The Lost Shtetl

This story captured my interest as a Jew who has grandparents from Eastern Europe (Poland and Romania) and having spent my childhood listening to stories of their youth, the horror of the holocausts and the fear that every non Jew will eventually turn of “us” was a huge part of my upbringing. The tone of the narrator was pleasant and calming as the story unfolded. The story itself was told in a classic Yiddish style, where the narrator speaks to the reader directly apologizing for sharing intimate parts of the characters lives or before telling of an unfortunate event. I was disappointed by the end of the story I was hoping for a happy ending,and I found myself annoyed that the author had the power to change the fate of the characters I grew to love but chose to instead end the tale much like a classic Shalom Alechem tale of sorrow and unfortunate fate of Jews. This book made me miss my grandmothers Yiddish sayings and simple cooking and feel a renewed connection to my roots. I did read on some reviews that the narrator was mispronouncing some of the terms but to clarify he actually was using the accent of Polish jewelry which is different than other types of Jews and the accents on the words are slightly different, his were in fact quite accurate to this region

Pretty much ruined by a bad reading. It could have been an excellent reading but is severely marred by a typical Audible problem. Virtually every non-English word is mispronounced. Stage and film actors consult coaches but evidently not Audible readers. As a result this very good and sometimes serious story becomes at best comic and at worst jarring.

Horrible ending. unrealistic. sorry I bot book. would not reċomend to anyone. waste of time.

The reading began a bit too cutesy for my taste, as if Max Gross was channeling his interior Sholom Aleichem. But once he got into the story itself, Gross engrossed me! As well as being an engaging saga of romance and revenge, of coming of age and modernity through an heroic quest, the book brings up an intriguing proposition: How would individuals, and society, deal with a newly discovered isolated population, almost completely oblivious to the contemporary world? Well done. PS: Mr. Cohen, the Audible performer, did a credible job, thank you. But to my ear, his Polish pronunciation was better than his Yiddish!

This is a wonderful book that gives you great insight into the Jewish and Polish history and culture. I would highly recommend it.

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