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Léa
How do you change the world?Meet Léa, polyglot, labour activist, farbente feminist. Born to a large Jewish family and raised in a French Catholic town, Léa moves fluidly between languages and cultures. Her search for meaning and her instinct for justice place her at the centre of the great changes of the twentieth century. From street fights in Berlin to protests in Montreal, she defies the expectations and limitations of women's lives, wins historic victories for the union movement...and contends with the tensions in her own convictions.Based on a true story, this novel brings to life a heroine emboldened by struggle, and by the still-resonant terrors of her historical moment.
- GenresHistorical Fiction
296 pages, Paperback
Published February 12, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 6, 2022
This historical/biographical novel grabbed me from the start and held my interest throughout. I knew nothing about the real-life Léa Roback when I began reading; the book offered a compelling way to learn about Roback and, through her, a great deal about Jewish Canadian and Communist history. Despite the book's historical nature, I found myself thinking often about contemporary concerns (economic inequality, abortion, challenges to democracy, etc.). I did experience what I would call a few "hiccups" in my reading—moments when I wished a chapter hadn't ended quite so soon or abruptly, and even a few moments when I felt a bit lost. Still, I found this to be overall a superbly engaging story.
July 20, 2023
“‘Who are these Catholics who take the side of the fascists, not the side of the poor?’
‘Welcome to Quebec,’ Lea says.”
An absolute whirlwind of a book, Léa (with the accent-aigu) tells a dramatized version of the early life and heyday of real-life historical figure Léa Roback: an illustrious but overlooked Jewish-Canadian activist who fought for labour rights, women’s suffrage, and class equality, among many other prominent causes during the tumults of the early/mid-twentieth century. The novel recounts Léa’s impoverished, but loving childhood in Montreal and rural Quebec living in a large, working-class Jewish family in the early 1900s. The book then delves into Léa’s travels during her youth to America and pre-war Europe, in which she experienced an unusual sense of freedom and adventure for a young woman of the time, as well as her eventual return to Montreal and rise to power as a fierce, fearless leader in the communist and labour rights movements in Canada. In fiery, short chapters, author and professor Arielle Freedman tells the story of someone who completely defied the odds of her class, gender, and ethnic status in a restrictive society and managed to carve out an extraordinary, impactful life.
I am in awe of this book’s attention to detail. Even though the book was technically a novel and most of the dialogue and internal monologues fictionalized, Freedman wove in real newspaper clippings and constantly paid attention to how characters would react to the political events of the time. Freedman never shied away from the real challenges women, Jews, and working class people faced in Canada during this era…hardly the idealistic land of pluralism and universal healthcare as it is today.
I love how Freedman wove in many other Jewish Canadian or Québécois figures — such as Communist party leader Fred Rose or Quebec Premier Marc Duplessis — into the plot with the same amount of care she put into texturing her protagonist. I was entranced by the chapters set in Berlin and Moscow, where Freedman breathed complexity and vibrancy to even the minor characters in Léa’s travels, and she made each of the cities feel like characters of their own (with Montreal being the obvious protagonist.)
My only complaint? The book was too short! I wanted more of everything: more resolution with Léa’s lovers, her family, and how her activism developed after the war. The book sort of just stops after a major victory in the communist movement. It would have been much more satisfying had the author continued to describe Roback’s later years and how she reacted to the changes of the era, and it would have brought the book together more cohesively than its abrupt ending.
As a Jewish history and Jewish Montreal geek, this book was candy to me. I wish more people took the time to learn about Roback and the other trailblazing activists of this era! Spoiler Alert: there were activists outside of New York too!
Overall: 🐑 🐑 🐑 🐑 🐩 4.5 sheeps
Read If You Liked 📚:Mordecai Richler’s “The Street,” None Are Too Many, Sweatshop Strife, The Woman Behind The New Deal.
‘Welcome to Quebec,’ Lea says.”
An absolute whirlwind of a book, Léa (with the accent-aigu) tells a dramatized version of the early life and heyday of real-life historical figure Léa Roback: an illustrious but overlooked Jewish-Canadian activist who fought for labour rights, women’s suffrage, and class equality, among many other prominent causes during the tumults of the early/mid-twentieth century. The novel recounts Léa’s impoverished, but loving childhood in Montreal and rural Quebec living in a large, working-class Jewish family in the early 1900s. The book then delves into Léa’s travels during her youth to America and pre-war Europe, in which she experienced an unusual sense of freedom and adventure for a young woman of the time, as well as her eventual return to Montreal and rise to power as a fierce, fearless leader in the communist and labour rights movements in Canada. In fiery, short chapters, author and professor Arielle Freedman tells the story of someone who completely defied the odds of her class, gender, and ethnic status in a restrictive society and managed to carve out an extraordinary, impactful life.
I am in awe of this book’s attention to detail. Even though the book was technically a novel and most of the dialogue and internal monologues fictionalized, Freedman wove in real newspaper clippings and constantly paid attention to how characters would react to the political events of the time. Freedman never shied away from the real challenges women, Jews, and working class people faced in Canada during this era…hardly the idealistic land of pluralism and universal healthcare as it is today.
I love how Freedman wove in many other Jewish Canadian or Québécois figures — such as Communist party leader Fred Rose or Quebec Premier Marc Duplessis — into the plot with the same amount of care she put into texturing her protagonist. I was entranced by the chapters set in Berlin and Moscow, where Freedman breathed complexity and vibrancy to even the minor characters in Léa’s travels, and she made each of the cities feel like characters of their own (with Montreal being the obvious protagonist.)
My only complaint? The book was too short! I wanted more of everything: more resolution with Léa’s lovers, her family, and how her activism developed after the war. The book sort of just stops after a major victory in the communist movement. It would have been much more satisfying had the author continued to describe Roback’s later years and how she reacted to the changes of the era, and it would have brought the book together more cohesively than its abrupt ending.
As a Jewish history and Jewish Montreal geek, this book was candy to me. I wish more people took the time to learn about Roback and the other trailblazing activists of this era! Spoiler Alert: there were activists outside of New York too!
Overall: 🐑 🐑 🐑 🐑 🐩 4.5 sheeps
Read If You Liked 📚:Mordecai Richler’s “The Street,” None Are Too Many, Sweatshop Strife, The Woman Behind The New Deal.
October 30, 2025
Ariela Friedman’s Lea is a fictionalized biography of the life of Lèa Roback. Lèa, even from her youngest days, was not your average girl. She was always looking ahead and beyond and Ariela’s book does a fantastic job describing how Lèa went from one adventure to the next, and even, one country to the next, at a time when 99% of women married & raised families.
The book is a pleasure to read - with (mostly), short chapters. I loved the sprinkles of yiddishisms! ❤️ I especially appreciate the details of Quebecois history (providing context).
Great book ❤️! Great woman. Everyone (especially living in Montreal), should know the name Lèa Roback.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The book is a pleasure to read - with (mostly), short chapters. I loved the sprinkles of yiddishisms! ❤️ I especially appreciate the details of Quebecois history (providing context).
Great book ❤️! Great woman. Everyone (especially living in Montreal), should know the name Lèa Roback.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
February 4, 2025
Really loved this historical/biographical novel about the Montreal labour activist Lea Roback. Thank you Ariela Freedman for writing this excellent book and introducing me to this incredible woman.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews