Dropped from Heaven: Stories

This book of connected tales that take place in the Bene Israel community in India offers a sense of timelessness, despite the stories being grouped by date. Judah's writing is deceptively simple, like the Tao te Ching, and she creates a community in the same way Damon Runyon evokes Broadway hustlers and Giovanni Guareschi's Don Camillo novels give us an aperture to view the lives of the people who live on the River Po. Having known nothing of the Jewish community in India, I was fascinated by the concept...but found myself caring about the characters even more than the unique setting. You'll find yourself respecting the fiercely honest Joseph and rooting for Hannah and Benny to live a long life together. These are characters and stories and truths that will take up house room in your memory even after you finish the book.

Dropped From Heaven has become our standard Mother's Day and graduation gift. This many layered collection of short stories is many stories wrapped in one. It is a story of a vanished and reborn community, it is story of two world cultures the Indian and the Jewish. As large as the scope is, the collection is humane and paints a loving picture of humanity with all its faults and glories. The stories made me laugh out loud and cry as well. This book will be our main gift going forward for birthdays and other occasion for our curious, sensitive and adventurous friends and relatives. Mrs. Judah please write more!!