Are There "Secret Jews" in America? And if so, Why Are They Still Secret? The Nation by the River a Novel by Gabe Galambos May 2013
In his new mystery, The Nation by the River, Gabe Galambos transports readers to the town of Best Harbor, Massachusetts, whose secret society community of Crypto-Jews is, by appearances Catholic, by secret observances Jewish, and by legacies of secrecy and deceit - a people apart. For these "People of the Nation," a still resonating historic calamity helps to ensure that it be that way. "...distinctive...an aura of deep paranoia and suspicion" - KIRKUS REVIEWS
Brookline, MA, June 05, 2013 --(PR.com)-- Are there “Secret Jews” in America? And if so, why are they still secret?
The Nation by the River
A Novel by Gabe Galambos May 2013
“…distinctive … an aura of deep paranoia and suspicion” — Kirkus Reviews
“…has everything—a terrific coming-of-age story wrapped in a thought-provoking mystery.” — Norma Libman, Journalist and Lecturer, Road Scholar
“…a community immersed in an ethos of fear and secrecy that for them validates their identity as a group apart.” — David Gitlitz, author of Secrecy and Deceit and The Lost Minyan
· Many individuals of Spanish ancestry are for the first time rediscovering their Jewish heritage. This phenomenon is most notable in the American Southwest, the place Mexico City’s Crypto-Jews (secret Jews) fled to following the city’s 1640s auto-da-fés (Acts of Faith). During these auto-da-fés, Crypto-Jews were burned at the stake.
· Burning at the stake was modus operandi of the Spanish and Portuguese Inquisitions. Those Inquisitions, as well as their associated Edicts of Expulsion, still traumatize souls of the descendants of those countries, that is, those with Jewish memory, however vague.
· Actual and intact Crypto-Jewish communities have been identified in Portugal and Majorca. In addition, Crypto-Jews and Conversos (those forced to convert to Catholicism, as well as all of their descendants) are found in New England, Brazil, the Cape Verdes, and elsewhere. The fictional community described in The Nation by the River is hardly without precedent.
In his new mystery, The Nation by the River, Gabe Galambos transports readers to the town of Best Harbor, Massachusetts, whose secret society community of Crypto-Jews is, by appearances Catholic, by secret observances Jewish, and by legacies of secrecy and deceit—a people apart. For these “People of the Nação,” a still resonating historic calamity helps to ensure that it be that way.
During the long hot summer before their first year of high school, Michael Costa and best friend L.T. Haymaker discover that the holes they are digging are being mysteriously filled. So they organize night-time watches of the holes, carry out a risky reconnaissance op of Michael’s home, ask questions of others … ask questions of themselves. Already knowing his hometown of Best Harbor is unusual, already sensing as well that kids like himself—from the spit of land section of town—are peculiar, Michael has many questions. Just who really was Miguel Cortereal, the great early 16th century explorer, and why after carving his marks onto nearby Dighton Rock did he decide to remain in the New World, make his home along the out-of-the-way and hidden banks of the Taunton River? Why does Father Sousa hold one Sunday school class for kids from the land spit, another for kids from other parts of town? Why does Mr. Alves, head of the parish council, have it in for him, have it in for all his fellow “Spitters”? Why are L.T.’s anthropologist mother and her Harvard professor boyfriend meddling? And for that matter, what are they discovering about the “People of the Nation,” and just how close are they to discovering it?
About the Author: In writing The Nation by the River, Gabe journeyed to the Azorean islands to meet with historians and academics; researched New World Crypto-Jews and the Inqusitions that both drove and chased them there; and learned much about the Portuguese Azorean culture of southeast New England. Gabe recently presented his Azorean research at a conference of the Society for Crypto-Judaic Studies. Gabe served in the Israeli Defense Forces and, in 1983, assisted in the secret rescue of Ethiopian Jews. His travels and travails figure in his first published novel, an espionage thriller, Stealing Pike’s Peak.
