Guide to Jewish Literature - May/June 2025

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

Sixteen-year-old Lazar Hermanski and fourteen-year-old Daria Solov survive the 1881 Warsaw pogrom, endure a perilous journey in steerage, and arrive in New York. They marry, have a family, and navigate the conflict of adjusting to their new country and culture while attempting to follow their Jewish traditions. Throughout the story, family members participate in historical events, such as the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire, the sinking of the Lusitania, and the women’s suffrage movement, and interact with historical figures such as Lillian Wald, Fanny Brice, and Fiorello LaGuardia.

Based on a true story … come along on my journey in my Chevy Blazer (dubbed the “Torah Blazer”) of transporting a Torah that my father Abraham had donated to our former temple in Connecticut back in the 1960’s, to my current temple outside of Chicago. My reflections of my dad’s life and our relationship, accompanied by some of the principles in the Torah, make for quite a ride and an inspiring story. It’s a heartfelt memoir that blends the beauty of the Torah, the Jewish faith, and father and son relationships. Fun idea for a Father’s Day gift.

An illuminating look at Jewish immigrant life in early-1900s America, Gitel’s Freedom is a compelling tale of women’s resilience. Gitel and her husband Shmuel start life in Chicago, but when the Great Depression hits, and again when Shmuel’s health repeatedly fails, they must adapt to more challenging circumstances than expected. How will Gitel persevere and find freedom?

Ever wonder about the mixed multitude who fled Egypt with the Israelites? Who were they? What was it like for them both to receive the Ten Commandments at Sinai? Where did they go and what did they do during the “missing” 35 years in the wilderness? From Maggie Anton, award-winning author of Rashi’s Daughters, comes historical novel The Midwives’ Escape: From Egypt to Jericho to answer these and many other questions about the Exodus. “It takes creativity, … and skill to fashion a story set between lines of Biblical text.” — Richard Elliott Friedman.

This lyrical essay collection shares vivid visits to far-flung locations and insights on nature, relationships and the journey to the self. Detailing her ten-year foray into Orthodox Judaism, Golodner writes about marriage and motherhood, divorce and single parenthood, and finding love again at midlife. Forest Walk on a Friday offers heart-and-soul stories on the many possibilities for happiness, home and wisdom available to us all.

Likened to Where the Crawdads Sing, this suspenseful, steamy novel features a woman starting over after 20 years in a Cape Breton cult. But the past won’t leave her alone, even in small-town Vermont, where she reconnects with family and falls in love with a hot rabbi. I Love You, Charlie Tanner evokes the unlikely romance of Netflix’s Nobody Wants This and the passionate intrigue of Lucy Score’s Forever Never.

Shimon Lincoln and Dafna Lachler, the FRUM sleuthing duo, are back as they uncover a murder in the Holy Land and their honeymoon/vacation is disrupted.  The Israeli government seems to be in cahoots with the murderer and someone is trying to kill them. Rabbi Kalmonowitz is back giving insights into Judaism and his ‘hints from the heavens.’ #3 in the Lincoln/Lachler Mystery series (following Murder in the Kollel and The Kosher Butcher). 

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

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

Fiddler on the Roof meets Little Town on the Prairie when 13-year-old Gittel Borenstein and her family, survivors of the deadly Kishinev pogrom, start over as farmers in 1911 Central Wisconsin. “Gittel comes of age…in this evocative novel saturated in Jewish heritage, the importance of family, and the power of hope.” Booklist. “Gittel and her family…will be remembered long after one finishes reading.” Jewish Book Council.

Rabbi Lance J. Sussman  announces the launch of his latest book, Portrait of a Rabbi-Historian: How Did We Get Here? With a foreword by Jonathan D. Sarna, his newest anthology explores the history and thought of American Reform Judaism in a collection of articles he wrote while pursuing a dual career as a rabbi and a scholar over the last forty years. This book joins Portrait of an American Rabbi: In His Own Words (2023) and Portrait of a Reform Rabbi: Continuity and Change (2024) to form a trilogy by this prolific writer and historian of the American Jewish experience.

Recently retired Chicago detective Ben Gold seeks a fresh start in sunny Delray Beach. But before he has a chance to learn the nuances of pickleball and enjoy the culinary delights of early bird dinner specials, he is asked to prove the innocence of a young man suspected of murder. Join Ben as he tries to navigate in his new environment, surrounded by new friends and a legion of crazy locals. With Florida Gold, first-time author David Rosen perfectly captures the glitter and the weird of Southeast Florida.