The Angel of Losses
A Novel
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4.2 • 14 Ratings
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- $6.99
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- $6.99
Publisher Description
The Tiger’s Wife meets A History of Love in this inventive, lushly imagined debut novel that explores the intersections of family secrets, Jewish myths, the legacy of war and history, and the bonds between sisters.
When Eli Burke dies, he leaves behind a mysterious notebook full of stories about a magical figure named The White Rebbe, a miracle worker in league with the enigmatic Angel of Losses, protector of things gone astray, and guardian of the lost letter of the alphabet, which completes the secret name of God.
When his granddaughter, Marjorie, discovers Eli’s notebook, everything she thought she knew about her grandfather—and her family—comes undone. To find the truth about Eli’s origins and unlock the secrets he kept, she embarks on an odyssey that takes her deep into the past, from 18th century Europe to Nazi-occupied Lithuania, and back to the present, to New York City and her estranged sister Holly, whom she must save from the consequences of Eli’s past.
Interweaving history, theology, and both real and imagined Jewish folktales, The Angel of Losses is a family story of what lasts, and of what we can—and cannot—escape.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Sisters Marjorie and Holly Burke used to be best friends, before Marjorie got wrapped up in her dissertation and Holly converted to Orthodox Judaism specifically, the orthodoxy practiced by a little-known sect called the Berukhim Penitents to marry Nathan, with whom Marjorie immediately clashed. Growing up in suburban New Jersey, the sisters would listen to their grandfather Eli's bedtime stories of the White Magician, a bearded wizard with piercing blue eyes. Years later, in the days following Eli's funeral, Marjorie finds a marbled notebook filled with hastily scrawled writing in his hand. Its contents part folktale, part biography launch her on a full-tilt investigation of the notebook's main character, the White Rebbe. In the process, Marjorie also learns about the Angel of Losses, whom the Rebbe is doomed to repay, and her grandfather's secret past. Gradually, external forces humble Holly and Marjorie, paving the way for their reconciliation. This impressive debut from Feldman is a page-turner that celebrates sisterly love.
