After Anatevka

by Alexandra Silber, Sheldon Harnick (Foreword)

A sweeping historical novel in the grand tradition of Russian literature that imagines what happens to the characters of Fiddler on the Roof after the curtain falls.

The world knows well the tale of Tevye, the beloved Jewish dairyman from the shtetl Anatevka of Tsarist Russia. In stories originally written by Sholem Aleichem and then made world-famous in the celebrated musical Fiddler on the Roof, Tevye, his wife Golde, and their five daughters dealt with the outside influences that were encroaching upon their humble lives. But what happened to those remarkable characters after the curtain fell?

In After Anatevka, Alexandra Silber picks up where Fiddler left off. Second-eldest daughter Hodel takes center stage as she attempts to join her Socialist-leaning fiancé Perchik to the outer reaches of a Siberian work camp. But before Hodel and Perchik can finally be together, they both face extraordinary hurdles and adversaries—both personal and political—attempting to keep them apart at all costs.

A love story set against a backdrop of some of the greatest violence in European history, After Anatevaka is a stunning conclusion to a tale that has gripped audiences around the globe for decades.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Jewish, Judaism, Historical, Retellings, Russia

336 pages, Hardcover

First published July 4, 2017

About the author

Alexandra Silber is an actress, Grammy-nominated singer, and writer.
She recently starred most as Tzeitel in the Broadway revival of Fiddler on the Roof. She earlier played Hodel in a revival of the same show in London’s West End. It was those two roles which inspired her to write After Anatevka.

Other Broadway and West End credits include Master Class, Arlington (Outer Critics Circle nomination), Hello Again (Drama League nomination), and She Loves Me, Kiss Me, Kate, The Woman in White, and Carousel. She has appeared on all three incarnations of Law & Order and has performed in a variety of outlets ranging from the 57th Grammy Awards to Carnegie Hall. Alexandra is also a 2014 Grammy nominee for her portrayal of Maria in the first-ever full symphonic recording of West Side Story, with the San Francisco Symphony.

She lives in New York, and After Anatevka is her first book.

Her memoir White Hot Grief Parade, is set to be published by Pegasus Books in 2018.

Reviews

[Rachel McMillan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Memory, she thought, is a sacred place. It is the place where the past is gathered—an inner synagogue where we make meaning of our existence.

You know those books that just make you giddy because they are soooooo good and the author is SOOOO smart and you are just happy you live in a world where words can be outfitted to paint a splendid, moving, remarkable heart-stopping portrait of love and life and hope and ache and power?

You know those books that just tug you into them and hold you tightly so that you look up and are surprised that you are on the subway and not sitting across from characters whose tongues drip simple wisdom and who are salt and light and everything that is flawed and flourishing about humanity?

Image result for after anatevkaAfter Anatevka is that book. It is a globe, a sphere, one of those snowglobes you shake peering into the tiny world crafted perfectly and shrouded in flickering snowflakes. It is a capture of a moment of exquisite heartbreak against a brutal yet achingly lovely canvas that can never quell that which you cannot tether from a human: faith, hope, the best kind of once-in-a-million love.

After Anatevka answers a question I revisit every time I see a production of Fiddler on the Roof: what happens after Hodel leaves Anatevka with the news that her beloved, the radically smart Perchik, has been transported to a Siberian prison?

The door on her story is closed at the train station as she explains why she will go far from the home she loves to follow Perchik while her father Tevye, is confronted with one more way that the traditions of his past and his religion are fraying at the seams.

I thought this was a fascinating premise for a novel and I couldn’t wait to get my hands on a copy. What I wasn’t expecting, however, was to encounter one of the smartest historical novels I have read in an age nor one of the most lyrical debut voices of my reading life.

After Anatevka, is not a story so much as an experience and in lesser hands it could never embroider the pathos and light of a historical narrative tradition to create a melancholy and everlasting tapestry of hope.

Yes, hope. For all the darkness undercutting Hodel’s imprisonments and Perchik’s suffering in the Siberian salt mines, the power of hope and the commitment to life ( hear L’Chaim! in your head) is the true theme of the story. Love knows no barriers. Love is a spiritual connection .Love has agency beyond borders and boundaries, deceit and despair.



The bookrepresents Hodel and Perchik’s present: first Hodel incarcerated as a single woman in pursuit of her fiance in a kind of holding cell ( held in time and place at the mercy of waiting ) and then reunited with Perchik in Nerchinsk with respective flashbacks subverting every trope of romantic ballads with startling freshness. It is in flashbacks that Silber is at her most ingenious: colouring in the world of Hodel and her sisters and infusing a crash course in cultural norms in early 20th Century Russia. A treatise on the beauty of domesticity and the advocacy for women who think beyond the realm of their small town and customs are balanced to justify all female experience. The feminine sphere – either perfecting the baking of the challah or pursuing a man outside of your faith ( Chava) are seen as equal experiences and all worthy. In the latter half of the book, Perchik’s story is embroidered—and taken beyond the seams of anything grounded in its many nods to its theatrical counterpart and into Silber’s own imagination. While Hodel’s limitations are dictated by the rubrics of a woman’s place in Anatevka, so Perchik finds poverty and mental abuse by his uncle the chains that would keep him from pursuing life. And all while peeling back the curtain of their formative years, Silber forms the perfect pair--- allowing the reader to fully understand why Hodel would leave the safety of her home for a life of destitution and darkness and why Perchik pursued a forbidden dance with the dairyman’s daughter in a small village.

Their connection is palpable and bursts off the page. Even while Hodel is drawn to the past: remembering, fingering through letters late delivered from her sister Tzeitel, we see that there was no other choice but for her to chase one half of her soul—Perchik---no matter the consequences.

A large portion of the book follows the (expertly researched ) daily life of internment at a labour camp. Into this world, Silber broadens the circle with fluid, dimensional characters – both overseers and fellow prisoners—that add colour, human and life to its dreary toil.


I just cannot say enough about this book. It is a world. Silber’s instincts are pitch perfect, drawing you in and tethering you to a tale remarkable in its praise of the fortitude of spirit and intelligence. Modern parallels ( the best aspect of historical fiction), encourage the reader to ponder how far they would go to speak and be heard. Faith is at the crux of Hodel and Perchik’s love, even as they find it beyond the metrics of the traditions that Tevye saw slipping from his family in the source musical. And all unfurling in an expertly woven tale full of self-awareness and beautiful language.

“The pivot?” Hodel murmured.
“The fulcrum. The turning point. In every story there is always a moment when the anchoring thread of the tapestry unravels. I don’t know that I have ever been inside that story until now.”

“There is a kind of transaction that occurs between a person and a place: you give the place something and it gives you something in return. In years to come, Hodel would know for certain not only what Nerchinsk had taken, but what it had given her as well.”


For theatre buffs, this book will excite you – yes, it does have several lovely nods to the musical so beloved. But for readers with no previous attachment to the story, rejoice! We have found an earth-shatteringly beautiful new voice in historical fiction—resplendent with passion and poetry. A perfect voice for excavating the little moments in humanity against the bleak brutality of Nerchinsk.


And then, the descriptions (music!) “ Hodel admired how the broadness of his shoulders curved above the volume as if he were cradling the very thoughts upon the pages with his entire body.”

“How exquisitely Nerchinsk sulks upon its gray and sorrowful bluff. How shafts of sun burst through the thick, low blanket of cloud above the village like stabs of hope from heaven.” (ARE YOU KIDDING ME???? Dies of love)

And the feminism “Hodel saw it through her sister’s eyes: women were created to be in every way partners, not mindless slaves or brainless doormats, but helpers, collaborators, equals. And that was a thing of great beauty”


And the simple wisdom “For our greatest rewards, Hodel, sometimes we must endure.”
“Perchik could no longer stand being believed in—belief was heavy; it was burning sunlight in his eyes.”

And this : “ I wanted a woman who was somewhat like the moon. I would miss her when she was away and appreciate her when she returned, but I did not want her around all the time!”

And this: “In two little words, all of Hodel’s life choices were suddenly obliterated by Tzeitel’s sense of domestic superiority” ( snortle. There are a lot of lovely sibling moments in this!)




I had a full blown love affair with this book. It exceeded expectations I didn't know I had and then some.

Pre-order two copies at least: one for you and one for the person you will immediately ache to share it with. This story is a love letter and love letters are never meant to experienced in solitude.

With thanks to Pegasus and Netgalley for the review copy.

[The Library Lady · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oy vey iz mir!

Okay, I am not exactly Little Mary Sunshine myself. And I know my history of this period. But I think that zillions of people who have loved the musical "Fiddler on the Roof," will be totally turned off by this story, which is loaded with torture, rape, incest, and general mayhem, and has a totally downbeat ending. That wasn't what "Fiddler" was about--there was hope till the very end of the story.

This story is what Sholem Aleichem, the author of the original "Tevye" stories (and BTW, totally unacknowledged in the author's interminable "thanks to" pages) would have called a "mish-mosh."

Half of this is "Hodel Goes to the Gulag Archipelago", full of everything that is ugly about humanity. But the other half, interspersed with this narrative, is a series of flashbacks to life in Anatevka. And within that part are some lovely sequences about the sisters, about the indomitable Golde, about what it meant to be a Jewish woman in a shtetl in Czarist Russia. The sequence with the girls learning to bake challah is especially appealing.

That's the story Silber could have told here, and truth to tell, she's a pretty good writer, with some very nice use of language.

It wouldn't have been so dramatic, but it would have made for a much better book.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Audiobook narrated by the author. 12 hours 15 minutes 45 seconds

Okay how did this book pass me by in 2017? It's a mystery that was remedied when I spied the Audible original that was a musical tease to this imagined sequel to Fiddler on the Roof. Alexandra Silber, who played both Tevye's two eldest Hodel(West London) and Tzeitel(Broadway revival) in both American and British productions of the musical focuses on the what ever happened to Hodel and her Perchik.

Although there are vignettes of Hodel's life before Perchik, Silber 's main focus is prison life in Siberia and giving Perchik a full background story. Perhaps one of my favorite chapters takes place in book one where Hodel and her sisters learn how to make the traditional bread under the eyes of their mother, Golde. It was during this book that although Tzeitel, Hodel, and Chava as the three oldest sisters were names I remembered from the musical. It was finally answered(for me) that Shprintze and Bielke are daughters four and five.

By the end of the story, I appreciated how Alexandra Silber branches out to give readers a new perspective on Hodel's story after she left Anatevka. Now if any one wants to tell Chava and Fyedka's story or how Tevye and Golde and the two younger girls did in Chicago, I am all ears!

[Cassidy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first saw Fiddler on the Roof when I was around 8 or 9 years old. My mom, a longtime lover of musicals who walked down the aisle at her wedding to "Sunrise, Sunset", took me to see my very first live musical when a touring production of Fiddler came to our town. From there, I was hooked--not just on the show but on music, on stories, and on the unique joy of live theater.

Roughly 11 years later, my mom and I made a trip to New York City for the sole purpose of seeing the 2016 revival of Fiddler on the Roof, starring Ms. Alexandra Silber as a Tzeitel more strong and determined than I had ever seen. For her debut novel, she brought this quality to all of her female characters, more full and fleshed out than they appear in the show. I loved all the little glimpses of Anatevka, all the little ticks and quirks that Ms. Silber imagined for characters I've known more than half my life.

The writing in this story is absolutely beautiful, and all of the characters are well rounded with unique motivations and histories. The storytelling is nonlinear, jumping back and forth between characters and timelines in a way that is definitely aided by short chapters. The scope of the story is so much wider than Fiddler, taking place across Russia and involving some very intense themes. I loved the story, loved learning what had happened to one of my favorite characters ever after the curtain had dropped, but I did feel that the ending suffered a bit from an oddly placed twist and an abrupt and uncharacteristic action sequence.

