Gabrielle Sher has planted her weird fiction flag firmly in the ground, with her folklore-rich debut, Odessa.
I had no idea what this book was about before I read it, and I recommend other readers go in with minimal knowledge. There are so many surprises in the narrative; I found myself yelling “oh no!” to an empty room on several occasions.
Yetta and her family live in fear in their shtetl. It is the height of the pogroms, a period of anti-Jew violence by Russians. During one particularly violent night, Yetta’s father is attacked, and Yetta is killed.
Yetta’s father has clearly never read Stephen King’s Pet Sematary, because he thinks it’s a great idea to try and resurrect his daughter from the dead, using ancient magic to bring her back as a golem. Astonishingly, it actually works, but Yetta’s father insists on keeping the secret from her. How do you think that turns out?
Odessa is such an intriguing, well-written novel. It is a genuinely exciting read. But also incredibly heartbreaking. Sher does not hold back in her descriptions of violence, and several sections are truly devastating.
The interweaving of Jewish folklore is extraordinary; Sher’s level of detail suggests a real commitment to research for this novel.
But at the heart of the book, we have two fantastic central characters. Yetta is instantly likable, hungry to escape her parents and discover what the world has to offer. But as a parent, I deeply empathized with Yetta’s father, Mordechai, and his desire to protect his family at any cost.
Odessa is an incredible book, one of my favorites of the year. Recommended for fans of historical horror.
California Reading 