Review by Elizabeth Palmer

Isra Isle: A Novel (Mandel Vilar Press). This intriguing work of speculative fiction based on an historical event, newly translated into English, bridges fantasy with reality through alternate storylines that connect Jewish Israeli culture with Seneca traditions on an island near Buffalo, New York. It is as strange as it sounds, and yet it’s a lovely constellation of stories that touch on questions of faith, integrity, and suffering. “Perhaps the members of your tribe understood that waiting interminably is tantamount to giving up on the promise,” a young Seneca girl whispers to her Jewish companion as he sleeps. “In their persistent demand that Wakan Tanka redeem the dead, the Jews confirm their faith in the Great Spirit. Tinged with doubt and scorched with disappointment, it is nevertheless an act of faith.”

Elizabeth Palmer, Christian Century, December 2016

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