Overall, I really enjoyed this novel. It could have gone really cheesy, but Ms. Silber's thoughtful and delicate prose kept the tone in control and deftly portrayed the wide range of emotion and love at the heart of the story.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I saw Fiddler on the Roof for the very first time last May when it was on Broadway. Before that, I had never truly encountered Fiddler before. I knew "If I was Rich Man" from just being into theater and Broadway but I didn't know the story of Tevye, his family and the little town of Anatevka. But anyway my best friend and I rushed tickets, ended up with third row orchestra and I experienced the magic and heartbreak that was Fiddler on the Roof. May was the aftermath of my mental illness hitting a peak, more like falling off a peak, and Fiddler seemed to come sweeping in to give my mind a rest. I fell in love with the music, the story and the cast that day. We would see Fiddler again in July before it closed in December. But Fiddler was the show to explain 2016, it was just always there. Somehow winning this book from the publisher through a giveaway here on Goodreads, a week or two before the year later seemed fitting.
I remember Al Silber announcing that she was writing a book about Hodel and Perchik and what happens after Hodel broads that train to go to him but I was never prepared for the heartbreak that this book would give me and make me go through. The physical and emotional struggle that Hodel, and Perchik, went through in this book is unimaginable and yet feels so real. Silber makes you feel their pain, their love for each other and the love that Hodel has for her faith and family. You watch them both struggle but their strength never fails them. This book has left me an ache like all great books do and I know that it will stay with me like the music of Fiddler has as it is tradition.

[Jane · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can't believe that I managed to read the entire awful book. Having read Sholom Aleichem and seen the play and the movie including the 1939 version in Yiddish I can only say that Sholom Aleichem would turn over in his grave if he read this book.

While the historical context of prison life in Siberia may be true, there was only grim depiction of rape, torture, incest and violence. Nowhere is the humor found in the book, play and movies that made the story bearable. The gist of Fiddler is that no matter how hard life is there is always hope. In this book there is no hope.

[Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars rounded up.

I wanted to like this book more than I did. As a fan of the musical Fiddler on the Roof I was looking forward to reading about what happened to the characters after they left Anatevka. I did not realize that this book would focus mainly on Hodel and Perchik. Hodel travels to Siberia to join Perchik after he is arrested, which is where the play stops with her story. This novel covers what happened to Hodel on her journey and her life with Perchik after she arrives in Siberia.

The book details a lot of the violence of the Russian Revolution in the early 1900s and the unspeakable conditions in Russian prisons and in Siberia. The parts I enjoyed most were when the author filled in some of the backstory of Hodel and her family in Anatevka. I had hoped that there would be more narrative about what happened to Tevya, Golde and their two youngest daughters in America; Tzeitel’s and Motel’s, family, and Chava’s and Fyedka’s fates.

At times the story is just a plodding tale of misery. Hodel and Perchik are really the only characters who are fairly well developed and I can’t say I liked Perchik much. I could not keep his his prison friends straight at all. They were just interchangeable names to me . Although the book describes an important time in Russian history, it didn’t have much as much to do with the play as I would have liked. I did have the soundtrack of the play constantly going through my head while I was reading this, especially Perchik’s song: Now I Have Everything.

Now to watch the movie again.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a readers copy free from Net Galley.
The story of Hodel and Perchik from "Fiddler on the Roof" continues as Hodel follows Perchik into exile. Perchik has been exiled first to Omsk and then imprisoned in Nerchinsk for his revolutionary activities. In the novel we learn of Perchik's backstory and a little bit about what has happened to the rest of Hodel's family. I found the novel well thought out and an interesting read. Great for fans of the musical.

[Charlene · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a hard book to rate. Audible offered a free recorded performance of Silber singing songs from the old Fiddler and continuing Hodel's story. Fiddler was my very favorite musical growing up. My mom and I would play the soundtrack over and over and we watched it on TV once a year. Of course I fell in love with Chava and everyone else. Those songs still play in my head, even after all these years. So of course I had to see what happened when Hodel got off the train in Siberia. Some of Silber's imaginings of Hodel's life worked and some just made me feel nothing. The experience of reading this book, for me, was like seeing an incredible outfit on the rack and then realizing the it didn't fit in multiple places and you have to take it off because it was making you feel bad about yourself. I guess I wanted something else for Hodel. What that is, I don't even know. After finishing this book, I just feel lost and unfed, still hoping to hear , what my subconscious wants to believe is, the real story.

