to be the sort of partners that worked together."

What an astonishing story! Written in the most beautiful way, with the most unique characters! I'm in LOVE! In short, the storyline was very captivating, the characters addictive, and the plot very interesting and everything extremely well written!

The representations in this book are quite amazing as well! The angel was genderless, the characters were queer, and there was Jewish representation as well!

I won't go into too much detail because honestly the best thing that happened to me was go into this book blind! But i will say my favorite dynamic was between Little Ash and Rose, my favorite part about this book was whenever i thought their troubles were over and now we're getting the closure/ finale/ or cliffhanger, we get thrown into another mess, lmao 🤣

This was one of the most intriguing books I've picked up this year!

The premise of the novel is unlike anything I’ve ever read: two friends, an angel and a demon, travel to America to save a girl from their Shtetl.

Plot:
The pacing of the plot was perfect. It stayed consistent throughout the novel, never going too slow or speeding through sections. While the plot was relatively simple, the proper amount of foreshadowing was placed in each twist. It was possible to see them coming if you paid attention, but a few little twists did get me. The simplicity of the plot is great for younger and older YA readers though it was a tad simplistic for my taste.

The Angel and the Demon:
The way in which the Angel and Ash, the Demon, we’re described is unique to any other work of fiction I’ve read. Their physical descriptions were interesting, but what really caught my attention were the ways in which they weren’t human. The Angel is genderless, often being referred to as it by Ash, and, at the beginning of the book, doesn’t even have a name. While it gains a name during the events of the book, it is still genderless. I have never read or seen another piece of media where a characters gender is discussed in such a way, but I loved it! Angels aren’t human. It makes perfect sense that they would not think about gender in the same way as human. It was also fun to learn how the Angel’s mind worked. The book mentioned that the Angel could not defy tasks set before it and could only hold a few thoughts in its mind at a time. It also could not learn to speak any languages besides Hebrew and Aramaic. Ash, the Demon, was also interesting. In the book, not all demons have the same abilities or strength of power. It also seems that many of the powers demons hold are not innate but are learned. Ash is not capable of many powers his brothers are capable of and is even less powerful than the Christian demons he encounters. The world building introduced through the two characters was amazing. I wish hope the author writes more books set in the same world and expands on what has already been built up.

Overall, I greatly enjoyed my experience with When the Angels Left the Old Country. As a reader with an odd fascination of stories involving angels and demons I knew I was going to enjoy the story, but I was blown away by how unique it was. Definitely worth a read!

Rep: Gay disabled mc, genderless mc, lesbian mc, Jewish cast

This book is perfect for Good Omens fans. It’s basically the queer Jewish equivalent. Minus the antichrist and armageddon lol Both have an angel and a devil main characters with a witty, fun friendship. It’s great, because normally, you wouldn’t expect and angel and a devil to be friends.

The main characters make this a cozy fun read with their witty friendship, but it also deals with heavier topics such as immigration, classism and antisemitism. Some of the characters also go through gender and sexuality journeys.

I loved seeing Little Ash and Uriel’s banter. They’re so witty and whimsical. They had such a fun loving friendship. It could probably almost be considered a QPR. They call each other “the friend of my soul”, that’s just so sweet and wholesome. They’re so supportive and really cared about one another and would do anything for the other.

This is the first book I’ve read that uses it/it’s pronouns for a character. I love reading about non binary characters and even more so when they have neo pronouns, or any other than he/she/they. It helps to normalize it and helps me practice using them, since they aren’t very common. It also made sense for the character since it’s an angel, and is above gender.

It probably helps to understand a bit if you’re Jewish. I’m not, and my knowledge on Judaism is very limited, and I didn’t have a hard time understanding. I just Googled a few words. It’s easy enough to figure things out with context. I saw other reviews saying the physical copy has a glossary, which sounds great. I normally reference them a lot while reading books that have them lol I think this is just the 2nd time reading a book that focuses so heavily on Judaism, and it was nice learning more about it.

The narrator did a great job.

Overall, I enjoyed this a lot. I loved all the queer rep and learning more about Judaism.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an audio ARC of this book

Thank you to the publishers, author and NetGalley for the free copy of this audio book.

