Kantika

I have been curious about the history and culture of the Sephardic Jews for some time. Kantika, (which means song in the Ladino dialect) by Elizabeth Graver explored those themes and so much more. It was a multigenerational saga that began in Istanbul during the early twentieth century. Author, Eliz......more

Gorgeous details enrich this epic about a Jewish family and their journey beginning in Constantinople with its stone houses and gardens, and ancient graves. Graver restores a lost time and place along with host of extraordinary characters--first among them the indomitable Rebecca, a wife, mother, se......more

3.5 This book was pleasant enough but not my thing at the end of the day. I listened to an ARC of the audio version read by Gail Shalan. My only tiny bugbear about this was the male voices who all sounded as though they were talking through their teeth. Otherwise it was a good, clear, often impassione......more

A pleasant read. Kantika focuses on the experiences of a family of Sephardic Jews who have lived in Turkey for generations, but in the early 20th century find themselves forced to immigrate to Spain and (for some) later the U.S. The novel blends fact and fiction, as while fictionalized, it’s closely......more

This book is a marvel. Part novel, part genealogical adventure, the story is an epic jaunt across continents and decades, moving seamlessly from culture to culture and providing nothing less, in the end, than a portrait of the whole world, as seen from the particular angle of one family’s lived expe......more