Reviews with content warning for Blood - When the Angels Left the Old Country

If I could rate this 7/5 or even higher, I would.

An absolute masterpiece. Easy to slip into (accessible writing style), caught my attention and kept it, covered so much ground (literally and figuratively)…satisfying story and characters (oh my gosh, Little Ash!). Has a little bit of everything - identity, adventure, mystery, the supernatural, the bonds between us, and a bit of historical fiction. Also, a new kind of story in a way - there are queer and ace Jewish characters and the story is fully from a Jewish perspective.

You will have an easier time with the story if you are familiar with the Talmud and also Jewish fairy tales/supernatural beings, as well as the history behind Jewish immigration out of the Pale of Settlement, but there is also a glossary in the back of the book to help. (Love a glossary!)

First book I’ve read in a couple months that had me hooked and left me satisfied. Love it!

Content Warnings

tangleroot_eli's review against another edition

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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.

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bandysbooks's review against another edition

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adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious reflective sad tense 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? No

5.0

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.

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marywahlmeierbracciano's review

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adventurous challenging medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

When the Angels Left the Old Country draws from traditional Judaism juxtaposed with beautiful, sacred, inevitable queerness. In the era of Ellis Island, Uriel and Little Ash—an angel and a demon—sail to America to solve a mystery, joining forces with a plucky girl named Rose along the way. There’s much good-natured bickering, soul-searching, and heart-pounding action, and did I mention it’s gay? Donald Corren’s narration is nothing short of perfect.

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amandaplease50's review against another edition

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adventurous funny hopeful inspiring 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

5.0

The one “issue” I had was that I’m not Jewish and in the beginning there I was a lot of words I found myself googling to better understand (or just getting through context clues) but I kept thinking I wish there was a glossary. But about 3/4ths through the book I realized there is one at the back! So don’t be me use that thing!

But even if there was not I’d still give this book 5 stars. Just such an amazing book and discusses things like gender dysphoria and what I took to be impostor syndrome and used great I guess metaphors (I’m I STEM person forgive me if that’s not the right term) to help explain someone who doesn’t experience those things.
And the characters loved everyone of them 😊. There are so many things I wish I could explain in this review but I’m terrible at words and reviews. But gives this book a try it won’t disappoint!

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shadowspinner's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful reflective 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

5.0

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tigger89's review against another edition

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adventurous reflective 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? No

5.0

This book was delightfully queer, from start to finish. Rose is depicted as sapphic, with a love story of her own unfolding by the final pages. While the relationship between Ash and Uriel isn't explicitly defined, it's never in doubt that they share an intimate love for one another. Uriel also uses "it" pronouns throughout, rejecting the very concept of gender. Despite the historic setting, there's no homophobia included just for the sake of realism.

As you might be able to guess from the sprinkling of vocabulary above, this book is also very Jewish. That was one of the reasons I picked it up, as I have some ancestry from Eastern Europe who immigrated through Ellis Island. With the aid of the extensive glossary in the back of the book, I had no problem following all of the terms and references sprinkled throughout the text. However, be warned: unlike homophobia, this story doesn't shy away from depicting period-appropriate antisemitism.

This book's greatest strength was absolutely the character interactions between Ash and Uriel. Not only do they grow individually — in Ash's case, coming into power despite his lack of magical ability, and in Uriel's case, determining what its newfound identity means to it — but the relationship between them is also developed. The frequently-cited comparison to Good Omens is apt, here. While this story lacks the apocalypse humor and madcap antics of Gaiman's and Pratchett's work, what they share is a focus on a pair of unlikely allies who mean the world to each other. Yes, even when they occasionally make each other very upset.

What I didn't like was that Rose felt more like a sidekick character, even though she got her own viewpoint chapters and everything. Until the very end, she was kind of just along for the ride, occasionally providing an insight or assist but leaving all the heavy lifting to Ash and Uriel. While I was ultimately happy with how her story turned out, I feel like she spent most of the book just waiting to be amazing. She could have done more.

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moonytoast's review against another edition

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adventurous slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

Thank you to Netgalley and Levine Querido for providing me with a digital ARC of this book!

When the Angels Left the Old Country is even more proof that historical fantasies written by marginalized authors who center the lived historical experiences of people with the same marginalizations are just objectively better!

Jewish Good Omens is an apt comparison for this story about an angel and a demon working together to traverse the Atlantic Ocean in search for a young girl that had left their little shtetl for the New World. I think fans of Neil Gaiman's other works, particularly Neverwhere and Stardust, will enjoy the writing style and tone of this book. It's got a whimsical vibe at many points, but knows precisely when to dial up the tension and intrigue. I think this is clear in Little Ash's confrontation with the gentile demon on Ellis Island and the last ten or so chapters of the book as everything comes to a crescendo.

This may not be for readers who enjoy more fast-paced fantasy stories, but hot take: I think sometimes a slow build is essential for a good story, because you need the chance to grow attached to the characters and see their change before you can genuinely care about whether they achieve their goals by the end of the book. I think this book is a perfect example of that. Seeing Uriel and Little Ash's relationship dynamic shift as they embark on their journey to find Essie is such an integral and standout aspect of When the Angels Left the Old Country, the entire narrative would not be remotely as engaging without it.

He loved his chevrusa with all of his heart: he'd known it by a hundred names, and he'd loved it always. He could not ask it to give up a name it liked having, not even to keep it safe. "All right," he said. He laced their fingers together and lifted its hand to his lips. kissing its bruised knuckles. "All right. You can be Uriel forever, and save a hundred rebbes. Be an angel or a demon or anything you like. Just don't leave me."

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