When the Angels Left the Old Country

by Sacha Lamb Narrated by Donald Corren

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

Historical fiction and fantasy collide in When the Angels Left the Old Country, a queer Jewish adventure as unique as it is captivating. Readers of all ages will root for Ash, Uriel, and Rose on their tumultuous journey of friendship and self-discovery at the turn of the century.

Uriel the angel and Little Ash (short for Ashmedai) are the only two supernatural creatures in their shtetl (which is so tiny, it doesn't have a name other than Shtetl). The angel and the demon have been studying together for centuries, but
pogroms and the search for a new life have drawn all the young people from their village to America. When one of those young people, Essie, goes missing, Uriel and Little Ash set off to find her.
Along the way the angel and demon encounter humans in need of their help, including Rose Cohen, whose best friend (and the love of her life) has abandoned her to marry a man, and Malke Shulman, whose father died mysteriously on his way to America.
But there are obstacles ahead of them as difficult as what they've left behind. Medical exams (and demons) at Ellis Island. Corrupt officials, cruel mob bosses, murderers, poverty. The streets are far from paved with gold.
With cinematic sweep and tender observation, Sacha Lamb presents a totally original drama about individual purpose, the fluid nature of identity, and the power of love to change and endure.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

★ 10/17/2022

An angel and a demon have studied the Talmud together for centuries in a village “so small and out of the way it was only called Shtetl.” Pogroms have caused fellow villagers to make the trek to America, which “had all kinds of wonderful things.” Looking for entertainment, Ashmedai the demon, known as Little Ash, persuades the angel, whose name changes depending on the situation, into making a voyage to N.Y.C., where the labor movement has just begun. Traveling from Shtetl to Ellis Island, they befriend heartbroken Rose Cohen, 16, who fled her own shtetl following the love of her life and best friend Dinah’s marriage to a man. Simultaneously an exploration of personal identity and the relationship between good and evil, this expansive tale, interpreted through both the Talmud and Jewish folklore, follows Little Ash and the angel’s experiences leaving behind everything they’ve ever known. Broad in scope, the strong queer relationships at its core, particularly between Little Ash and the angel, provide an unfaltering anchor. Via a literary third-person point of view, Lamb admirably utilizes a familiar arc of early 20th-century emigration as the foundation of this powerfully moving tale. A Yiddish and Hebrew glossary concludes. Ages 12–up. (Oct.)

From the Publisher

[STAR] “Powerfully moving. Broad in scope, the strong queer relationships at its core provide an unfaltering anchor.”—Publishers Weekly (starred)

[STAR] “Immersive…Propulsive. A mashup of historical fiction and magical realism, this will find a satisfied audience in fans of both.”—BCCB (starred)

"When the Angels Left the Old Coun­try is a phe­nom­e­nal sto­ry that explores gen­der iden­ti­ty and sex­u­al ori­en­ta­tion while show­cas­ing the pow­er of com­mu­ni­ty and the jour­ney one must take to tru­ly know themself." — Jewish Book Council

[STAR] “ Expansive queer tale that marries historical fiction with inventive world-building. Witty, cerebral storytelling.” —Horn Book (starred)

[STAR] ”Richly imagined and plotted, this inspired book has the timeless feeling of Jewish folklore, which is further enhanced by the presence of two magical protagonists, and not one but two dybbuks! In the end, of course, it’s the author who has performed the mitzvah by giving their readers this terrific debut novel.” —Booklist (starred)

[STAR] “Extraordinary details flesh out this absorbing world… And love emerges in places where angels, demons, and defiant girls did not at first think to look. When the Angels Left the Old Country is a sublime novel about the fantastical, freeing nature of love. — Foreword Reviews (starred)

[STAR] “Steeped in Ashkenazi lore, custom, and faith, this beautifully written story deftly tackles questions of identity, good and evil, obligation, and the many forms love can take. Queerness and gender fluidity thread through both the human and supernatural characters, clearly depicted without feeling anachronistic. Gorgeous, fascinating, and fun.” —Kirkus (starred)

2022 Recommended Reading - Locus Magazine

Horn Book (starred review)

“Marries historical fiction with inventive world-building. Witty, cerebral storytelling.”

