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The Slaughterman’s Daughter
An epic historical adventure novel—FIDDLER ON THE ROOF meets Tarantino—set in the Pale of Settlement during the final years of the Russian Empire.
The townsfolk of Motal, a small town in the Pale of Settlement where nothing extraordinary ever happens, are shocked when Fanny Keismann—devoted wife, mother of five and celebrated cheese farmer—leaves her home at two hours past midnight and vanishes into the night.
True, the husbands of Motal have been vanishing for years, but a wife and mother? Whoever heard of such a thing. What on earth possessed her?
Could it have anything to do with Fanny's missing brother-in-law, who left her sister almost a year ago and ran away to Minsk, abandoning his family to destitution and despair?
Or could Fanny have been lured away by Zizek Breshov, the mysterious ferryman on the Yaselda river, who, in a strange twist of events, seems to have disappeared on the same night?
Surely there can be no link between Fanny and the peculiar roadside murder on the way to Telekhany, which has left Colonel Piotr Novak, head of the Russian secret police, scratching his head. Surely that could have nothing to do with Fanny Keismann, whatever her past, whatever her reputation as a wilde chayeh, a wild beast . . .
Surely not.
The townsfolk of Motal, a small town in the Pale of Settlement where nothing extraordinary ever happens, are shocked when Fanny Keismann—devoted wife, mother of five and celebrated cheese farmer—leaves her home at two hours past midnight and vanishes into the night.
True, the husbands of Motal have been vanishing for years, but a wife and mother? Whoever heard of such a thing. What on earth possessed her?
Could it have anything to do with Fanny's missing brother-in-law, who left her sister almost a year ago and ran away to Minsk, abandoning his family to destitution and despair?
Or could Fanny have been lured away by Zizek Breshov, the mysterious ferryman on the Yaselda river, who, in a strange twist of events, seems to have disappeared on the same night?
Surely there can be no link between Fanny and the peculiar roadside murder on the way to Telekhany, which has left Colonel Piotr Novak, head of the Russian secret police, scratching his head. Surely that could have nothing to do with Fanny Keismann, whatever her past, whatever her reputation as a wilde chayeh, a wild beast . . .
Surely not.
432 pages, Hardcover
First published June 1, 2015
About the author
Yaniv Iczkovits
9 books43 followersYaniv Iczkovits (Hebrew: יניב איצקוביץ' born May 2, 1975) is an Israeli writer known for his novels, essays and philosophical work. His 2015 fantasy-historical adventure novel The Slaughterman's Daughter has been translated into several European languages and gained critical acclaim.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 384 reviews
April 10, 2021
This translated award winning, epic, extraordinary, ambitious historical adventure novel in the classic tradition by Yaniv Iczovits exhilarates and beguiles in equal measure, set in the turbulent period of the late 19th century Tsarist Russia. In the all too ordinary town of Motal, in the Pale of the Settlement, the only place Jews are allowed to permanently settle, resides Mende, whose husband, Zvi-Meir, abandoned her and their children. Left impoverished, despairing and heartbroken, Mende almost kills herself. Her sister, the astonishing Fanny Keismann, cannot bear to witness Mende's suffering, and takes the momentous decision to track down her brother in law, leaving behind her cheese maker husband and 5 children. Fanny is the Jewish butcher's daughter, with an expertise with a knife that has her known as 'vilde chaya', the wild animal, in Motal.
Armed with a knife, Fanny sets off on a riot of a dangerous journey, finding herself accompanied and aided by the ferryman, Zizek Breshov. Coming across robbers, the fearless Fanny deals with the situation with her trusty knife, having no qualms or hesitations. The murders attract the attention of Colonel Piotr Novak of the Tsar's secret police, wondering who could have done this as he goes after them. As the bodies and challenges pile up amidst the violence and brutality, the strong and independent Fanny finds herself on a quest for her identity and freedom from being defined by society, religion and men, defying all the imprisoning and stultifying expectations of who and what a woman should be. Captured and evoked in the narrative is the unbound and prolific anti-semitism of the era, as can be seen by the thinking of Novak, and Jewish history, oppression and culture.
This is beautifully imagined and enthralling historical fiction, with its adventurous storytelling, with its rich intricate details and descriptions, darkly humorous and satirical. The brilliant offbeat and colourful characters we encounter are a joy to behold, making this an immersive read that I did not want to end. This is an original, riveting, atmospheric, unforgettable and breathtaking novel that deserves a wide a readership as possible. Highly recommended. Many thanks to Quercus for an ARC.
Armed with a knife, Fanny sets off on a riot of a dangerous journey, finding herself accompanied and aided by the ferryman, Zizek Breshov. Coming across robbers, the fearless Fanny deals with the situation with her trusty knife, having no qualms or hesitations. The murders attract the attention of Colonel Piotr Novak of the Tsar's secret police, wondering who could have done this as he goes after them. As the bodies and challenges pile up amidst the violence and brutality, the strong and independent Fanny finds herself on a quest for her identity and freedom from being defined by society, religion and men, defying all the imprisoning and stultifying expectations of who and what a woman should be. Captured and evoked in the narrative is the unbound and prolific anti-semitism of the era, as can be seen by the thinking of Novak, and Jewish history, oppression and culture.
This is beautifully imagined and enthralling historical fiction, with its adventurous storytelling, with its rich intricate details and descriptions, darkly humorous and satirical. The brilliant offbeat and colourful characters we encounter are a joy to behold, making this an immersive read that I did not want to end. This is an original, riveting, atmospheric, unforgettable and breathtaking novel that deserves a wide a readership as possible. Highly recommended. Many thanks to Quercus for an ARC.
Shelved as 'dnf'
July 28, 2022DNF 50%
Nie brnę dalej, bo widzę, że nic nie podniesie mojej opinii. Niestety prawda jest taka, że się nudziłam. Przyjmuję jednakże my, że to moja wina, bo czekałam na coś innego.
Nie brnę dalej, bo widzę, że nic nie podniesie mojej opinii. Niestety prawda jest taka, że się nudziłam. Przyjmuję jednakże my, że to moja wina, bo czekałam na coś innego.
June 21, 2020
I LOVED this book.
July 6, 2022
Deși cu acțiunea plasată in Rusia Țaristă, la sfârșitul secolului al XIX lea, Orhana, poliția secretă, romanul este foarte actual, incluzând o gamă largă de personaje secundare ale caror povești, ca o matriosca, ne abat câteodată de la subiectul principal al cărții.
Roman dens și original ce necesită concentrare la lectură, plin de detalii istorice interesante în care autorul abordează istoria intr-un stil fabulist.
Iczkovits pendulează între prezent și trecut, creând o poveste fascinantă. Este o carte pe care nu o poti lăsa prea ușor din mână.
