A fantastic literary debut that seemlessly blends a contemporary queer coming of age story with Jewish mythology/mysticism and history. I really enjoyed both timelines in this book, the emphasis on Jewish families, the tenacity of a people to survive during hardships and a celebration of their spirit. Great on audio too narrated by Mara Wilson. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

4 stars

This is such a unique novel, and I'm leaving it not only with an appreciation for this work but even more so with enthusiasm for what this author might produce next.

I came to this read because I cannot resist this narrator. Fortunately, there was a lot more substance to support my general fangirling!

Shiva, who has a name that carries an unusual meaning (and to some degree burden), leads readers through a lengthy journey into her familial and cultural past. At times, she has incredible faith in herself and/or at the very least is willing to take some noteworthy risks, as anyone who has been in grad school for five minutes will notice. This belief in her skills and her general state of personal discovery is vital when it comes to readers buying into her quest. Investment is required from everyone, characters and readers alike.

At times, the pacing slowed a bit for me, but overall, I enjoyed the scope and especially the storytelling and cultural elements. I plan to recommend this one to my mythology students in just a few weeks.

As noted, I am eagerly anticipating more from this writer.

This gorgeous debut is a multi generational exploration of family, religion, sexuality and how all of those form a person and their life. this story will stick with me and taught me a lot about jewish culture and folklore. the characters in this story and especially their relationships to one another are so deeply explored and feel real in a way that few authors are able to convey.

this story centers around shiva, who after her father died is trying to figure out her new relationship with her mom and the generations that came before her and goes to poland to find meaning in her history. as the book progresses we also get insights into the lives of the earlier generations, and the story become intertwined.

thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the arc.

"City of Laughter" is a book that will stay with me for a long time. I feel changed in a good way by reading this book, somewhat undone and charmingly haunted by some of the characters. Temim Fruchter's debut novel makes me want to learn more about Jewish mythology, long to visit Poland and to see time and links between generations of families in a new way. Fruchter's language is poetic and engaging. Great narration by Mara Wilson. Highly recommended. Thanks to Netgalley and Grove Atlantic for the eARC.

In this mesmerizing debut, the narrative unfolds across four generations of Eastern European Jewish women, bound by family ties, hidden secrets, and the mystical presence of a shapeshifting stranger spanning a century.

Against the backdrop of Brooklyn's vibrant diaspora, "City of Laughter" chronicles Shiva's journey as a newly out Modern Orthodox Jew coping with loss and heartbreak. Trapped in mundane nonprofit jobs, she longs to unravel her family's mysterious past, seeking self-understanding. Yet, her family, steeped in generations of secrecy, regards individuality with superstition and fear.

The audiobook artfully intertwines folklore with an intergenerational exploration of Polish and Jewish culture, gender, and sexuality. It captures the emotional core across generations, depicting the struggle of hiding facets of oneself to shield others from the burdens of the past.

Acknowledging gratitude to NetGalley, Grove Press, author Temim Fruchter, and the audiobook narrator Mara Wilson.

This was a rough one for me to rate, because it was difficult for me to engage with the narrative consistently throughout the story. If I wasn't reading this as an ARC, I would have DNF'd it because it took me so long to connect with any of the characters. And this is due to a number of factors, I think.

First, this story was written in a nonlinear fashion, which is something I don't always do well with. It made it difficult to really see where the story was going, and instead just kind of aimlessly followed the characters around. For example, Shiva decides very early on to go to Poland, but the actual trip doesn't occur until close to 75% into the story, and I had a hard time connecting with her character until she actually went there.

There's some kind of mystical being or ghost or something that keep reappearing throughout all the storylines, and I think that was the least interesting aspect of the book to me. This whole book was a pretty ambitious undertaking, and for the most part, I think Fruchter achieves a lot of her goals. Maybe I would have connected more if I read this in a different format instead of as an audiobook, but I did enjoy the narrator and thought that the audiobook was done well.

I found the characters from earlier in time to be really interesting, Mira maybe most of all. But I think maybe my favorite part of this book was the way that for each of the characters, no matter what period of time or where they grew up, they all found a path to salvation for themselves in queerness. Ultimately, the last 25% of the book is what brought the rating up, and I found myself wishing the whole book could have been as good for me as the last bit.

I don't think this is something I would have normally picked up without a recommendation from someone else, because the cover, while interesting, doesn't look anything like the covers of the books I usually read. And I also think it'd probably have taken me like a month to get through this book reading it versus doing audio. But I was really interested in this story because it's queer, and because it partially takes place in Poland (I've never read a book set in Poland), and is about Jewish folklore (not something I'm super familiar with), so I wanted to give it a try.

