sashahc's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I love that the current renaissance of queer Jewish fantasy is delving into the rich history of Yiddish folklore. It's full of supernatural beings who are themselves Jewish and who have their own hierarchies and quirks.
“When the Angels Left the Old Country” by Sacha Mankins (writing as Sacha Lamb) is about Uriel and Little Ash, an angel and a demon, who are Torah study partners, bickering cheerfully in the corner of the shul of their tiny shtetl in the Pale of Settlement for hundreds of years. Unfortunately, the shtetl is collapsing in the wake of pogroms and mass migration to the New World. When one of their young emigrants goes missing, they decide to travel to New York, specifically the Lower East Side, where they get caught up with human traffickers, striking garment workers, and vengeful dybbuks. There are rebbes and bubbes and plucky gay girls making their own way. It’s funny and sweet and very queer and very very Jewish. I also love how there is other rep shown in ways that deepen the story. Little Ash has chronic pain from his rooster feet. Uriel's pronoun is "it." And the romance between them is deep and also ace.
“When the Angels Left the Old Country” by Sacha Mankins (writing as Sacha Lamb) is about Uriel and Little Ash, an angel and a demon, who are Torah study partners, bickering cheerfully in the corner of the shul of their tiny shtetl in the Pale of Settlement for hundreds of years. Unfortunately, the shtetl is collapsing in the wake of pogroms and mass migration to the New World. When one of their young emigrants goes missing, they decide to travel to New York, specifically the Lower East Side, where they get caught up with human traffickers, striking garment workers, and vengeful dybbuks. There are rebbes and bubbes and plucky gay girls making their own way. It’s funny and sweet and very queer and very very Jewish. I also love how there is other rep shown in ways that deepen the story. Little Ash has chronic pain from his rooster feet. Uriel's pronoun is "it." And the romance between them is deep and also ace.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Antisemitism
Moderate: Classism
shoohoob's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book is so wordy and introspective…. very Jewish if you ask me
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Death, Death of parent, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, Child abuse, and Cursing
meganpbell's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Fans of Good Omens’ Aziraphale and Crowley will find so much to love about another angel-demon odd couple, Uriel and Little Ash! Warm-hearted, whimsical, and wise, this queer, Jewish historical fantasy follows these two unlikely partners in pursuit of performing a mitzvah for a lost girl from their tiny shtetl in the Old Country all the way to Ellis Island and a Lower East Side full of immigrants, strikers, radicals, and many newfound friends!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Antisemitism
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Ableism, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Grief, Sexism, Violence, Xenophobia, Medical content, and Murder
Minor: Homophobia, Pregnancy, Confinement, and Deportation
tangleroot_eli's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
One of the rare books that made me wish I got along better with audiobooks. It has the cadence and flow of a folk tale or fable and would probably be lovely to hear. That's not to say that reading the printed book wasn't a delight, because it was. I just would've loved to have it in my ears as well as my eyes. It's a love letter to the Jewish immigrants to the US in the late 1800s and early 1900s and the fierce, devoted, rabble-rousing spirt they brought with them. I can never get enough of those - especially the ones written with as much warmth, heart, and spirit as this one is.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Body horror, Misogyny, Blood, Antisemitism, Xenophobia, Death of parent, and Sexism
Moderate: Kidnapping, Violence, Gun violence, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Confinement, Medical trauma, and Medical content
Minor: Ableism and Pregnancy
antimony's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
some books start out with every piece of the plot flung very far away but it all comes together and ties up nicely and some books start of very small and the plot just spirals outwards until it encompasses so much more than what it began with and the second one is what this book felt like to me. sometimes I felt like ohh my god there is so much going on. but otherwise it was really good!! i loved the characters a lot (especially rose and uriel....and speaking of uriel....ive never seen a book where a character uses it/its & that was quite nice). some parts were a bit slow but overall this was really really good!!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia, Antisemitism, and Death
bi_n_large's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Antisemitism
Moderate: Misogyny, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, and Injury/Injury detail
puttingwingsonwords's review
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I love this book so much I can’t talk about it because my thoughts inevitably devolve into unintelligible noise. From the first page (figuratively, because I read the audiobook) it was like the story vibrated at the same frequency as my brain.
It’s a fundamentally queer, neurodivergent and Jewish story with love, kindness and humour at its core. I want to read it a thousand more times!
It’s a fundamentally queer, neurodivergent and Jewish story with love, kindness and humour at its core. I want to read it a thousand more times!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Antisemitism and Classism
Moderate: Ableism, Sexism, Death, and Violence
Minor: Transphobia, Deportation, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Homophobia, and Murder
shereadytoread's review against another edition
4.0
This is a book that you can definitely learn a little about a lot of topics of Judaism and folklore. I found the characters intriguing but I felt like the plot bloated a bit in the middle and had filler that wasn't really useful to the story. Overall I enjoyed it.
TWs: Antisemitism
TWs: Antisemitism
Content Warnings
Graphic: Antisemitism
flyingryndeer's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Antisemitism
Minor: Homophobia
displacedcactus's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
What an absolutely delightful read! This book is very Jewish and sweetly queer. While pogroms are mentioned and there are instances of antisemitism, it is overall a very hopeful and even joyful read, I think, with characters trying to do good (with maybe a little wickedness on the side if they're a demon). It definitely has similar vibes to Good Omens, but on a smaller scale and of course as I said, very Jewish as opposed to Christian. Note: There is a glossary of Hebrew and Yiddish terminology in the back. I was able to figure out most of the ones I didn't know by context, but this could be very helpful if you're not really familiar with Jewish culture.
I read this on a trip and I have to say it's just really fun to read a book where characters are traveling while I'm traveling -- especially when we were both going to NY. But I'm glad I took a plane instead of riding steerage in a boat.
I read this on a trip and I have to say it's just really fun to read a book where characters are traveling while I'm traveling -- especially when we were both going to NY. But I'm glad I took a plane instead of riding steerage in a boat.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Antisemitism, and Ableism
Minor: Fire/Fire injury and Gun violence