Nu este doar o poveste convingătoare, ci oferă un portret viu al vieții evreiești, o lume pierdută din timpul Imperiului Rus, când antisemitismul nu era doar răspândit, ci adesea dezastruos.
Roman dens și original ce necesită concentrare la lectură, plin de detalii istorice interesante în care autorul abordează istoria intr-un stil fabulist.
Iczkovits pendulează între prezent și trecut, creând o poveste fascinantă. Este o carte pe care nu o poti lăsa prea ușor din mână.
Nu este doar o poveste convingătoare, ci oferă un portret viu al vieții evreiești, o lume pierdută din timpul Imperiului Rus, când antisemitismul nu era doar răspândit, ci adesea dezastruos.
October 14, 2022
Bunicii scriitorului israelian Yaniv Iczkovits sunt originari din Ungaria, Cehoslovacia și România. Singura sa carte tradusă în limba română, Fiica măcelarului, este cumva tangențială acestor teritorii, deși Bucureștiul sau pasul Șipka din Bulgaria sau războiul nostru de independență sunt de mai multe ori prezente. În schimb, autorul alege ca loc de desfășurare al acțiunii o zonă aflată undeva în actualul Belarus, iar ca stil romanele istorice clasice rusești. Sigur, elementul evreiesc este prezent la tot pasul, dar am avut tot timpul impresia unui roman rusesc din epoca aceea clasică, frumos construit și foarte intens, pentru că aici informațiile istorice, bine documentate (într-o perioadă în care Rusia încerca să lovească decisiv Imperiul otoman), sunt împletite cu o aplecare atentă asupra sufletului oamenilor simpli și mai cu seamă asupra evreilor din Imperiul Țarist, mereu aflați cumva, în conștiința oamenilor, la granița comunității și societății.
Nu voi spune nimic despre subiectul concret al acestui roman, dar voi sublinia două lucruri: intens, alert, cu personaje interesante și elocvente pentru locul și timpurile în care se desfășoară, un roman cu anumite influențe polițiste, istorice, ba chiar și feministe bine articulate; pe alocuri, mi s-a părut că scriitorul și-a prelungit prea mult narațiunea, a pus accentul în zeci de pagini pe anumite personaje neimportante în economia romanului, care putea fi lejer cu 100 de pagini mai scurt. Oricum, de citit, un roman istoric care place și care oferă informații noi despre Rusia rurală a secolului XIX-lea.
Nu voi spune nimic despre subiectul concret al acestui roman, dar voi sublinia două lucruri: intens, alert, cu personaje interesante și elocvente pentru locul și timpurile în care se desfășoară, un roman cu anumite influențe polițiste, istorice, ba chiar și feministe bine articulate; pe alocuri, mi s-a părut că scriitorul și-a prelungit prea mult narațiunea, a pus accentul în zeci de pagini pe anumite personaje neimportante în economia romanului, care putea fi lejer cu 100 de pagini mai scurt. Oricum, de citit, un roman istoric care place și care oferă informații noi despre Rusia rurală a secolului XIX-lea.
April 7, 2021
E’ il 1894 e, nel villaggio di Motal (ai confini tra Russia e Polonia, ossia l’attuale Bielorussia), Mende Speismann è stesa sul letto e legge l’Hamaggid, un settimanale che in lingua yiddish riporta notizie varie della comunità.
Quello che però Mende smania di leggere sono le lettere di mogli abbandonate che supplicano il ritorno dei mariti:
”Donne abbandonate quelle che gli ebrei chiamano agunot, ingabbiate in un matrimonio senza marito; donne miserabili; shlimazl, sfortunate; donne mollate tra false promesse e seduzioni ingannevoli”
Anche Mende è stata abbandonata ma lei non è come queste donne supplichevoli che gridano al mondo la loro vergogna e non nascondono le lacrime.
Zvi Meir Speismann, suo marito, le ha rovinato la vita lasciandola con tre figli costringendola a condividere un tozzo di pane nella casa dei suoceri.
Mende è una donna orgogliosa ma un giorno qualcosa in lei cede.
La sorella Fanny, invece, è di un’altra pasta: già da ragazzina ha sfidato le regole patriarcali praticando la macelleria appresa dal padre.
E' una donna diversa: votata all’azione più che alla rassegnata sottomissione.
Così per istinto di ribellione ad uno stato di cose inerte, Fanny parte alla ricerca del cognato Zvi Meir Speismann con l’obiettivo di fargli firmare una carta di divorzio che possa rendere libera sua sorella.
Con un’ironia tipicamente yiddish, con una sapiente costruzione narrativa, Iczkovits catapulta il lettore in una sorprendente e sfrontata avventura che da semplici intenti arriverà dritta al cuore dello stato zarista.
Una lezione civica impartita all’indifferenza di una comunità che nel momento del pericolo invece di unirsi si separa.
” Tutti i conoscenti di Grodno le parevano come sua madre, rinserrati in casa a proteggersi dal mondo esterno. Un ebreo non può essere tale a meno di non rifugiarsi tra le mura dello yiddish, rinchiudersi nello shtetl; l’uomo non può osservare i precetti senza allontanare le tentazioni, imponendo alle donne di coprirsi ed essere modeste; una donna non può essere completa se non ha un marito, anche quando lui non è un uomo di grandi virtù. Ogni minimo gesto quotidiano deve essere regolato e ordinato, ogni cosa deve stare al suo posto, altrimenti si rischia di scivolare nel peccato. Per Fanny quella non era solo una vita di menzogne, era una vita da miscredenti: quelle persone voltavano la schiena alla creazione del Signore”
E’ il momento, invece, del Tikkun.
Ricomporre, compattare.
Un viaggio avvincente e una storia apparentemente banale a partire da un coltello.
https://www.mediasetplay.mediaset.it/...
Quello che però Mende smania di leggere sono le lettere di mogli abbandonate che supplicano il ritorno dei mariti:
”Donne abbandonate quelle che gli ebrei chiamano agunot, ingabbiate in un matrimonio senza marito; donne miserabili; shlimazl, sfortunate; donne mollate tra false promesse e seduzioni ingannevoli”
Anche Mende è stata abbandonata ma lei non è come queste donne supplichevoli che gridano al mondo la loro vergogna e non nascondono le lacrime.
Zvi Meir Speismann, suo marito, le ha rovinato la vita lasciandola con tre figli costringendola a condividere un tozzo di pane nella casa dei suoceri.
Mende è una donna orgogliosa ma un giorno qualcosa in lei cede.
La sorella Fanny, invece, è di un’altra pasta: già da ragazzina ha sfidato le regole patriarcali praticando la macelleria appresa dal padre.
E' una donna diversa: votata all’azione più che alla rassegnata sottomissione.
Così per istinto di ribellione ad uno stato di cose inerte, Fanny parte alla ricerca del cognato Zvi Meir Speismann con l’obiettivo di fargli firmare una carta di divorzio che possa rendere libera sua sorella.
