“Rarely does one encounter a novel as full of charm and heart as Sigal Samuel’s riveting The Mystics of Mile End...A novel that takes up enormous questions - about the very nature of existence - with both profound intelligence and galloping humor. Before you crack open this book, be forewarned: You will fall in love.” — -- Joanna Rakoff, My Salinger Year
“A remarkable debut where varying perspectives on faith, family, and the search for meaning are explored by characters brought to life with a profound sense of empathy for what it means to be human.” — -- Simon Van Booy, author of Everything Beautiful Began After
“An absorbing tale of one family’s search for meaning, The Mystics of Mile End is a beautiful and at times heartbreaking read.” — - Anya Ulinich, author of Lena Finkle's Magic Barrel
“This skillfully spun story forces us to look at life’s toughest questions, while we marvel at its everyday beauty and heartbreak.” — - Lee Woodruff, author of In an Instant and Those We Love Most
“The ‘Mystics’ in Sigal Samuel’s charming and generous book may be found near the intersection of Nicole Krauss’s The History of Love, Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Namesake, and Mordecai Richler’s The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz. This wonderfully self-assured debut explores the perils of faith and doubt.” — -- Adam Langer, Crossing California
“Every character in this outstanding first novel is searching for a reason to exist…The need for human relationships and mysticism’s relationship to life impel them forward…This heart-stopping narrative will keep readers glued until the very end.” — -- Library Journal Starred Review
“A family is pulled to Jewish mysticism...in this expansive saga about faith, love, and loss…The minor characters, ever present in the background, shine as their stories conclude powerfully…A tale about the stories we let ourselves believe.” — -- Kirkus Review
“An inventive debut novel, “The Mystics of Mile End” by Sigal Samuel (Morrow) is set in the Montreal Jewish neighborhood of Mile End, with questions of faith, religion and identity swirling about, as each member of a family dabbles in the Kabbalah.” — -- The Jewish Week
“With a refreshing new voice that has a dash of Anne Tyler and a sprinkling of Sholem Aleichem, Samuel explores the search for enlightenment in her standout debut...the author shows with heart and insight that what we seek is often right in front of us.” — Publishers Weekly
“Using a geometry of her own...Samuel draws a nigh-perfect circle in The Mystics of Mile End...that nourishes both the heart and mind. Samuel’s frugality in introducing characters and motifs results in a tightly focused and elegantly served novel that is something of a feast to read.” — -- Los Angeles Review of Books
“What’s most striking is [Samuel’s] ability to confidently imbue a story about a family struggling with contemporary issues with insight and humanity gleaned from age-old mystical texts.” — - Jewish Book World
“Samuel crafts an unforgettable narrative in which her characters fight to save each other from themselves and the unknown. THE MYSTICS OF MILE END will leave readers felling nourished with insight, emotion, and a healthy dose of Yiddish.” — -- Bust
“Absolutely brilliant! An engaging story about sorrow, secrets and mystic knowledge!” — -- Fresh Fiction
"Brimming with magic and mystery, The Mystics of Mile End tells the story of a family haunted by secrets and loss, and the ways in which they try to wrest meaning out of their lives. Sigal Samuel fearlessly delves into the esoteric world of Jewish mysticism and its intersection with urban life in modern-day Montreal. Engaging, tender, intelligent, this is a remarkable debut from a promising new literary voice." AYELET TSABARI author of The Best Place on Earth
"If Sigal Samuel was ever cautioned against tackling themes of mysticism, tradition, queer identity, death and recovery all in the same debut novel, she most triumphantly ignored that advice. Wonderfully ambitious, yet deftly crafted, The Mystics of Mile End is a rich and exuberant read. Dig in!" AMBER DAWN author of Sub Rosa
". . . [Sigal Samuel's] characters are skilfully wrought—it's not easy to pull off multiple points of view in a single piece, but here, each is distinctive. A cast of quirky secondary characters makes for a well-furnished world, while Samuel deftly incorporates scientific and religious concepts as well as works of literature into the text." CARLY ROSALIE VANDERGRIENDT PRISM International
"The Mystics of Mile End (Freehand Books), a first novel by former Montrealer Sigal Samuel, captures the spirit of the duality of one of the world's most vibrant neighborhoods. At once an exploration of Kabbalah, queer culture and physics, the book is a family saga that grapples with the tensions between science and faith. To discover a new writer with so much talent and potential is a singular thrill." 2016 Canadian Jewish Literary Award jury
From the Back Cover
Brother and sister Lev and Samara Meyer live in Montreal’s Mile End―a mashup of hipsters and Hasidic Jews. They have a fairly typical childhood, other than that around the corner Mr. Katz is trying to recreate the Biblical Tree of Knowledge out of plucked leaves, toilet paper rolls, and dental floss. When their father, a professor of Jewish mysticism, is diagnosed with an unusual heart murmur, he becomes convinced that his heart is whispering divine secrets. But when their father’s frenzied attempts to ascend the Tree of Life lead to tragedy, Samara and Lev set out (in separate and divisive ways) to finish what he’s started. It falls to next-door neighbour and Holocaust survivor Chaim Glassman to shatter the silence that divides the members of the Meyer family. But can he break through to them in time?
A remarkable debut novel reminiscent of The History of Love by Nicole Krauss and Bee Season by Myla Goldberg.
About the Author
Sigal Samuel is an award-winning fiction writer, journalist, essayist, and playwright. Sigal has written and produced six plays in Montreal, Vancouver, and New York; published work in The Rumpus, Buzzfeed, The Walrus, and This Magazine; and worked as a writer and editor for The Jewish Daily Forward and The Daily Beast. Originally from Montreal, she now lives and writes in Brooklyn.