[Chelsie Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to give this book three starts but the ending brought me down to two. This book fell well short of my hopes and expectations. I appreciate that not all books leave you with a nicely tied up resolve but for a book that was written to create resolve, to extend a story that the first time around was left open ended, it missed the mark. The book did not hold my attention or create in me a connection to its characters. The end left me wishing I had ended with the musical. I did enjoy the parts that were directly connected to the musical. The flashbacks were well done and created more dimension for the family back in Anatevka. I appreciate that the plot needed strife and grief but I wish that in doing so the author would have mirrored those themes from the original story. To me the author focused more on the research she had done of the time period to create the plot and less on the relationships and how they floundered and flourished after Anatevka.
Spoiler:
I have to add that the book laments on Perchik's genius and yet his downfall (not the final one but a major one) was so obvious. There is no way someone in his position with his intelligence wouldn't have seen it coming.

[Bonnie · Rating 1 out of 5]

After reading 90% of this book I quit. I had had enough and wished I'd stopped reading sooner. I don't always have to have happy endings, but an unhappy ending has to have some redeeming quality or really good reason for it. This book was really depressing and didn't show any promise of a good/happy ending or a good/tragic ending. The only characters I really cared about were Tevye's daughters and to a lesser degree Perchik.

[Cheryl · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5. Very sad book. There’s a reason Broadway shows aren’t set in Siberian salt mines.

[Beverley Klein · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alexandra Silber has gone to a dark place in this novel, but her protagonists have gone to an equally dark place - Siberia. However a she matches that darkness with great passion and a profound love that rescues them from what would otherwise be unbearable. She writes with great intelligence and imagination and has clearly researched the period thoroughly, but the research doesn’t sit so heavily that the characters and plot don’t come alive. I would love to read her take on the fates of the rest of the family, especially Motel and Tzeitel in Warsaw. The flashback scenes in Anatevka are especially vibrant, their warmth contrasting so poignantly with the frozen world of her present. She fleshes out those memories of the source show with perception and always with great heart. Brava. A fascinating debut novel.

[Lori · Rating 1 out of 5]

My advice - skip it. If I could give zero stars, I might. I probably should have quit the first time I wanted to (in book 1 of 3) but I just thought I should finish it.

The Good: I love the idea of the book, and I enjoyed the flashbacks - they seemed in the spirit of Fiddler on the Roof and were well written.

The Bad: The dialogue was extremely terrible - I would have expected a lot better dialogue from an actress. It felt like she didn't know where her characters were located. One spoke as though he were from the American south, others used British modern slang...it was just weird. Also, the writing style would swing wildly not just from chapter to chapter, but from paragraph to paragraph. Some serious editing was needed and not done with this novel.

The Ugly: Yes, terrible things happen in the world, but the way she writes about the terrible things that happen (and also the good things - it's great for a husband and wife to be in love) was just creepy and felt slimy. It feels like she couldn't quite figure out what this book was supposed to be, so she tried several different genres and mashed them all together. Parts had a erotic thriller vibe, and I had a really hard time reconciling that with the Jewishness and the purity of Fiddler on the Roof.

[Mary Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book through NetGalley.

I'm a theater fan and an immigration historian, so Fiddler on the Roof is a favorite. The recent Broadway production really lodged itself in my heart, so when I heard that its Tzeitel, Alexandra Silber, had written a novel about her imagining of the Fiddler characters post-Anatevka, I was excited to see her vision of the world. I was not disappointed. Silber cradled the characters as we know and love them, but put them in new and challenging situations that enables this novel to stand on its own, with or without the musical.

The story of Hodel, following her fiancee and eventual husband to Siberia where he has been imprisoned for his political activities, is not the central story of the musical, so Silber had free reign to create this side of the story for herself, and her version is evocative, emotional, well-written, and relevant. It has all the rich detail I expect from a Russian novel, but a clarity and sharpness in the writing style that kept me turning pages.

