I am very glad that I read this book: one, it washed the taste of The Maiden and Her Monster out of my mouth; and two, because it was compared to Good Omens and (luckily) it earned that comparison.
When the Angels Left the Old Country is about a small Polish shtetl (in fact, it is so small that it is only known as Shtetl) and the angel and the demon who are chevrusas (or Talmud study partners) there. The angel (occasionally called Uriel, usually called the Angel of (insert whatever needs doing at the moment) and Little Ash (short for Ashmedai, the Hebraic name for Asmodeus, Demon of Lust; he’s one of Ashmedai’s 250 sons) have been there so long the shtetl and its Yeshiva (school) were built around them centuries ago. So they believe that the town and its inhabitants are theirs and under their protection. But pogroms and the search for a new life have drawn all the young people from their village to America (New York, America. Not Chicago, America.) When one of those young emigrants goes missing, Uriel and Little Ash set off to find her.
Along the way to the New World, they encounter humans in need of their help, including Rose Cohen, the angry lesbian (who is so far in the closet she doesn’t even know she is in a closet) whose best friend (and the love of her life) has abandoned her to marry a man, and Malke Shulman, whose father died mysteriously on his way to America. But there are many obstacles ahead of them as difficult as what they’ve left behind. Medical exams (and demons) at Ellis Island. Corrupt officials, cruel mob bosses, murderers, poverty, restless spirits called dybbuks. The streets are far from paved with gold.
To hell with morning services!” said Little Ash, because this was what the angel should expect from him. “I have been a prisoner—why should my first morning of freedom be spent in services!”
“Because,” said Uriel, “that way you will remember who it was that saved you.”
Practically speaking, Uriel was the one who’d saved him.
This was really a great book; the kind that I wanted to start reading again as soon as I was finished with it. The characters were likable, the writing was tight, and I want more. I want to know more about different religions in this world have different types of angels and demons. I want Lamb to write a prequel (even if it’s just a novella) telling me how Uriel and Little Ash met. I want more of them in New York City. Because to be honest, as much as I loved Rose (who was veering close to Hermione Granger territory and luckily never hit it), and Essie (the woman they started this voyage for), and Rivka (the sassy old yenta they meet on the voyage over), my heart is firmly with Uriel and Little Ash. They are truly compatriots of Aziraphale and Crowley. They’re snarky with each other, they get short-tempered, but you know they would gladly die for each other (or kill; whichever was needed at the time). And you can read their relationship however you want: friends, study partners, aro/ace couple, “one day if they get over studying they’ll never get out of bed” couple; whatever your little heart desires they’d fit. And their descriptions are also worth the price of admission; Uriel with his goat eyes and hooves (under his shoes, of course…sometimes) and Little Ash and his cat eyes and chicken feet (always under shoes). Or the fact that Ash can see the sins crawling all over a person’s body, so as to always know what someone is capable of. Of course Uriel is far more naive and trusting, but with a truly snarky side underneath; Ash is the big heart hiding under a tough exterior, and Uriel is the well-meaning but occasionally clueless about his counterpart’s feelings half of the duo. (As I said, they’re basically Aziraphale and Crowley 2.0) Or how Ash is the youngest of his father’s children, due to Ashmedai not having more after being bitten by Little Ash. (See, demons chose their gender at birth, so after 249 brisim, Ashmedai was hoping to give a daughter’s blessing, so he sighed. Well, Little Ash thought he was being sighed at, so he bit his father. He’s had spunk since the beginning.)
And the setting; Lamb conveys Ellis Island and New York City exactly as they probably were. The lack of care (and at times boredom and utter contempt) people at Ellis Island had for the refugees. (Which I may be guessing at slightly; my paternal great-great-grandmother worked as a translator, and apparently the translators were the ones that were worn down by the sheer volume, but cared the most.) And of course if you’re a young Jewish (or Irish or Italian) immigrant, you would go to at least two of the three locations Lamb also mentions; the anarchist cafes, and the sweatshops; sorry, shirtwaist factories, if not the cheap dance halls.
Icing on the cake is that in the back of the book is a glossary of Hebraic/Polish/Yiddish words and phrases so you can find out what Lamb means by certain words; no searching or guessing here.
All in all, this was just an incredibly great book and one I would strongly recommend if you like Queer Fantasy, books about human-like angels and demons, or a book that is described as “a Yiddish story, but Queer” without being heavy-handed with the Judaism.
(One suggestion: go for this cover, not the yellow and blue one frequently shown; not only are Ash and Uriel adorably portrayed on it, it also happens to be the author’s preferred cover.)
