When the Angels Left the Old Country

A unique American Jewish immigrant story by debut queer novelist Sacha Lamb. The resident angel and demon of a small Russian Jewish shtetl embark upon a journey to the “Golden Land” to find Essie, the baker's daughter with rosy dreams of thriving in America, whose communication has abruptly stopped. Along the way, these supernatural study partners join forces with Rose Cohen, a young, strong-willed woman who is heartbroken that her best friend Dinah is getting married instead of emigrating with her.

The trio's adventures take them to Warsaw, the steerage class quarters of a New York-bound steamship, Ellis Island, and finally their destination. The search for Essie becomes entwined with a quintessential story about sweatshop labor and factory strikes. But in addition to dangerous factory owners and mob bosses, our heroes also have to contend with several malicious dybbuks, or spirits of the dead. And Uriel and Little Ash struggle internally with the long-term implications of maintaining their human disguises on their essence and their relationship.

The plot sounds fairly mundane for anyone whose ancestors traveled the same path to America, but it is elevated to the sublime by Little Ash the mischievous demon and Uriel the loyal angel. Little Ash lives to argue with Uriel, while the angel claims to stick around solely to keep Little Ash from causing too much trouble. Their character growth and the complex dynamics of their relationship provide most of the book's emotional impact. Rose's dawning awareness of her own queerness is rarely an explicit part of an immigrant story so it's a refreshing change to see her get a romantic HEA.

While the book is being marketed as Young Adult (Rose and Essie are both teenagers), I believe it can be appreciated by readers of any age (or any religion - it includes a glossary of terms for those not familiar with Hebrew or Yiddish). I opened the book late yesterday morning and finished it before bedtime; it's one of those hypnotic stories that ensnare the reader so completely so that you don't want to break the spell until the final page.