DINA'S LOST TRIBE

Two historians journey to France to find a mysterious village with ties to historic Jewish persecution in Goldstein’s (Princess of the Blood, 2007, etc.) new novel.

When Professor Henry “Henner” Marcus receives a letter from his cousin Nina who disappeared five years ago, he has acute misgivings about traveling from Chicago to Toulouse with a large sum of money, as per Nina’s instructions. But Henner’s strong sense of family and academic curiosity drive him to commit to the adventure. When Nina finally shows herself, Henner is drawn further into the mystery through a codex allegedly written by Dina, a Jewish woman who founded a community high in the Pyrenees Mountains that has retained its isolation over the centuries; it is Valladine—the place where Nina was born during her parents’ escape from the Nazis and where she returns as an adult when she abandons her academic career. Henner and Nina’s friend Etoile set to the task of translating the codex while Nina returns to her adopted medieval village, where she may face punishment for removing the document. Parallels and reflections abound among the several interwoven plot lines: Dina’s story, Nina’s story, Henner’s family history and contemporary events. Goldstein—historian, literary translator and editor—shows a talent for making historical events feel relevant and alive. Dina’s story is captivating; Goldstein describes the various settings—a mountain village, a forlorn jail cell—with prose that is both aesthetically pleasing and intellectually satisfying. She wavers, however, on her more contemporary subjects. She uses the same language when following Henner, Etoile and Nina on their travels through 1970s France and America as she does when describing the 1300s. Even their conversations sport a pedantic tone with a liberal peppering of highbrow vocabulary; the result is a constant, solemn cadence that grows heavy-handed over 400 pages.

Readers who appreciate historical fiction will find much to like, and if Goldstein could apply the same level of ability to her modern-day characters as she does to her historical figures, the book may find a broader audience.