The Heritage: A Jewish Historical Fiction Novel (Jewish Historical Fiction in latin America)

This was a fascinating story about Jewish immigration to a Latin-American country and the process of assimilation. I did not give it a 5-star rating since this was my second attempt to get into this novel. I gave up on my first when the book included an impossibly long and boring letter. I never reached the end the first time around. However, I recommend readers skip that letter. The rest of the novel was enthralling.

Author Jack Michonik weaves a powerful historical fiction that will easily captivate the reader from the first page to the last. The author paints a dramatic and enthralling tale of cultural adaptation in a very vivid and convincing way. In addition, the characters are drawn with great credibility and conviction. It’s a relatively fast-paced novel that will keep you engaged from the opening chapter.The book description gives a sneak preview: ‘In the wake of events in the 1900’s, thousands of Jewish families left Europe in search of a better life in the New World. Most reached the shores of the United States, but some, like Leib Edri and Chaim Lubinsky, landed in South America, "where the subtle scent of this mingling of violence, laziness, revelry and gaiety hovers in the air."Leib and Chaim arrive in the town of Lárida, where there are hardly any Jews, and set up shop. They work hard, change their names to León and Jaime, take a leading role in the incipient Jewish community and create a new life for themselves while prospering, marrying and having children.Surrounded by a Christian world and the culture of Latin America, the sons of the immigrants are unable to withstand the forces of assimilation that sweep them towards their disintegration as Jews.The scope of the book goes beyond the story of the characters. Transcending the plot is the story of the birth of a Jewish community in a South American town. Lárida is "a bustling city of more than a million inhabitants" that the fact-checking reader won't find in the map, but yet, a city whose Jewish community sprang up in much the same way as those of Caracas, Lima or Bogotá…’The Heritage had every element a good story should have. An interesting plot, attention to detail, but best of all fleshed out, well-written and well-rounded character development. There’s an abundance of well-illustrated scenes that make you feel like you are right there in the story, and that’s something I really look for in a good book.It’s one of those stories that come along once in a while that makes you want to read it non-stop until you get to the end. I’m giving nothing further away here. And this, I hope, will only add to the mystery and enjoyment for the reader!I’ll be looking forward to reading more from Jack Michonik in the future. I would highly recommend this book. A well-deserved five stars from me.

What will become of your heritage? A seminal question; it is the heart wrenching query on the lips of every Jew as they witness the next generation take their place as leaders and shapers of the faith. The Heritage is an excellent fictional story of two families as they emigrate from Russia to the shores of South America. While there are innumerable accounts that speak of a mass exodus of Eastern European Jews immigrating to the ‘goldene medina’-The United States of America, this book provides much insight into another, equally fascinating, experience- that is to say, the immigration of Jews to South America.The reader follows the lives of two young men as they make their way to a fictional location in South America in the early 1900’s. With great detail, Michonik presents a vivid narrative allowing us to be privy to historical events, as well as fictional situations that surely arose, one way or another, in the life of Jewish immigrants. The Heritage provides a look into Jewish South America and shines a light on one of the more prevalent difficulties: assimilation within a Catholic nation. As opposed to the United States, most, if not all, South American countries are Catholic. It is written within their constitution; there is no separation of Church and State. While Jews living on the Lower East Side in New York might have faced anti-Semitism and hardships as a minority, it was (and remains) a completely different experience when Catholicism is the official religion of the land. Michonik weaves a mystical ribbon of longing and trepidation throughout the novel- “a kind of luminous, nearly imperceptible dew” that seems to represent the tears of ancestors crying out, “What will become of your heritage?” I could hear my own ancestors posing the same appeal.The Heritage was a pleasure to read as it mirrored much of my own family history. As a second generation Argentine, I was born to Jewish immigrants that escaped Russia prior to the revolution. I was mesmerized from the first few pages as I felt myself part of the family, identifying with their trials and tribulations. As a matter of fact, The Heritage is truly more than ‘just a Jewish’ story; it is a narrative that speaks of the quest for a better life- for oneself and for those yet to come, while remaining true to those who paved the way before us.

It's amazing that every place the Jewish people escaped, there was more persecution. It's amazing that their spirits weren't broken. It's obvious that they struggled to keep their religion and faith, but it has paid off. However, even today the Jewish people are persecuted every place they choose to make their home. Yet, somehow they continue with their quest to be the best and make the most of what they have as read in this book. These young kids, fleeing more ridicule and even death are building and growing their communities in order, not just to survive, but build the best to provide for the Jewish communities. I hope I'm still alive to see the the acceptance of the Jewish religion and the safety and growth of the Jewksh people.

I enjoyed this novel. The city of Larida is fictional. I knew about Jewish immigrants mainly in Argentina, but knew little about them. I didn't know much about Jewish immigrants in other South American countries. It was very interesting to learn about how the Eastern European Jews came together to survive, become educated, successful and maintain their identity. Mr. Michonik is a wonderful story teller.

O livro é excelente, em minha opinião! Aborda com inteligência um problema que até hoje não está bem resolvido, relativo à assimilação que preocupa o povo judeu na Diáspora, ameaçando o judaísmo, em sua continuidade como tal!