I could not have asked for more, or for a better epilogue to a favorite musical.

[Avigail Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been in love with Perchik for as long as I can remember. This book wrecked me. In the best way.

Would I have loved a happy ending? Sure!! They deserve a happy ending. But let's face it, precious few in their situation would have had one. This book gives you an honest, ugly, scary look at what life in Siberia was. It was hard and my heart (like Hodel's) will never fully heal. But oh, it was good!

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’d rate this at 4 stars for the creativity of expanding the Fiddler on the Roof story, both through imaging what came next and by filling in more details of the original story through flashbacks. Had to move it down to 3 stars, though, because there are some brutal events that would make this a hard one to recommend without qualifying it.

[Sylvie Barak · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oh how I loathed this book. I really wish I hadn’t read it, because now I’m going to think about it when I watch Fiddler on the Roof and it will spoil it for me a bit. Not only was this dreadfully slow, repetitive and depressing, it was also overly flowery, and ended with the most ridiculous James Bond scene ever, minus the happy ending. Ugh. Glad that’s over with. Thank you, Next!

[Danielle H]

I was into the voice and the word choice of this book but was finding it so hard to follow without much historical knowledge of the time period and life is just too short sometimes to keep up with something.

[Anna Verderber · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wow. 2/3 of this book were superbly excellent. The rest? Ehhhhhhh.

As a stand-alone novel, I found this book captivating with interesting characters and thrilling subplots. As a sequel to Fiddler On The Roof? The book lacked everything that made the original source material so special. It is terrible as a sequel. I felt like you could replace all the names of all the characters, and you wouldn’t even be able to tell that they were the original Fiddler characters. In fact, I felt like the Jewishness of both Hodel and Perchik were only ever mentioned when it was needed as an insult or in flashbacks.

I want to make it clear: I like this book. I like MOST of the original side characters (Dmitri and Yevgeny). I liked when the novel discussed Perchik and Hodel’s love story behind the scenes, it felt very rooted in the original text and was very endearing. I liked hearing Perchik’s side of things. I wish there had been more of that.

There was a lot that I didn’t like.

I struggled with the author’s odd decision on how they portray LGBTQ+ characters. Don’t get me wrong, it was lovely to see an out LGBTQ+ character in a historical fiction. We rarely get that ever. But it was weird, and I mean WEIRD that the only named, gay man also happened to be a remorseless murderer that killed his lover without pity. It was also WEIRD that his lover, an implied bisexual, not only cheated on him but also cheated on him with a woman (who he chose in the end between the two). As a bisexual myself, not all representation is good representation. When writing LGBTQ+ or minority characters, one needs to be critically aware of negative stereotypes one might be pushing as they write for them. Although I doubt it was intentional, it was heartbreaking to see the “cheating bisexual” trope AND the “cheating with a straight person” trope AND the “gays are unstable” trope all in one book. It also had no impact on the plot whatsoever, it was just a side characters throwaway backstory. So it felt very much like “oooooh look this character is GAY he’s GAY” and then it was never talked about again. So it made me wonder why it was included at all?

I also did not like the ending of this novel. It felt very rushed, as if the author didn’t know how to end the book so they threw everything at the wall to see what stuck. The Gentleman twist with Irena was uncomfortable and weird. The Dmitri subplot was endearing but established too late in the book. The ending felt very abrupt. I did not like it.

And don’t get me started on how frustrated and annoyed I was with the Anatoly twist. That truly felt like the author just wanted a surprise ending, an ending that made very little sense and had almost no explanation. They didn’t explain how that happened. There was almost no build up and no satisfactory explanation. Anatoly felt like a scape-goat the author could use whenever they wanted something dramatic to happen in the plot, but the result is a murky character with very little identity that you don’t grow attached too.

Speed round thoughts on some of the characters, GO:

Hodel: Felt inconsistent and like she had to be whatever the author wanted. If that was a “not like other girls”, that was a “not like other girls”. If that was a meek housewife, that was a meek housewife. I still enjoyed hearing her story continued, though.