Con un’ironia tipicamente yiddish, con una sapiente costruzione narrativa, Iczkovits catapulta il lettore in una sorprendente e sfrontata avventura che da semplici intenti arriverà dritta al cuore dello stato zarista.
Una lezione civica impartita all’indifferenza di una comunità che nel momento del pericolo invece di unirsi si separa.
” Tutti i conoscenti di Grodno le parevano come sua madre, rinserrati in casa a proteggersi dal mondo esterno. Un ebreo non può essere tale a meno di non rifugiarsi tra le mura dello yiddish, rinchiudersi nello shtetl; l’uomo non può osservare i precetti senza allontanare le tentazioni, imponendo alle donne di coprirsi ed essere modeste; una donna non può essere completa se non ha un marito, anche quando lui non è un uomo di grandi virtù. Ogni minimo gesto quotidiano deve essere regolato e ordinato, ogni cosa deve stare al suo posto, altrimenti si rischia di scivolare nel peccato. Per Fanny quella non era solo una vita di menzogne, era una vita da miscredenti: quelle persone voltavano la schiena alla creazione del Signore”
E’ il momento, invece, del Tikkun.
Ricomporre, compattare.
Un viaggio avvincente e una storia apparentemente banale a partire da un coltello.
https://www.mediasetplay.mediaset.it/...
September 7, 2022
Cartea asta este ca o cameră frumos decorată, dar care nu a mai fost aerisită de multă vreme. Ai vrea să stai aici, dar tot haosul din narațiune și aglomerația din povestea te cam sufocă. Am văzut de ce oamenii o apreciază și am înțeles de ce partea istorică este considerată punctul forte, dar eu am simțit des nevoia de a părăsi camera și a ,,vizita" în paralel o carte mai proaspătă. Dacă aș fi citit mai multe despre ea înainte, mi-aș fi dat seama că nu este genul meu. Nu îmi plac deloc romanele de aventuri, în niciun caz cele în care o femeie micuță taie beregata oricui îi stă în cale, iar, dacă vreau să îmi pun neuronii la treabă, prefer o nonficțiune din care să rămân cu ceva. Complexă, plină de aventuri și de istorioare, cu iz de basm amestecat cu ficțiune istorică, Fiica măcelarului este o carte care îți solicită întreaga atenție și își dezvăluie greu straturile, dar eu nu aș mai reveni la autor, pentru că îmi pare genul care vorbește mult, dar nu spune prea multe. Recenzia aici: https://bit.ly/3RJAsW2.
,,Dacă nu ți-ai dat seama că, întinzând mâna după atingerea cuiva și cuprinzând doar aerul în palmă ți se va frânge inima, înseamnă că nu ai trăit niciodată. Dacă nu știi că vorbele pot fi la fel de tăioase ca lama unui cuțit, și nu doar în sens figurat, ci mă refer la un cuțit în toată regula, atunci înseamnă că nu știi ce sunt cuvintele. Și dacă nu mai vrei să întinzi brațul, pentru a atinge mâna altcuiva, devenind apatic, și dacă nu înțelegi că trupul tău tremurând și inima frântă preferă moartea în locul singurătății, atunci probabil că ești deja mort.''
,,Dacă nu ți-ai dat seama că, întinzând mâna după atingerea cuiva și cuprinzând doar aerul în palmă ți se va frânge inima, înseamnă că nu ai trăit niciodată. Dacă nu știi că vorbele pot fi la fel de tăioase ca lama unui cuțit, și nu doar în sens figurat, ci mă refer la un cuțit în toată regula, atunci înseamnă că nu știi ce sunt cuvintele. Și dacă nu mai vrei să întinzi brațul, pentru a atinge mâna altcuiva, devenind apatic, și dacă nu înțelegi că trupul tău tremurând și inima frântă preferă moartea în locul singurătății, atunci probabil că ești deja mort.''
February 6, 2021
Lately, I've been avoiding huge bricks. If you can't say it in 170 pages, I'm not interested. It's a rule I've been pretty good at sticking to, but every now and then I'll be drawn to an encyclopaedic tome for some I can't quite discern and lose myself for a couple of weeks in its immensity. When it comes to The Slaughterman's Daughter the reason was actually quite easy to work out: this is the best looking ARC/proof I've ever seen. Seriously, google it. It's a work of design genius. Now, usually when I break the rule I'm some degree of disappointed. Not this time! The Slaughterman's Daughter is a riotous romp of a novel, an epic reminiscent of the Russian classics, with a good schtickel of humour and wit, the kind you'd expect to find in the masterworks of the Yiddish greats. I had the luxury of a long haul flight allowing me to rip through it in a single sitting which is pretty lucky because I suspect it would have made me miss a day or two of work otherwise. This is one of the few books I could recommend to almost any of my reader friends - it has huge cross appeal, being both utterly engrossing and readable, as well as impressively weighted with literary chops. An absolutely magnificent novel!
January 10, 2022
3.5, rounded down.
The catchphrase 'Fiddler on the Roof meets Tarantino' certainly made me eager to read this, and for the first third it lived up to that designation (although I think it's perhaps more Coen Bros., than Quentin!). But there were several problems, such that by the 2/3s mark, I almost DNF'd it. First there is a brief, but horrific scene of animal abuse, which disturbed me much more than any of the gore dealt to the human characters - and those who know me know that is my ultimate bête noire.
Then the structure of the book (intentionally?) apes The Manuscript Found in Saragossa, a book I have never been able to finish - that is, one story begins and gets to about the halfway mark, and then another thread veers off from that and gets to ITS hallway point, and then ANOTHER thread begins, etc. etc. until it all eventually heads back to the main storyline. My brain works in a VERY linear manner, so that I just kept getting confused and forgetting where I was. And then it doesn't help that virtually every character at some point either dons a disguise or goes by an alias - at least two characters have FOUR separate nomenclatures, and thank g-d I read it on a Kindle and could use the 'search' feature, or I'd have been even more lost.
The entire second third I thought totally superfluous, and gets bogged down in scenes set in an army camp that I just found unbearably dull and boring. Thankfully, the book gets back on track for the final third, and the ending is quite satisfying. The translation seems quite fluid, but contains numerous Yiddish and Hebrew words left untranslated, that one could usually figure out by context, but that also didn't make it any easier. Not sorry I read it, but somewhat frustrating too.
The catchphrase 'Fiddler on the Roof meets Tarantino' certainly made me eager to read this, and for the first third it lived up to that designation (although I think it's perhaps more Coen Bros., than Quentin!). But there were several problems, such that by the 2/3s mark, I almost DNF'd it. First there is a brief, but horrific scene of animal abuse, which disturbed me much more than any of the gore dealt to the human characters - and those who know me know that is my ultimate bête noire.
