Although the novel’s plot leans heavily on fantasy and Jewish mysticism the best parts of the book are the scenes involving family, love, loss and redemption. Once close and now growing apart Marjorie tries to draw upon the past when in their youth they listened to their grandfather, Eli, tell them bedtime stories about a bearded wizard, the White Magician. Yet, as they grew to adulthood Marjorie is wrapped up in her dissertation while Holly falls in love with Nathan. In order to marry him she converts to Orthodox Judaism, specifically, the (fictional) orthodoxy practiced by a little-known sect called the Berukhim Penitents, and changes her name to Chava. Marjorie then struggles to understand her estranged sister and her own resentment. The story becomes more folklore after their grandfather’s death. Marjorie finds a mysterious notebook with stories about mystical figures, the White Rebbe and the Angel of Losses whom the Rebbe is doomed to repay. The contents of this notebook are part folklore and part biography. The book takes the reader on a journey as Marjorie unlocks her grandfather’s secret past from 18th century Europe to Nazi-occupied Lithuania, and back to the present, to New York City where she must save Holly’s son from the consequences of her grandfather’s past.

Readers can relate to their own family experiences. As the author commented, “I want them to think about their own identity. A family’s history should be passed down to each generation. This family is like many others whose members love each other but make a lot of mistakes interacting and understanding one another. They are struggling as a family with loyalty, duty, when to sacrifice for one another, and when to speak up. Untying those knotty relationships was intense, and I was grateful to escape into fairy tales sometime, the legends I created.”

The Angel Of Losses explores the different relationships: secular versus Orthodox Jews, the interaction of the two sisters, and the mystical storyline between the Rebbe and the Angel. It appeals to all readers because of its universal theme of family and loss, both literally and figuratively. Beyond the fantasy, the plot is about exile and redemption.