(Fiction, 262 pp. 2024)
Playing the fiddle in a distinctive manner sets the Dekrepitzer rabbinic lineage apart from other Polish Hasidim. Although Sam’s heritage and talent mark him for the greatness of Moscow’s symphony circuit, the interruption of WWII forces him into Red Army uniform. He deserts, only to drift through the Pale of Settlement’s heartland weighed down by spiritual bitterness. Wandering south, Sam is embraced by Black American sailor-musicians heading home from the Port of Naples, and is adopted into their Leesburg, Mississippi, community. Love finds him, along with racism. He escapes to New York, and finds friendship with some of the most renowned Black street-corner preacher-musicians of the 1950s.
Winner of the 2025 National Jewish Book Award in the Book Club category.
Discussion questions from Cresheim Press
Review by Marc Katz, Jewish Book Council, December 2, 2024
Review in Kirkus Reviews, October 5, 2024
Review by Michael Krasny, Moment Magazine, December 4, 2024