Then the structure of the book (intentionally?) apes The Manuscript Found in Saragossa, a book I have never been able to finish - that is, one story begins and gets to about the halfway mark, and then another thread veers off from that and gets to ITS hallway point, and then ANOTHER thread begins, etc. etc. until it all eventually heads back to the main storyline. My brain works in a VERY linear manner, so that I just kept getting confused and forgetting where I was. And then it doesn't help that virtually every character at some point either dons a disguise or goes by an alias - at least two characters have FOUR separate nomenclatures, and thank g-d I read it on a Kindle and could use the 'search' feature, or I'd have been even more lost.
The entire second third I thought totally superfluous, and gets bogged down in scenes set in an army camp that I just found unbearably dull and boring. Thankfully, the book gets back on track for the final third, and the ending is quite satisfying. The translation seems quite fluid, but contains numerous Yiddish and Hebrew words left untranslated, that one could usually figure out by context, but that also didn't make it any easier. Not sorry I read it, but somewhat frustrating too.
March 16, 2021
I don't know if I'll ever read anything like this book again; this one is truly unforgettable and I enjoyed it immensely.
full post here
https://www.readingavidly.com/2021/03...
The year is 1894, or the year 5654 as reckoned by the Jewish calendar. In the latest issue of the paper Hamagid Mende Speismann reads a notice entitled "Wife Lost," which stated the following:
"A woman went out in the second hour after midnight and has not returned since. All of our efforts to look for her in villages and towns, forests and rivers have failed. Her whereabouts are unknown and there's not a trace of her to be found...She has left her husband, five children, and miserable mother-in-law in despair in their village home."
Mende sets the paper aside for a moment before she reads the rest of the notice revealing that the missing woman is her sister, Fanny Keismann. Mende lives in the village of Motal, in the Pale of Settlement, the only legally-authorized territory in which Jews could reside "within the borders of czarist Russia." Mende's husband Zvi-Meir had left his wife and children some ten months earlier, and on her birthday, Mende tries to kill herself. Fanny, a woman who wants to "mend the entire world," understands that it's not soul mending (tikkun) that Mende wants, nor is it really Zvi-Meir, but rather "she yearns for the authority of a husband and for the life of a wife" to make her life meaningful. Fanny decides that she will take herself to Zvi-Meir in Minsk, to make him sign "a writ of divorce," and make things right. Leaving her own home and her husband the cheesemaker, she slips out "in the second hour of midnight" determined in her mission. She travels the seven versts from her village of Upiravah to Motal where the boatman, Zizek Breshov, awaits to take her across the Yaselda river. From there she plans to hire a cart and horses to begin her journey, and is suprised when Zizek, who "never leaves the Yaselda" follows after her. Another surprise is in store when she realizes that he had not only hidden a wagon and two horses in some trees, but after helping her into her seat, he grabs the reins and "starts turning the horses."
Thus begins this story, one that the dustjacket blurb a "rollicking and unforgettable work of fiction," and the pursuit that begins just a short time after Fanny and Zizek cross the Yaselda certainly earns the "rollicking" description, but it is much more: it is an examination of an empire on the brink of tremendous change, a meditation on the meaning of freedom, a portrait of the Jews who have set themselves apart in a Russia that doesn't want them, sharing "the same soil but not the same world." Most of all though this is Fanny's story, one of finding her way in the world and discovering who she is. Yes, it's a bit long; yes, parts of might have been pared a bit, but I don't care. I loved this book, and it's one I'd continue to love even if the rest of the world hated it. The Slaughterman's Daughter is so refreshingly different, reminding me somewhat of an old-fashioned adventure story mixed with history, but one still very much pertinent in our own time.
It's really, really good.
full post here
https://www.readingavidly.com/2021/03...
The year is 1894, or the year 5654 as reckoned by the Jewish calendar. In the latest issue of the paper Hamagid Mende Speismann reads a notice entitled "Wife Lost," which stated the following:
"A woman went out in the second hour after midnight and has not returned since. All of our efforts to look for her in villages and towns, forests and rivers have failed. Her whereabouts are unknown and there's not a trace of her to be found...She has left her husband, five children, and miserable mother-in-law in despair in their village home."
Mende sets the paper aside for a moment before she reads the rest of the notice revealing that the missing woman is her sister, Fanny Keismann. Mende lives in the village of Motal, in the Pale of Settlement, the only legally-authorized territory in which Jews could reside "within the borders of czarist Russia." Mende's husband Zvi-Meir had left his wife and children some ten months earlier, and on her birthday, Mende tries to kill herself. Fanny, a woman who wants to "mend the entire world," understands that it's not soul mending (tikkun) that Mende wants, nor is it really Zvi-Meir, but rather "she yearns for the authority of a husband and for the life of a wife" to make her life meaningful. Fanny decides that she will take herself to Zvi-Meir in Minsk, to make him sign "a writ of divorce," and make things right. Leaving her own home and her husband the cheesemaker, she slips out "in the second hour of midnight" determined in her mission. She travels the seven versts from her village of Upiravah to Motal where the boatman, Zizek Breshov, awaits to take her across the Yaselda river. From there she plans to hire a cart and horses to begin her journey, and is suprised when Zizek, who "never leaves the Yaselda" follows after her. Another surprise is in store when she realizes that he had not only hidden a wagon and two horses in some trees, but after helping her into her seat, he grabs the reins and "starts turning the horses."
Thus begins this story, one that the dustjacket blurb a "rollicking and unforgettable work of fiction," and the pursuit that begins just a short time after Fanny and Zizek cross the Yaselda certainly earns the "rollicking" description, but it is much more: it is an examination of an empire on the brink of tremendous change, a meditation on the meaning of freedom, a portrait of the Jews who have set themselves apart in a Russia that doesn't want them, sharing "the same soil but not the same world." Most of all though this is Fanny's story, one of finding her way in the world and discovering who she is. Yes, it's a bit long; yes, parts of might have been pared a bit, but I don't care. I loved this book, and it's one I'd continue to love even if the rest of the world hated it. The Slaughterman's Daughter is so refreshingly different, reminding me somewhat of an old-fashioned adventure story mixed with history, but one still very much pertinent in our own time.
It's really, really good.
October 15, 2022
Yra vienas dalykas, kurio velniškai nemėgstu. Aš suprantu, kad leidykloms, kad ir kokią knygą beleistų, svarbu parduoti kuo didesnį tiražą, bet net ir gera knyga gali nuvilti, kai apsimeta ne tuo, kuo ji yra.
Kalbama: „...ironiškas ir pašėlusių nuotykių kupinas kūrinys, prilygstantis brolių Coenų ir Quentino Tarantino darbams.“ (Čia iš anotacijos.)
Tiesa: ironiškas? Yra. Ne tai, kad trykšte trykštų, bet yra. Kupinas pašėlusių nuotykių? Yra ir tų. Gal ne tiek kupinas, gal to pašėlimo juose ne itin, bet yra, nu. Tai ko nėra? Va, Coenų – visai ne kažką, o Tarantino išvis pamiršo užsukti į vakarėlį.
Bet grįžkim prie turinio. Fania Kaizman vidury nakties iškeliauja ieškoti savo sesers pabėgėlio vyro – tegul pasirašo skyrybų dokumentus, arba grįžta pas žmoną. Netikėtai prie jos prisijungia dar ir miestelio atstumtasis – buvęs kareivis. Ir toliau ekspedicija apauginėja žmonėmis, kaip sniego kamuolys. Kelionė carinės Rusijos teritorija ne itin saugi, bet ir Fania ne iš kelmo spirta – ji juk skerdiko duktė, vadinasi, turi peilį.
Puikia kalba parašytas romanas, kupinas (ė, ne, ne pašėlusių nuotykių – žr. aukščiau) žydų kultūros detalių. Tiesa, labai netolygus – vietomis, sakyčiau, pertemptas, vietomis įdomu, vietomis staiga darosi klampokas – tai skaitydamas jaučiausi tarsi amerikietiškuose kalneliuose – kyli kyli aukštyn, tik staiga „ūūūūch!“ – ir tu vėl apačioj.
Žodžiu, duodu keturis iš penkių, nes knyga tikrai gera, bet nagai niežti kalti trejetą, nes visai ne mano arbatos puodelis.
Kalbama: „...ironiškas ir pašėlusių nuotykių kupinas kūrinys, prilygstantis brolių Coenų ir Quentino Tarantino darbams.“ (Čia iš anotacijos.)
Tiesa: ironiškas? Yra. Ne tai, kad trykšte trykštų, bet yra. Kupinas pašėlusių nuotykių? Yra ir tų. Gal ne tiek kupinas, gal to pašėlimo juose ne itin, bet yra, nu. Tai ko nėra? Va, Coenų – visai ne kažką, o Tarantino išvis pamiršo užsukti į vakarėlį.
Bet grįžkim prie turinio. Fania Kaizman vidury nakties iškeliauja ieškoti savo sesers pabėgėlio vyro – tegul pasirašo skyrybų dokumentus, arba grįžta pas žmoną. Netikėtai prie jos prisijungia dar ir miestelio atstumtasis – buvęs kareivis. Ir toliau ekspedicija apauginėja žmonėmis, kaip sniego kamuolys. Kelionė carinės Rusijos teritorija ne itin saugi, bet ir Fania ne iš kelmo spirta – ji juk skerdiko duktė, vadinasi, turi peilį.
Puikia kalba parašytas romanas, kupinas (ė, ne, ne pašėlusių nuotykių – žr. aukščiau) žydų kultūros detalių. Tiesa, labai netolygus – vietomis, sakyčiau, pertemptas, vietomis įdomu, vietomis staiga darosi klampokas – tai skaitydamas jaučiausi tarsi amerikietiškuose kalneliuose – kyli kyli aukštyn, tik staiga „ūūūūch!“ – ir tu vėl apačioj.
Žodžiu, duodu keturis iš penkių, nes knyga tikrai gera, bet nagai niežti kalti trejetą, nes visai ne mano arbatos puodelis.
January 1, 2020
The Slaughterman’s Daughter is an impressive work of translated historical fiction that takes place across Poland in 1894. This colourful drama is reminiscent of Russian epics mingled with a good schtickle of dark humour and wit.
As a longer read, this book required commitment. Yet, despite its great scope and polyvocal narrative, it was by no means difficult to read. The story takes its reader on a journey in which Fanny, a Jewish slaughterman’s daughter, murders with her butcher’s knife in a quest of vengeance. On the way, we meet a multitude of people, from drunken, singing homeless men, to haughty Colonels and members of the Russian secret police. Having finished, I now have a deeper understanding and appreciation for Jewish culture and history that I had very little prior knowledge of.
Thank you Quercus Books and MacLehose Press for my free copy in exchange for an honest review!
As a longer read, this book required commitment. Yet, despite its great scope and polyvocal narrative, it was by no means difficult to read. The story takes its reader on a journey in which Fanny, a Jewish slaughterman’s daughter, murders with her butcher’s knife in a quest of vengeance. On the way, we meet a multitude of people, from drunken, singing homeless men, to haughty Colonels and members of the Russian secret police. Having finished, I now have a deeper understanding and appreciation for Jewish culture and history that I had very little prior knowledge of.
Thank you Quercus Books and MacLehose Press for my free copy in exchange for an honest review!
August 8, 2022
În rama unei povești rocambolești, de ce oare-mi amintește de The Hateful Eight al lui Tarantino?, Iczkovits (iată, am reușit să-i învăț și numele) reconstruiește cu măiestrie, prin poveștile desprinse una dintr-alta asemenea păpușilor matrioșka,monografia plină de culoare a unui spațiu care-a fost până la jumătatea secolului trecut numit Yiddishland. Faină carte.
February 13, 2023
O poveste care începe bine, cu personaje în jurul cărora se naște intriga, dar apoi sfîrșește prin a se pierde pe drum. Au fost cîteva capitole, cum ar fi fuga lui Fanny sau cel de început în care ne e prezentată Mende, ori povestea de viață a lui Jijek, în care am simțit mici străluciri, pe alocuri, dar în realitate nu m-am atașat de personaje si nici de povestea în sine. Cît despre personaje, cei care mi-au provocat un interes mai mare sunt ofițerul Novak, stîrnindu-mi un grad de empatie, și cantorul batjocorit de toată lumea care nu s-a dovedit chiar inutil si a dat un ton amuzant poveștii.
January 27, 2020
Although her slaughterman father, Meir-Anschil Schecter, was never one to lavish affection on his daughters, he had made them banquets fit for kings. In recent times, however, Mende has scarcely touched meat herself, only ever sucking out the marrow of the chicken bones her children leave on their yontev plates on feast days. But now a terrible craving for meat has awakened within her, an uncontrollable desire for the taste of beef. A chasm opens up in her stomach and her head spins. Her mouth waters like the high seas, and she is so weak that she has to lean against the wall of the nearby synagogue. This will be her birthday present, it's a clear-cut decision. A mechayeh, what a treat.
I felt lucky to have been sent an ARC of The Slaughterman's Daughter – the English translation of which is about to be released – before a recent trip to the Middle East; what a treat to be able to read something by an Israeli author while in Israel. Turns out, this story isn't actually set in Israel, but when I finished, I realised that this whole thing seems to be a metaphor about modern Israel and it left me with plenty to think about. On the surface, The Slaughterman's Daughter is quite long, intensely detailed about Jewish culture and history, sometimes funny and often farcical, and ultimately unspools a complex and tension-filled plot. Digging a little deeper, it's (I believe) a call for Israel to examine its past in order to evaluate its present. On every level, it's a fascinating read. (Note: As I read an ARC, passages quoted may not be in their final forms.)