First off, the audio is really well done and the narrator's voice is very soothing and adds a lovely ambiance to the book. I think if you're a fan of Nghi Vo's Singing Hills Cycle series, you'd probably enjoy this too, because it has similar elements in being about folklore and generational stories.

The first 25%-ish of the book pretty linearly follows the story of Shiva, who, while morning the death of her father decides she'd going to go back to school and get a master's degree. After that point, however, the story becomes achronological and switches between Shiva, her mother (both her past and present), her grandmother (in the past), and her great-grandmother (told only through letters and not through third-person POV), as well as letters from other people. There's also a narrator who is telling the story that will refer to themselves in first-person, though they only tell you who this narrator is in the epilogue.

This point in the story did become a bit confusing, and at times I had wished the story had just stuck with the straight-forward way it had been telling Shiva's story for the first quarter of the book, but after a while I started figuring out where each story was going and getting more invested in each of them, too. So, spoiler, but the book is about 4 generations of women who were all attracted to women, but the first 3 generations all married men because that was what was expected from them, and the last generation (Shiva) was the first in the line that was able to say "hey, parents, I'm a lesbian!". I think it was a really interesting story about generational relationships and trauma, with some whimsy thrown in with the folklore aspect.

It's a very interesting book overall and I'm glad I had the opportunity to listen to it.

A phenomenal book that will remain rooted in my heart for years to come. Mara Wilson's audiobook performance is equally phenomenal. I particularly recommend for fellow queer Ashkenazi Jews.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the audiobook ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book was well narrated and easy to listen to but a bit hard to follow at times, at no fault of the narrator.
Shiva is aptly named based on the circumstances of her birth and family history. She decides to go to graduate school for Jewish Folklore to learn more about her family because there’s lots of mystery surrounding her mom and grandma.
The mythical bits lost me, but I enjoyed learning about the family through different POVs and across different time periods.
I finished the book but it was a struggle, I wasn’t that invested in the story nor cared what happened to any of the characters.

City of Laughter, by Temim Fruchter is a panoramic story. Beautifully written, a tapestry of magical realism.

3.5 stars. Thank you Grove Press, Dreamscape Media, and NetGalley for my free ARC of City of Laughter by Temim Fruchter — available Jan 16!

Read this if you:
🌳 are into multi-generational tales
✡️ want to learn more about Polish and/or Jewish traditions and folklore
👩‍👩‍👦‍👦 love stories that focus almost entirely on women

Shiva is struggling after the death of her beloved father and the loss of her first love, so she boldly enrolls in graduate school to study Jewish folklore, hoping this will bring her closer to her family history. Jumping at the opportunity to visit Poland, Shiva seeks answers about her great-grandmother from the locals, and what she'll find is more than she's bargained for.

The writing in this book is absolutely gorgeous. I didn't really *like* any of the characters overly much, but wow were their stories beautiful and impactful! There is a magical realism component as well, based around a mythical messenger, that I think was a nice twist to the tale. It's difficult to keep the perspectives of four separate women straight at first, but they meld together beautifully by the middle of the book, and overall I found this a lovely story about identity, history, and connection.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Well written and an interesting interpretation of Jewish folklore, if somewhat difficult to engage with in a meaningful way.

The concept behind this was an ambitious undertaking, and for the most part I think Fruchter succeeded in doing what she set out to do with it. It’s an unusual yet apropos way of reinterpreting some pieces of Jewish folklore, and those elements were probably my favorite parts of the book, even though I’m generally not crazy about Magical Realism because it causes so many problems in world building.

Shiva was interesting and her story felt compelling. Hannah’s was a lot harder to engage with or care much for. I’m not sure I think the multiple POVs helped the story flow as it should have. It leaves the narrative a bit uneven in terms of how much engagement the reader gets out of it, and I found myself waiting impatiently for the story to get back to Shiva while the story focused on Hannah or Mira.

Fruchter writes beautifully, and her style of prose does work well for a slower moving book like this. I would have preferred the multigenerational narrative be presented exclusively through Shiva’s research or her direct interactions rather than via multiple POV, but I enjoyed some parts of this story.

An intricate weaving of folklore with intergenerational exploration of Polish and Jewish culture, gender, and sexuality. This audiobook captured so much of the emotion and personality across generations, while portraying the pain and struggle of hiding bits of oneself to “save” others from the previous generation’s personal experience. The layers of hidden, unexplored, and repressed queerness thoroughly resonated across the interwoven story.

This book completely swept me away. I’m such a sucker for stories about generations of women in a family, secrets, queer identity, and the connections that exist even when people don’t nurture them. Temim Fruchter’s writing was gorgeous and mysterious at times, it created such a compelling atmosphere for the story. The plot of a queer woman studying Jewish folklore to try and learn more about her own family’s history had me invested the entire time. The fantastical bits of the story added even more intrigue to the overall narrative. I definitely recommend checking this one out!