Garnet Star Publishing gabe@gabegalambos.com Tel: 617-232-8409 Website: www.gabegalambos.com
Distribution: Ingram Availability: Amazon & other on-line sites ISBN: 978-0-9882579-1-7 Kindle: … 2-4 $14.99 329 pages
The Nation by the River
A Novel by Gabe Galambos May 2013
“…distinctive … an aura of deep paranoia and suspicion” — Kirkus Reviews
“…has everything—a terrific coming-of-age story wrapped in a thought-provoking mystery.” — Norma Libman, Journalist and Lecturer, Road Scholar
“…a community immersed in an ethos of fear and secrecy that for them validates their identity as a group apart.” — David Gitlitz, author of Secrecy and Deceit and The Lost Minyan
· Many individuals of Spanish ancestry are for the first time rediscovering their Jewish heritage. This phenomenon is most notable in the American Southwest, the place Mexico City’s Crypto-Jews (secret Jews) fled to following the city’s 1640s auto-da-fés (Acts of Faith). During these auto-da-fés, Crypto-Jews were burned at the stake.
· Burning at the stake was modus operandi of the Spanish and Portuguese Inquisitions. Those Inquisitions, as well as their associated Edicts of Expulsion, still traumatize souls of the descendants of those countries, that is, those with Jewish memory, however vague.
· Actual and intact Crypto-Jewish communities have been identified in Portugal and Majorca. In addition, Crypto-Jews and Conversos (those forced to convert to Catholicism, as well as all of their descendants) are found in New England, Brazil, the Cape Verdes, and elsewhere. The fictional community described in The Nation by the River is hardly without precedent.
In his new mystery, The Nation by the River, Gabe Galambos transports readers to the town of Best Harbor, Massachusetts, whose secret society community of Crypto-Jews is, by appearances Catholic, by secret observances Jewish, and by legacies of secrecy and deceit—a people apart. For these “People of the Nação,” a still resonating historic calamity helps to ensure that it be that way.
During the long hot summer before their first year of high school, Michael Costa and best friend L.T. Haymaker discover that the holes they are digging are being mysteriously filled. So they organize night-time watches of the holes, carry out a risky reconnaissance op of Michael’s home, ask questions of others … ask questions of themselves. Already knowing his hometown of Best Harbor is unusual, already sensing as well that kids like himself—from the spit of land section of town—are peculiar, Michael has many questions. Just who really was Miguel Cortereal, the great early 16th century explorer, and why after carving his marks onto nearby Dighton Rock did he decide to remain in the New World, make his home along the out-of-the-way and hidden banks of the Taunton River? Why does Father Sousa hold one Sunday school class for kids from the land spit, another for kids from other parts of town? Why does Mr. Alves, head of the parish council, have it in for him, have it in for all his fellow “Spitters”? Why are L.T.’s anthropologist mother and her Harvard professor boyfriend meddling? And for that matter, what are they discovering about the “People of the Nation,” and just how close are they to discovering it?
About the Author: In writing The Nation by the River, Gabe journeyed to the Azorean islands to meet with historians and academics; researched New World Crypto-Jews and the Inqusitions that both drove and chased them there; and learned much about the Portuguese Azorean culture of southeast New England. Gabe recently presented his Azorean research at a conference of the Society for Crypto-Judaic Studies. Gabe served in the Israeli Defense Forces and, in 1983, assisted in the secret rescue of Ethiopian Jews. His travels and travails figure in his first published novel, an espionage thriller, Stealing Pike’s Peak.
Garnet Star Publishing gabe@gabegalambos.com Tel: 617-232-8409 Website: www.gabegalambos.com
Distribution: Ingram Availability: Amazon & other on-line sites ISBN: 978-0-9882579-1-7 Kindle: … 2-4 $14.99 329 pages
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Gabe Galambos
617-232-8409
www.gabegalambos.com
617-232-8409
www.gabegalambos.com
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Are there "Secret Jews" in America?
In his new mystery, The Nation by the River, Gabe Galambos transports readers to the town of Best Harbor, Massachusetts, whose secret society community of Crypto-Jews is, by appearances Catholic, by secret observances Jewish, and by legacies of secrecy and deceit - a people apart.
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