It is not every day that one comes across three dead bodies, Jewish slaughter techniques, accusations against a belligerent military convoy and one large and terrifying woman, all of which are supposed to come together to form a consistent story. I'll be damned, thinks Novak. This country is losing its mind.
Set in the Pale of Settlement (an area in western Russia where Jews were allowed to settle between the eighteenth and twentieth centuries, with harsh restrictions), at some point after the Crimean War, The Slaughterman's Daughter opens with the stories of two sisters: Mende Speismann (whose husband disappeared over a year before, leaving her and their two children at the mercy of his parents' charity) and Fanny Keismann; a notorious wilde chayeh who decides to abandon her own beloved husband and five children in order to track down her sister's missing husband. Fanny picks up a disparate group of allies along the way to Minsk, and between descriptions of village life for the sisters in Motal, conscription practises for the Czar's army, and the dangers and discrimination that Fanny et al. face in their underground journey to the big city, author Yaniv Iczkovits paints a very vivid picture of Jewish life in this time and place. Ratcheting up the tension, Fanny and her group are being tracked down by the Secret Police, and the sections told from the perspective of its chief detective, Colonel Piotr Novak, make very clear the uninformed and racist views that the Russians had towards the “dirty zyds” living in their midst. As historical fiction, this book is a fascinating education.
As I wrote above, situations are often farcical (especially those scenes involving a drunken and incontinent cantor), often funny, and also, often, heartwrenching. The writing can be beautifully descriptive:
The moonlight is wrapped around the night like a tie, its beams sliding down a suit of darkness. A cool wind caresses the earth's curved back, which has grown limp beneath the weight of the day's heat, pleading for relief.
And Iczkovits employs many intriguing metaphors and similes:
He has managed to prove yet again that his thick-headed deputy is incapable of thinking creatively, because, like a short blanket, Dodek's brain is destined to leave the essentials uncovered.
Taking it all at face value, I thought that The Slaughterman's Daughter was a well-written, well-researched bit of historical fiction reminiscent of the world of Fiddler on the Roof. But when I got to the author blurb at the back, I read that Yaniv Iczkovits “was an inaugural signatory of the 'combatants' letter', in which hundreds of Israeli soldiers affirmed their refusal to fight in the occupied territories, and he spent a month in military prison as a result”. And then I needed to reevaluate the storyline, which I will oversimplify here. As it turns out, Mende's husband, Zvi-Meir, had been a student at the yeshiva but was kicked out when he became obsessed with a question surrounding Adam and Eve's exile from Paradise: How could they have understood the difference between right and wrong before they had tasted of the fruit that gave them that knowledge? Essentially, the thesis becomes that people can only avoid doing wrong when they have knowledge of what's wrong, and I think that Iczkovits' point is that a people who have experienced the kind of racism and oppression and second-class citizenship as the Jews did in the Pale of Settlement (and elsewhere) ought to know better than to impose these same conditions on others. (Note: I'm trying to avoid getting political here, this is simply what I believe to be the author's intent.) And unsurprisingly, upon reevaluation, the literary value of this book was elevated in my estimation, and despite feeling a bit too long and slightly repetitive, I am left with heightened admiration for the effort. Turns out, this was exactly the right book at the right time for me.
September 15, 2021
#mustread
kupljena prava za Srbiju
kupljena prava za Srbiju
October 2, 2018
L'orrendo titolo (credo ben diverso dall'originale), non rende giustizia a questo romanzo picaresco e spiritoso che porta il lettore attraverso insolite avventure in mezzo a personaggi curiosi nella Bielorussia di fine Ottocento. E' la storia di una donna ebrea fuori dal comune, che ad un certo punto della sua vita decide di mollare la vita di famiglia, il villaggio, la routine, per mettersi alla ricerca del marito di sua sorella, fuggito anni prima. In realtà si tratta di una scusa che lei si racconta: quello che desidera veramente è essere libera, scoprire il mondo fuori dalle quattro mura della sua solita vita. Le avventure non mancheranno, ma il romanzo fa anche tanto riflettere sulla natura umana e mentre non manca di denunciare l'ostracismo che gli ebrei hanno sempre dovuto subire, punta anche il dito contro certi loro atteggiamenti negativi. Un'ottima lettura di intrattenimento.
Per saperne di più (in cinque minuti): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qj2RN...
Per saperne di più (in cinque minuti): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qj2RN...
February 22, 2020
Visit the locations in the novel
For a story that takes the reader through the corridors of power, people and history of 19th century Belarus, that title is interesting! I had no idea what it meant until the end and then, it was an eye opener!
This is very hard to describe this novel. It reminded me of the feeling and of the atmosphere of the great Russian writers. War and Peace but more accessible. There’s certain lots of war and peace here too.
Set in what would become Belarus, this is the central story of a Jewish woman who is searching for answers. Now, I ‘m not going to pretend and say I know if she got them all or not,but when searching for on thing, she ends up finding out so much more.
In many ways, this was the story of the Jewish people. Kicked out and kept out of their home. Told they could take one path in life when they wanted another.I know nothing about the Jewish faith of the issues its people face, but this story shows you and helps you emphasis. Even at its core, take out the Jewish question and you still have a struggle to stand up for individual rights.
It’s ambitious, wide in scope, dazzling, beguiling and a work of some detail and determination. That cover does it proud.
This is a book that is going to mean so may different things to so many different people. But for me, the first book I’ve read that’s brought me some understanding of the Jewish culture and history – this will stay with me.
November 25, 2018
5++
Merita ogni secondo speso nel leggerlo
Merita ogni secondo speso nel leggerlo
June 29, 2022
Początek był fascynujący, jednak późniejsze rozciąganie akcji odebrało mi przyjemność z czytania.
May 26, 2022
2.5/5⭐
Historia poprowadzona w bardzo nieoczywisty sposób. Opowiedziana z różnych perspektyw. Temat interesujący. Brakowało w niej trochę porządku, ale to nawet byłabym w stanie uznać za ciekawy zabieg. Pierwsza połowa była ciekawa, druga połowa natomiast była nudna. Nudna do tego stopnia, że nawet nie wiedziałam o czym czytam. Chyba spodziewałam się czegoś zupełnie innego. Wydawało mi się, że będzie to kryminał z wątkami historycznymi, tymczasem była to historia garstki Żydów poprzeplatana z historią całych pokoleń Żydów, z elementami politycznymi i wojennymi.
