Malkeh and Her Children: A Novel

by Marjorie Edelson

Richly plotted, animated by beautifully realized characters, and steeped in magnificent old-world detail, Malkeh and Her Children is the captivating epic of the remarkable Mandelkern family as they weather the storm of the Russian Revolution. At the family's center stands the indomitable Malkeh, an intelligent and beautiful woman, who marries Yoysef, an itinerant tailor. Together, the young couple embrace the simple joys and traditions of Jewish life in a tightly knit Russian city.

But soon their safe world is shattered with the dawn of the tsar's reign of terror. As famines and cholera epidemics sweep the nation, the Jews swiftly become scapegoats, with the Russian peasants taking their revenge in violent pogroms. Against this land torn by revolution and bloodshed, Malkeh and Yoysef's children must grow up and pursue their own destinies.

In a novel that sweeps from provincial life in a Jewish ghetto, to the streets of Lenin's St. Petersburg, rife with revolt, to Moscow in the chaos after the civil war, author Marjorie Edelson has woven a timeless tapestry of the old country with both its torments and its joys. Malkeh and Her Children is a loving evocation of powerful family values and traditions -- an imaginative work of love and hope that transports us into the life of a proud woman, whose courage and love will leave no one unmoved.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Jewish

704 pages, Paperback

First published September 29, 1992

Reviews

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I was a kid, my mother bought this book from the discount bookstore in a strip mall near our house. I would read anything I could get my hands on, and I read this one over and over again. Mostly because it's really long. I took it with me when I moved out, that and the family medical encyclopedia. Who knows if it's good? I love it.

[M · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't help it - I love epic-y kinds of stories. This one is different in that it focuses so much on Malkeh then goes mostly to her children's stories. My grandpa's father was from Russia and was Jewish so it was cool to learn some of what things were like there, at that time.

For some reason, this brings All The Rivers Run to mind. I love that book!

[Angie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this several years back, I think before my sophomore year of college. I loved it. It's a really long book, but it was a page turner for me. I couldn't put it down. But then, I love stories about Jewish culture. May not be for everyone.

[Kari · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story of Malkeh stayed in my memories for a long time. She was so real as if I knew her personally. It has been a long time since I read the book but I have only fondest memories of it. It is a beautiful history lesson as well. One of the best books I have ever read. 5++++

[Allison · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book -- it was a good read, the author clearly did her research, and I learned a lot about this period in Russian history (fact-checking as I went). I became invested in the characters, but I did think that at times the author was more interested in hitting her plot points than in how her characters might act -- some of the turns felt forced. I think the most successful historical fiction feels in tone and mood like the country/time when it is set, and in this Malkeh and her Children does not succeed -- it always feels like a late-20th-century American novel. But I did enjoy it nonetheless.

[Elaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book really spoke to my roots.
Both of my Jewish grandmothers were from eastern Europe,
and actually talked about some of the things that happened in this book.
So it really hit home for me.
One Grandma had a story about forced conscription and her brothers that
as the Cossacks ran in the front door, her brothers ran out the back door.
She also narrowly escaped being murdered in the pogroms as the main characters do in this story.
Also they made their way to the US to start a new life without oppression and religious persecution.
So reading this was like reading my own story.
So much sadness and love.

[Annette Scherr · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love historical fiction. I read this book 10 or so years ago. I couldn't put it down. This shows an example why the jews all over europe were so keen to find a new homeland where they would be safe from persecution and free to worship in their own way.

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story was good but it was just TOO LONG. Plus there were so many words on each page and not enough dialogue. It took me a while to get through it.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first read this book in the early 90s when it was first published and I fell in love with it. I read it over and over, and I felt like the characters were distant relatives. It’s not the best-written book ever, but it’s just so GOOD and earnest and real and full of life and love. Just picked up a used copy 30 years later and it’s like meeting an old friend. So comfortable and warm and welcoming. The author really put her heart into this book.

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this several years ago and just remember being engrossed. I was swept into 20th century Russia. i think there was a dirty part, but it has been years and I don't remember. I just remember loving it.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

so cool to learn about Jewish Russian history. it's a little hard to pinpoint exactly what was so good about the book - the author's a great storyteller.

[Jenalyn · Rating 1 out of 5]

threw away

[Yvonne Carter · Rating 1 out of 5]

I cannot recommend this book. This could have been a good story line but too much trash in it.