‘Shtetl Dreams’ Shows Jewish Youths’ Coming of Age, Romance in War
TEL AVIV, Israel (PRWEB) March 16, 2016 -- Raaya Admoni takes readers to a time of hardship, when the People of the Book were struggling to survive the Nazi’s vicious extermination campaigns across Europe during World War II. Admoni’s new historical fiction, “Shtetl Dreams” (published by Xlibris AU), draws on real events as it follows the fate of two Jewish families who both come from the same tiny European shtetl.
It begins with Sarka, who at the age of only 13 is to be married to a 65-year-old rabbi, a widower – all because of a dream that her mother has had. She tries to defy her family’s will even as her youthful dreams of marrying for love are quashed. Meanwhile, little Shaime is a boy who is orphaned, and while his siblings are found homes, 10 year-old Shaime is deemed too old to be adopted and sent to work as a saddler’s apprentice in Lublin. His host family treats him so harshly that he lives in slave-like conditions. He dreams of having a normal childhood, but World War II breaks out. After the carnage, Sheindel, Sarka’s daughter, and Shaime are among the survivors and their paths cross. Readers will see if fate proves kinder to them than the nightmares of the tragic losses that haunt their sleepless nights.
“Even before their fate was sealed by the Nazi invasion, the Jews in the little Polish town of Belzitz faced great adversity. Yet there were always dreams, some bringing consolation and others shaping their destinies,” says Admoni. In her sweeping historical novel, she traces a riveting family saga through three generations. The personal stories of Sheindel and the orphaned Shaime are interwoven into a rich tapestry of a small Jewish village, — a shtetl—breathing life into an entire world of language, culture, and customs, tragically a world of which hardly a trace has survived.
Admoni says her story was inspired by Menachem Perry, the popular Israeli broadcaster, and what he told of her of the hardships that his own parents underwent. “It is often said that reality surpasses imagination, but hard as it may be to believe, everything described in ‘Shtetl Dreams’ really did take place. None of the names of the main characters have been changed, and their descendants are among us today.”
“Shtetl Dreams”
By Raaya Admoni, translated by Aloma Halter
Hardcover | 6 x 9in | 700 pages | ISBN 9781503509825
Softcover | 6 x 9in | 700 pages | ISBN 9781503509818
E-Book | 700 pages | ISBN 9781503509801
Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble
About the Author
Raaya Admoni was born in Jerusalem, where she has lived all his life. She studied law and became a qualified lawyer, though she has never worked in the profession. She works as an editor and presenter of radio programs at Kol Israel, “The Voice of Israel,” the Israel Broadcasting Authority. Concurrent with her work at the radio, she has written several stories and scripts for radio. She is married and has three daughters.
Xlibris Publishing Australia, an Author Solutions, LLC imprint, is a self-publishing services provider dedicated to serving Australian authors. By focusing on the needs of creative writers and artists and adopting the latest print-on-demand publishing technology and strategies, we provide expert publishing services with direct and personal access to quality publication in hardcover, trade paperback, custom leather-bound and full-color formats. To date, Xlibris has helped to publish more than 60,000 titles.For more information, visit xlibrispublishing.com.au or call 1800 455 039 to receive a free publishing guide. Follow us @XlibrisAus on Twitter for the latest news.
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