This was a fun read! Loved the characters, the historical aspect, every was well written. The narrator was great as well.

A historical queer fantasy featuring an Jewish angel and demon? I couldn't get my hands on this ANY FASTER! I was able to listen to this book on audio and I really liked the narrator's voice it just did so well with the whimsical and cozy feeling of the story.

The book follows a genderless angel and a disabled demon who have been studying Torah together in tiny Shtetl for centuries. They hear of a local girl named Essie's disappearance since her arrival in America and they set off to go and find her. Along the way they meet Rose who is travelling to America to make it own her own after her best friend abandoned her to marry a man.

I also really enjoyed all the characters especially their banter with one another. I really wish we explored more of the characters! The middle of the book was lagging for me. It had to many side adventures I didn't really care about and I felt like that time could have been to explore the characters more. I wish I knew more about Essie!

I really enjoyed the premise of the book and all the important topics it touched on. The way the story spoke about immigration, gender identity, sexuality and classism were done great. Being Jewish did make this book easier to read I heard that the physical copy has a glossary which is great and I think would be very helpful for people who aren't familiar with some of the speech or practices.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and I will definitely be recommending it to my friends and family.

CONTENT WARNING: antisemitism, murder, violence, blood

It’s time for another confession. I’ve never read or watched Good Omens. I have the book on my shelf, but I’m sure you know that collecting books and actually reading them are two completely different hobbies. So I didn’t really know what I was in for, other than what the summary said. As it turns out, this was chock full of Jewishness, and I absolutely fell in love with this story.

Donald Corren was the narrator for the audiobook, and he did a fabulous job with this story. He brought these characters to life and kept me listening and hooked from start to finish.

Right from the start, I couldn’t help but fall in love with the angel and Little Ash. They have a unique kind of relationship that changes throughout the story, and we really get to know these two characters—their strengths and weaknesses, and the role that they play in each other’s lives. It was especially intriguing to see the way gender roles were approached for these two: the angel was a nonbinary character and preferred the pronoun “it,” and Little Ash was more of a gender fluid character, who often presented as male but easily presented as female as well. Although their relationship appeared platonic, they were very closely bonded and often referred to each other as “the friend of my soul,” and I thought that was the sweetest thing ever.

It was also intriguing to consider that Little Ash might be viewed as a disabled character in some respects. When viewed as a human, he often struggled with his feet and wearing shoes, but as a demon, he was significantly smaller and magically weaker than his peers. This came with a stigma for him, and he struggled with this at various points in the story. While he isn’t explicitly referred to as disabled, it was an interesting thought that occurred to me, as a disabled person myself viewing him through my own lens of experience, that having lower amounts of magic might have qualified him as disabled.

Rose presented as queer early on, and it was painfully obvious to me, although it clearly wasn’t to her. It’s understandable, as that wasn’t a thing that was openly expressed in those times, especially in a very small town that was focused on getting married and having children. I really enjoyed Rose’s character, as a smart, focused, stubborn, and loyal woman, who stuck with the people that she cared about and never backed down from a challenge. She was a character that I easily identified with, and the fact that she struggled with wanting a bigger life than what was available to her in Shtetl made sense to me.

Reading a story about the immigrant experience as they came to America, went through a long and difficult journey by boat, faced prejudice and obstacles at Ellis Island, and then were thrown right into housing and forced into jobs working for predatory bosses was eye-opening. They faced a different type of prejudice than they knew in the Old Country, and didn’t exactly walk into the Goldene Medina (Golden Land) that they were expecting, but they also weren’t willing to take this kind of treatment lying down—they organized a strike.

Overall, this was an incredible story. Lamb takes us through a historical fantasy world where supernatural creatures like angels, demons, and dybbuks walk alongside humans, and creates a memorable cast of characters that will stick with me long after reading this book. The overwhelming Jewishness of this book resonated deeply with me, although readers don’t have to be Jewish to enjoy this, and the humor and action kept me glued to the story. I’ll definitely be recommending this to everyone I know.