Sigal Samuel is a novelist, journalist, and essayist whose work has appeared in prominent publications. Her writing delves into complex themes with a unique perspective. Samuel explores the human experience with insight and compassion, offering readers deeply resonant narratives. Her debut novel signifies a literary talent poised to deliver an enriching journey for her audience.
The book is published by Arthur A. Levine, known for its focus on high-quality children's literature. The publisher has a reputation for bringing engaging and imaginative stories to young readers, often featuring unique characters and themes that resonate with children and adults alike.
Sigal Samuel’s debut novel, in the vein of Nicole Krauss’s bestselling The History of Love, is an imaginative story that delves into the heart of Jewish mysticism, faith, and family. “This is not an ordinary tree I am making. “This,” he said, “this is the Tree of Knowledge.” In the half-Hasidic, half-hipster Montreal neighborhood of Mile End, eleven-year-old Lev Meyer is discovering that there may be a place for Judaism in his life. As he learns about science in his day school, Lev begins his own extracurricular study of the Bible’s Tree of Knowledge with neighbor Mr. Katz, who is building his own Tree out of trash. Meanwhile his sister Samara is secretly studying for her Bat Mitzvah with next-door neighbor and Holocaust survivor, Mr. Glassman. All the while his father, David, a professor of Jewish mysticism, is a non-believer. When, years later, David has a heart attack, he begins to believe God is speaking to him. While having an affair with one of his students, he delves into the complexities of Kabbalah. Months later Samara, too, grows obsessed with the Kabbalah’s Tree of Life—hiding her interest from those who love her most–and is overcome with reaching the Tree’s highest heights. The neighbors of Mile End have been there all along, but only one of them can catch her when she falls.