Historia poprowadzona w bardzo nieoczywisty sposób. Opowiedziana z różnych perspektyw. Temat interesujący. Brakowało w niej trochę porządku, ale to nawet byłabym w stanie uznać za ciekawy zabieg. Pierwsza połowa była ciekawa, druga połowa natomiast była nudna. Nudna do tego stopnia, że nawet nie wiedziałam o czym czytam. Chyba spodziewałam się czegoś zupełnie innego. Wydawało mi się, że będzie to kryminał z wątkami historycznymi, tymczasem była to historia garstki Żydów poprzeplatana z historią całych pokoleń Żydów, z elementami politycznymi i wojennymi.
October 8, 2022
Fani Kajzman, a daughter of a butcher from a small Jewish town in the 18th century Russia, secretly leaves her loving husband and her five children to embark, on an treacherous journey to find her brother-in-law, who disappeared from home in mysterious circumstances.
This is to say the least quite an unusual behavior for the 18th century rural community but Fani is not the only one in this book who exhibit behaviour diverging from the norm. It is in fact filled with unusual behaviors, perhaps remaking the 18th century setting in a postmodern way, but the story is fascinating. It is about family, expectations, attachment to traditions, and a courage to go against it in order to find your own way. It echoes of Russian masters and of Isaac B. Singer with perhaps a touch of wisdom of Tevye the Milkman. It is a thick book with an intriguingly beautiful cover, that requires a significant time investment, but I don’t regret a single minute, and I am looking forward to whatever else Yaniv Iczkovits might come up with next.
This is to say the least quite an unusual behavior for the 18th century rural community but Fani is not the only one in this book who exhibit behaviour diverging from the norm. It is in fact filled with unusual behaviors, perhaps remaking the 18th century setting in a postmodern way, but the story is fascinating. It is about family, expectations, attachment to traditions, and a courage to go against it in order to find your own way. It echoes of Russian masters and of Isaac B. Singer with perhaps a touch of wisdom of Tevye the Milkman. It is a thick book with an intriguingly beautiful cover, that requires a significant time investment, but I don’t regret a single minute, and I am looking forward to whatever else Yaniv Iczkovits might come up with next.
April 28, 2020
I've been slow reading this award winning Hebrew novel, the recently published translation of which (from Orr Scharf) will surely gain more accolades. There are a few words to check the meaning of, fortunately just by highlighting them on the eReader, but chiefly because after only a few pages I realised how good it was, and I wanted to savour it.
This is a lavish and enchanting novel of adventure, an old-fashioned type of story telling that is rarely seen in a novel these days. Set in what is now Belorus, then, in the late nineteenth century, tsarist Russian, it is the story of a Jewish community, with its powerful sense of loyalty, revenge and family, set against the fizz of revolution, and approaching war.
It begins when a deserted wife appeals for information on her missing husband by advertising in the local newspaper. Mende Speismann sympathises, stories like these are prevolent, her own husband walked out a few months earlier. Cue the introduction of irrepressible Fanny Keismann, known to her neighbours as the 'beast', from the work she does alongside her father slaughtering livestock. Though married with children, she leaves in search of her sister's husband, and so begins a remarkable adventure.
Her story is interspersed with those of several other key characters, all utterly gripping and adding richly to the novel.
Ultimately, what Iczkovits produces is highly relevent and resonant today; of the perils of preconception, and of how the Jewish are viewed, a combination of spiteful threat, vulnerability and yet as a great power.
Most memorably, it is about the ability of people to change. Fanny, once riveted by the "animals’ final twitches" that she slaughtered, becomes the very opposite, a protector of them, and a vegetarian even. The head of the Tsar’s secret police, Colonel Piotr Novak, is introduced as the bad guy with a deeply engraved bigotry toward Jews, but on spending time among them, becomes a totally different man.
This is an exceptional novel, brimming with Jewish cultural references, and jammed as full as a Swiss Roll with irony, satire, witticisms and colourful metaphors. And..it has an appropriately marvellous finale.
This is a lavish and enchanting novel of adventure, an old-fashioned type of story telling that is rarely seen in a novel these days. Set in what is now Belorus, then, in the late nineteenth century, tsarist Russian, it is the story of a Jewish community, with its powerful sense of loyalty, revenge and family, set against the fizz of revolution, and approaching war.
It begins when a deserted wife appeals for information on her missing husband by advertising in the local newspaper. Mende Speismann sympathises, stories like these are prevolent, her own husband walked out a few months earlier. Cue the introduction of irrepressible Fanny Keismann, known to her neighbours as the 'beast', from the work she does alongside her father slaughtering livestock. Though married with children, she leaves in search of her sister's husband, and so begins a remarkable adventure.
Her story is interspersed with those of several other key characters, all utterly gripping and adding richly to the novel.
Ultimately, what Iczkovits produces is highly relevent and resonant today; of the perils of preconception, and of how the Jewish are viewed, a combination of spiteful threat, vulnerability and yet as a great power.
Most memorably, it is about the ability of people to change. Fanny, once riveted by the "animals’ final twitches" that she slaughtered, becomes the very opposite, a protector of them, and a vegetarian even. The head of the Tsar’s secret police, Colonel Piotr Novak, is introduced as the bad guy with a deeply engraved bigotry toward Jews, but on spending time among them, becomes a totally different man.
This is an exceptional novel, brimming with Jewish cultural references, and jammed as full as a Swiss Roll with irony, satire, witticisms and colourful metaphors. And..it has an appropriately marvellous finale.
November 4, 2021
Ambientato nel 1894, in Bielorussia, all'epoca parte dell'impero russo, è un romanzo corale che, col pretesto dell'abbandono di una donna di religione ebraica da parte del marito, racconta un universo di personaggi, stati d'animo, modi di sentire. Il racconto procede in alcuni punti a spirale, anticipa o accenna dei temi che verranno approfonditi poi. C'è la questione ebraica nelle sue varie sfaccettature raccontata sia dal punto di vista dei membri della comunità, sia da quello dei russi. L'autore, pur essendo israeliano, racconta in modo limpido non solo il razzismo, ma anche gli errori compiuti dai membri del suo popolo. C'è il rapporto tra uomini e donne con Mende e Fanny che raccontano due modi completamente diversi di essere donna. C'è il ruolo della polizia segreta nella politica di uno stato con riflessioni notevoli su come ottenere informazioni, su come il punto di vista e le chiusure mentali di agente ne influenzino il comportamento. C'è la vita dei soldati dell'epoca e il modo in cui le scelte dei generali ne influenzano il benessere. Ci sono tante storie individuali tutte interessanti. Tra queste, il capitolo in cui il pittore racconta la storia del "Padre" è quasi un romanzo nel romanzo e forse anche una delle parti migliori del libro. Insomma, ve lo consiglio.
January 18, 2020
I thought The Slaughterman's Daughter was a very original historical fiction. It's about a world I knew nothing about, Jewish life in the Russian empire in the 19th century.
Characters were very well drawn out and I loved the touches of humour throughout the narrative.
I really enjoyed the fact that there no stereotypes!
There were some slow paced sections but a very refreshing and interesting read.
Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy.
Characters were very well drawn out and I loved the touches of humour throughout the narrative.
I really enjoyed the fact that there no stereotypes!
There were some slow paced sections but a very refreshing and interesting read.
Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy.
February 2, 2023
Ja ne znam kako ova knjiga nema bar sto hiljada recenzija i kako sve ove zvezdice nijesu popunjene do maksimuma?! Kakva knjiga, kakva avantura, kakvi likovi, kakva priča! Malo je 5⭐️, ali ako je to već maksimum, onda pridodajem jedan 🔪 za Fani i za sve žene ovog svijeta, da im se nađe pri ruci i butini 💪🏻♀️❤️🔥!!
April 3, 2021
When reading this, I was reminded of the quote that's typically attributed to Mark Twain about not having time to write a short letter and so writing a long one instead. This book is simple way too long and far too rambling for me. I gave it my best shot, gave it a week of my reading attention and found I was still only halfway through. The problem was at that point that I just couldn't work up the interest to give it another week.
The premise is interesting - but not very well explained, which is odd since at times other plotlines are way too OVER-explained. Two sisters live with their families in Tsarist Russia (actually, the book is set in what's now Belarus, Ukraine and Poland) in the so-called Pale of Settlement. I knew a little of the approach of settling Jewish communities together away from the rest of Russia society from my 'O' level European history. Think Fiddler on the Roof - it's that sort of idea. The elder sister finds herself abandoned by her husband who has gone off to Kyiv (or Minsk, or somewhere - it seems unclear) and may or may not have become a Christian (honestly, I was struggling). An abandoned wife in Jewish culture becomes a so-called 'agunah' and has to live her life in a not-quite-wife-not-quite-widow sense of limbo (to mix religious references). Her sister, Fanny, the Slaughterman's Daughter of the title, goes off to search for the missing husband in order to prove his dead and get her sister widow status, or to bring him back to sort out their relationships. The author doesn't explain this - I only know the status thing from another book I read (The Gallery of Vanished Husbands by Natasha Solomon - 5 stars from me). To search for her missing brother-in-law, she leaves behind her own husband and children and takes off with the village boatman.
At times, the book is great. It zings along with colourful events and fascinating characters. The problem is that those times are too few and far between. I finally quit when faced with hours of an artist in a military base telling Fanny everything about her boatman companion and his friend who helped them escape from the authorities. It was just too much.
This book felt like when you meet somebody who seems really interesting at first and after a while you realise you just can't get away from them and they've turned into a terrible bore.
There's a great story in this book. Unfortunately, from my perspective, it's drowning in too many side stories and too much detail.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for my copy.
The premise is interesting - but not very well explained, which is odd since at times other plotlines are way too OVER-explained. Two sisters live with their families in Tsarist Russia (actually, the book is set in what's now Belarus, Ukraine and Poland) in the so-called Pale of Settlement. I knew a little of the approach of settling Jewish communities together away from the rest of Russia society from my 'O' level European history. Think Fiddler on the Roof - it's that sort of idea. The elder sister finds herself abandoned by her husband who has gone off to Kyiv (or Minsk, or somewhere - it seems unclear) and may or may not have become a Christian (honestly, I was struggling). An abandoned wife in Jewish culture becomes a so-called 'agunah' and has to live her life in a not-quite-wife-not-quite-widow sense of limbo (to mix religious references). Her sister, Fanny, the Slaughterman's Daughter of the title, goes off to search for the missing husband in order to prove his dead and get her sister widow status, or to bring him back to sort out their relationships. The author doesn't explain this - I only know the status thing from another book I read (The Gallery of Vanished Husbands by Natasha Solomon - 5 stars from me). To search for her missing brother-in-law, she leaves behind her own husband and children and takes off with the village boatman.
At times, the book is great. It zings along with colourful events and fascinating characters. The problem is that those times are too few and far between. I finally quit when faced with hours of an artist in a military base telling Fanny everything about her boatman companion and his friend who helped them escape from the authorities. It was just too much.
This book felt like when you meet somebody who seems really interesting at first and after a while you realise you just can't get away from them and they've turned into a terrible bore.
There's a great story in this book. Unfortunately, from my perspective, it's drowning in too many side stories and too much detail.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for my copy.
March 9, 2023
W KOŃCU. W pewnym momencie myślałam, że już jej nie skończę. Dlaczego takie długie, naturalistyczne opisy, panie autorze? Dlaczegooooo? Zakończenie jest satysfakcjonujące w jakiejś części. Dobrze też zapoznać się z bliskowschodnią literaturą (najprawdopodobniej to moja pierwsza). Choć nie ukrywam, że preferuję krótkie, a bogate opisy - przykładowe w literaturze japońskiej.
April 13, 2023
Well, that was a bit weird. Sometimes funny, often brutal but utterly confusing (and it doesn't take a lot to confuse me). So many names, so many characters to deal with, some of which had more than one name (I think) and the meandering prose didn't help with it's many many tangents. BUT, I sort of did enjoy myself just not as much as I wanted to.
I will finish with these wise words that an old lady in the Hospital waiting room said to me while we were discussing the benefits of well stocked spice racks.
"If ever a book needed a glossary of terms it's this one".
I will finish with these wise words that an old lady in the Hospital waiting room said to me while we were discussing the benefits of well stocked spice racks.
"If ever a book needed a glossary of terms it's this one".
March 31, 2023
Nepatiko. Visiškai ne mano knyga. Nepaisant to, kad pelniusi nemažai apdovanojimų, man ji buvo nuobodi. Skaičiau labai sunkiai. Ir nors knygos aprašymas labai suintrigavo, nes romanas buvo prilygintas brolių Coenų ir Tarantino darbams, mano galva, iki jų šiai knygai toli šaukia.
Neišgelbėjo knygos nei smulkmeniškas carinės ochrankos, nei Rusijos imperijos žydų kasdienybės aprašymas, nei autoriaus bandymas kurti neva komiškus personažus ar ironijos kupiną pasakojimą. Personažai man pasirodė kažkokie netikri ar net apgailėtini, o ir tos kokybiškos ironijos man nepavyko rasti.
Vienu žodžiu, neįtikino.
Neišgelbėjo knygos nei smulkmeniškas carinės ochrankos, nei Rusijos imperijos žydų kasdienybės aprašymas, nei autoriaus bandymas kurti neva komiškus personažus ar ironijos kupiną pasakojimą. Personažai man pasirodė kažkokie netikri ar net apgailėtini, o ir tos kokybiškos ironijos man nepavyko rasti.
Vienu žodžiu, neįtikino.
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