Perchik: One of the highlights of the book. Did not like the “experienced man and virgin girl” trope in this context. Still an endearing character.

Dmitri: Probably my favorite character in this book. Everything with the cello was perfectly set up. But the love triangle felt weak. It felt like an unneeded twist and felt unnecessary.

Tzietel: I just personally did not like this characterization of Tzietel, but that is completely my subjective and others might really enjoy it.

The Rest of The Family: rarely mentioned after Part 1 and almost nonexistent. Disappointing. The vignette with the Challah was the best written chapter. I wish there had been more pieces like that. I feel like if Hodel had really been in a camp for almost four years, she would have thought about her family sometimes even if there was no way to reach them. But they are rarely mentioned.

Anatoly: Don’t get me started.

If the author had written a BTS novel about Perchik and Hodel, I feel like this book would have been excellent. If the author wrote a historical fiction about original characters, I feel like this novel would have been a solid 4/5. But they tried to do both and taped the stories together, and the result is a murky, uncomfortable, oddly paced mess.

TL;DR: All in all, this novel felt very much like two different novels smashed together to create one. It felt like the author wanted to write a “BTS love story” surrounding how Perchik and Hodel fell in love. But they also wanted to write a Siberian prison camp historical romance. The two stories felt disconnected and clunky. And like I stated earlier, you could have renamed both Perchik and Hodel and I probably wouldn’t have been able to tell they were Fiddler characters. But I still enjoyed the story being told. It just didn’t feel like a Fiddler story.

[Lisa Bernstein · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was very well-written, with rewarding flashbacks to Hodel's life growing up with her parents and sisters in Anatevka. Familiar snippets from "Fiddler on the Roof" are fun to read. The author did a fantastic job imagining what Hodel's life would have been like after leaving Tevye on the train station platform. That said, Hodel's life is difficult and sad after Anatevka. Only those who can handle a depressing story should read the book.

[Vanessa Ehrlich · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book although the story is not an easy one to read. As in any good Russian story there are many names to keep straight and to keep their story lines straight. A thoughtful sequel

[Michael McClain · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was extremely excited to read this follow-up to Fiddler on the Roof but I was a little disappointed by certain aspects. The best moments come when Alexandra Silber explores unseen moments back in Anatevka (the morning of Tzeitel's wedding, the relationships between each of Tevye's daughters). There's historical context for the turbulent time that the Russian Empire was experiencing in the early 20th century but, and I don't know if it was just me, I felt like I was missing a few key points of information. But I also plead my own ignorance in the Russian history department.
Credit should absolutely be given to Silber for her ability to create the atmosphere of a place few of us have ever traveled to. We sense the desperation, destitution and horror of the Siberian work camps. We sense the warmth and honor of the little village of Anatevka. She ruminates beautifully on the Jewish traditions and the concepts of faith and endurance. All in all, After Anatevka is a clever idea and a valiant effort from a promising new voice.

[Jane Irish Nelson · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book probably deserves a higher rating, but I, personally, did not care for it. The author does a very good job of characterization and setting, despite a few "info-dumps", but to story is mired in grim reality.

Fiddler on the Roof is one of my very favorite musicals; I've seen both the stage version and the film multiple times. Because I am not myself Jewish, I probably do not fully comprehend all the nuances involved. But to me the musical seems to stress the triumph over adversity — despite everything, demonstrations, pogroms, even forced evacuation, the villagers from Anatevka keep their faith in the innate goodness of the world. This may be a bit of a fairy-tale, but it is a fairy-tale I want to believe in.

Silber's book takes to reader to an almost entirely different world, one of harsh reality. If you want to keep your fairy-tale illusions, don't read this book, or the rest of my review.


When Hodel leaves Anatevka, she tells her father the "Perchek has been arrested and is in a settlement in Siberia." However, in this novel, he is in a prison camp, rather than a settlement. Since they are not married, Hodel is not allowed to join him at first, but is imprisoned, and maltreated. In her dreams, she revisits memories from her childhood — these memories are the best part of this book. The author does a good job of creating different, believable personalities for the three elder girls, and even occasionally injects a bit of humor.