Jewish Book Council

“A phe­nom­e­nal sto­ry that explores gen­der iden­ti­ty and sex­u­al ori­en­ta­tion while show­cas­ing the pow­er of com­mu­ni­ty and the jour­ney one must take to tru­ly know oneself.”

AudioFile

“Actor Donald Corren brings his vocal skills to this tale…that balances laugh-out-loud humor, Jewish tradition, and gentle affirmation of queer identities. Corren expertly manages it all with his Yiddish-inflected tones bringing forth indelible characters…A thorough delight. Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award.”

School Library Journal

★ 01/27/2023

Gr 9 Up—In a tiny village so small it's only known as Shtetl (the word for town), an angel and a demon have been studying the Torah together for a very long time. Little Ash, the demon, however, wants to know why all the young people are moving to America. He manages to convince the angel, who agrees partly to help Samuel the Baker's daughter, who hasn't been heard from since she traveled across the sea, and partly to watch over Little Ash and prevent him from causing any mischief. The angel is immediately unsuccessful at stopping Little Ash's mischief, but finds that perhaps the baker's daughter is in some trouble after all. When the angel gets a name and matching papers to board a ship, he starts to change, and his feelings towards Little Ash change as well. There, they meet another immigrant who needs their help, but can an angel and a demon really protect Jewish immigrants from anti-Semitic sentiment, greedy factory owners, and a dybbuk? Getting to America is only half the battle, and the angel, now known as Uriel, must protect the people he's come to care for, while Little Ash does it in his own fashion. VERDICT A must-buy for any collection, Lamb's historical fiction novel brings soft queer joy to a compelling tale of immigrants and unions and Jewish folklore.—Stacey Shapiro

JANUARY 2023 - AudioFile

Actor Donald Corren brings his vocal skills to this tale of an angel and a demon who leave the shtetl for America to do a mitzvah and to seek excitement. Their fortunes become entangled with a human girl’s in an adventure that balances laugh-out-loud humor, Jewish tradition, and gentle affirmation of queer identities. Corren expertly manages it all with his Yiddish-inflected tones bringing forth indelible characters: the tough, yearning Rose; the deliciously wicked Little Ash; and the endearingly holy Uriel. Uriel and Little Ash’s friendship anchors the story, which is evoked with not even a schmear of schmaltz. Goyish listeners intrigued by the Yiddish and Hebrew that deepen the story’s texture may seek out the print edition’s glossary after listening. A thorough delight. V.S. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine

Kirkus Reviews

★ 2022-08-17
An angel and a demon immigrate to the goldene medina.

Little Ash, a lesser son of the famed demon king Ashmedai, studies Talmud all day with his counterpart, a forgetful angel, in the synagogue of a tiny Jewish town in the Pale of Settlement. But Little Ash wants to see more than their unnamed shtetl: He convinces the angel to go to America, ostensibly to find out what happened to Essie, the baker’s daughter who hasn’t written since she left Warsaw. Steeped in Ashkenazi lore, custom, and faith, this beautifully written story deftly tackles questions of identity, good and evil, obligation, and the many forms love can take. Queerness and gender fluidity thread through both the human and supernatural characters, clearly depicted without feeling anachronistic. A generous peppering of nonitalicized Yiddish and Hebrew (with a glossary in the back) combined with culturally specific dialogue and turns of phrase make this read like a classic while still feeling fresh and contemporary. The immigrants, human and B’nei Elohim, deal with medical gatekeepers at Ellis Island, assimilationist American Jews eager to denounce their greenhorn landsmen, exploitative factory owners, and religious obligations toward the beloved dead. Despite its length, this novel clips quickly along, crafting a world that proves hard to leave behind.

Gorgeous, fascinating, and fun. (Fiction. 13-18)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940174995994
Publisher:	Recorded Books, LLC
Publication date:	10/18/2022
Edition description:	Unabridged

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