Sigal Samuel, The Mystics of Mile End
Pre-registration for this event has closed. Walk-ins are welcome
Join us for an evening with author Sigal Samuel, who will be speaking about her debut novel, in the vein of Nicole Krauss's bestselling The History of Love, which tells the story of a dysfunctional Jewish family obsessed with climbing the Kabbalah's Tree of Life. Samuel will also be talking about her real-world connections to the fictional Meyer family, including her personal connectiont to Kabbalah and how she discovered her family's Kabbalistic roots in Mumbai, India.
Brother and sister Lev and Samara Meyer live in Montreal's Mile End — a mashup of hipsters and Hasidic Jews. They have a fairly typical childhood, other than that their father is distracted, their mother is dead, and down the street Mr. Katz is trying to recreate the Biblical Tree of Knowledge out of plucked leaves, toilet paper rolls, and dental floss.
When their father, David, an atheist professor of Jewish mysticism, is diagnosed with an unusual heart murmur, he becomes convinced that his heart is whispering divine secrets. But as David's frenzied attempts to ascend the Tree of Life lead to tragedy, Samara and Lev set out — in separate and divisive ways — to finish what he's started. It falls to next-door neighbor and Holocaust survivor Chaim Glassman to shatter the silence that divides the members of the Meyer family. But can he break through to them in time?
This program includes a question and answer period. The book will be available for purchase and there will be a signing following the program.
“With a refreshing new voice that has a dash of Anne Tyler and a sprinkling of Sholem Aleichem, Samuel explores the search for enlightenment in her standout debut...the author shows with heart and insight that what we seek is often right in front of us.” — Publishers Weekly
“A family is pulled to Jewish mysticism...in this expansive saga about faith, love, and loss…The minor characters, ever present in the background, shine as their stories conclude powerfully…A tale about the stories we let ourselves believe.” — Kirkus Review
Cost:
$5 General Admission
$20 Book + 1 Ticket
Sigal Samuel is an award-winning fiction writer, journalist, essayist, and playwright. Currently opinion editor at the Forward, she has also published work in the Daily Beast, the Rumpus, BuzzFeed, and Electric Literature. She has appeared on NPR, BBC, and Huffington Post Live. Her six plays have been produced in theaters from Vancouver to New York. Originally from Montreal, Sigal now lives in Brooklyn. The Mystics of Mile End is her first novel.