But when the story moves on to glimpses of Perchek's past, I found it very disillusioning. Silber creates a "rich uncle" for him, who in some ways is Perchek's childhood nemesis, as he strives for, but never achieves, his uncle's love or approval. Thus, once at university, instead of applying himself to his studies, he succumbs to the lures of "wine and women". But eventually he redeems himself, and begins working toward his dream of a "new Russia".

Even in the prison camp Perchek continues his work, hoping for the time when his dream will become a reality, despite the grim life he is forced to work in the salt mines. I will not say how the books ends, but I did not find it satisfying. However, your mileage may vary.

[Kristin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hello. Book. Hangover.

After seeing the most recent Fiddler revival on Broadway, I was so excited to hear that Alexandra Silber was going to release this book. Let me tell you - it does NOT disappoint. And just a note: I certainly don't think one has to have seen this show to appreciate it (helpful but not completely necessary).

After Anatevka imagines Hodel & Perchik's future after she leaves her home to be with him in a mining camp in Siberia. The devastation that Hodel, Perchik and their fellow prisoners endured left me heartbroken. Interspersed is Perchik's backstory as well as Hodel's memories of her home life and family. Tevye, Golde and their daughters are brought to such vivid life here, their nuances so tenderly crafted. I also found the characters introduced (at the camp, etc) to be fascinating.

Hodel & Perchik's story is not a happy one. There were times, especially near the end, where I audibly gasped in shock & sadness. But the love, bravery & endurance woven through this story is absolutely BEAUTIFUL. It is very rare a thing for me to highlight quotes while reading, but I found myself doing this often. Ms. Silber has a stunning way with words. She was able to inject incredible depth and glimpses of hope & humor in just the right places.

I'm admittedly not the biggest historical fiction reader, but fell in love with this book. A must read for any Fiddler on the Roof fan.

[Nicki Markus · Rating 4 out of 5]

After Anatevka is a book sure to delight literary-inclined musical theatre fans. It's clear that Silber has a great passion for the characters; it shows in her wonderful portrayal of them. Two of them, anyway. It may have been a mistake to say "what happened to those remarkable characters" in the blurb because, in truth, we only really see two of them: Hodel and Perchik. There are references to the others, but mostly in an historic sense, so this is really a continuation of Hodel's story, not that of the entire family. That didn't worry me, though, since Hodel was always my favourite and I found it exciting to read how Silber envisaged her future. This is not a happy tale by any means, but it is an engaging one that takes into account the political and social situation in Russia at the time. Overall, this book will appeal mostly to fans of the musical; however, there is also a potential readership among historical fiction fans since you could still get something out of the story without knowing the musical. Though, knowledge of the show's plot will, of course, help.

I received this book as a free eBook ARC via NetGalley.

[Mandolin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Though I tried hard to, I could not find the magic in this book that so many reviewers before me have. There were certainly moments of beautiful clarity about life and love but they were so hidden beneath a depressing plot and supporting characters that never quite feel real. I appreciate the research and thought that went into this book but I just cannot praise it as much as I would have liked to. I left it feeling a bit like someone who has been given a sip of something sweet and nourishing but been denied the entire cup. Not a satisfying sensation at all.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweeping historical novel that imagines what happens to the characters of Fiddler on the Roof after the curtain falls, specifically the second-eldest daughter Hodel who joins her Socialist-leaning fiancé Perchik to the outer reaches of a Siberian work camp. It's pretty bleak but I guess it's naive to think that Tevye's family lived happily ever after. It does make me want to re-watch Fiddler on the Roof though!

[J.S. Dunn · Rating 3 out of 5]

A heartfelt story of Hodel 's journey to eastern Siberia in search of her beloved and the awful years in exile and imprisonment there, prior to the Revolution. A solid debut.

Once again, it is the publisher who is scolded for bad line editing, eg, ' vile' rather than vial of liquor, and similar errors.

[Karen Fazekas · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't need to know

I found this book terribly depressing. I think I was better off imagining the horrors that Hodel and Perchik experienced in Siberia. While I appreciate the author's intent, this was not for me!