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Ephron Masterfully Weaves a World of Magic
The belief in magic harks back to Persia and to the pre-Islamic period of the Zoroastrians. Magi, the term for Zoroastrian priests and learned magicians, is the root of magic, which has always played a prominent role in Persian literature. The past two decades have seen a surge in magical-themed stories in the Western world,…
Read MoreEphron Stumbles Across Magic in Researching Her Fantasy
I called Amy Ephron, expecting the usual type of interview to take place, presenting one by one the questions I had carefully outlined about her newest books, “The Castle in the Mist” and its companion, “Carnival Magic,” and then jotting down her replies. But I should have known that creative minds possess their own…
Read MoreThe Blessing of Sorrow: Turning Grief into Healing
Having not yet recovered from the unexpected loss of my young cousin, I had mixed feelings about reviewing The Blessing of Sorrow: Turning Grief into Healing by Rabbi Ben Kamin. I did not want to subject myself to more sorrow by reading about death. Then, it occurred to me that my cousin died two years…
Read MoreHalf-Jews outlast Nazi regime in 'The Kaminsky Cure'
It is to the great credit of Christopher New, the author of the “The Kaminsky Cure” (Delphinium Books), that one is able to laugh, if not out loud, at least to smile sadly, while utterly immersed in a story that takes place in Europe during the most shameful time in our not-so-distant history. A…
Read MoreThe Velvet Hours
A valuable 14th century Haggadah inscribed by a Sephardic rabbi and beautifully illustrated by his talented wife takes center stage in Alyson Richman’s richly imagined sixth novel, The Velvet Hours. The theme of the Haggadah, read during Passover at the Seder table, is the freedom of the Jewish people from slavery and their exodus from Egypt—a…
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