Description

Podolia, 1910: one day, a stranger arrives at the shtetl. He walks with a limp, appears to be deaf and has the look of a vagrant. The tight-knit community is on the point of chasing him out, but the local tzaddik sees the spark of holiness in his eyes. Named Rafael, he settles in the shtetl and begins forming close relationships with members of this Hasidic community – and slowly, this incomprehensible, magnetic figure stirs up buried feelings and old conflicts. Is he a divine figure, as some speculate, or does his arrival presage disaster?

Written in poetic prose that draws on fascinating elements of Jewish folklore and mysticism, Golem reconstructs a vanished world with a spellbinding combination of the real and the fantastical.

Publisher Review

A wise and sensitive book… [with] beautiful language * Vogue Poland * Plaza’s rendition of the religious and existential spirit of the shtiebel is so vivid, his storytelling so propulsive and gripping, I found it hard to put Golem down for even a few moments. Rarely does a historical novel so rich in the diction and everyday life of the past feel so utterly contemporary — Josh Cohen, author of ‘Not Working’ Fascinating and poetic… a strange, slippery story told through the eyes of outsiders — SIan Hughes, author of ‘Pearl’