By Fire, By Water: A Novel Paperback – Deckle Edge, May 18, 2010

Mitchell Kaplan’s sweeping historical novel offers a well-researched view into the Spanish Inquisition and the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492. It is the story of Luis de Santángel and the events leading to his role of financier for Christopher Columbus’ (or Christobal Colόn as he is referred to in the book) voyage to the Indies which results in such wealth for Spain that it becomes the most powerful nation of the fifteenth century.The author decided to include in his novel the fictional love interest for Santángel, one Judith Migdal, who serves as its weakest link. While Judith unabashedly becomes the wage earner for her family as a highly skilled silversmith, she tarnishes her own reputation. First, at the age of seventeen, she offers herself to David Corcos who, without her knowledge, was courting the daughter of an Alhambra employee, a young woman he eventually eloped with to Alexandria. Evidently, she learns nothing from the “shame” (44) she was forced to endure. About ten years later, she becomes pregnant with Luis de Santángel’s child and makes a hasty decision to marry the elderly but distinguished village doctor, Isaac Azoulay when the Jews are expelled from Spain, an act of self-abnegation not captured since the fictional character of the Mirah Lapindoth in George Eliot’s Daniel Deronda.Luis de Santángel is the one who pursues her but she seems more interested in the flattery that came with being pursued than in the man himself.The circumstances surrounding Judith’s loss of her closest family members are tragic as are the deaths and separation of Luis de Santángel’s loved ones. But nothing is as tragic as Judith’s penchant for bad decisions which ultimately offers her no choices at all as she gambles away any hope for real happiness.Casting the fictional Judith Migdal as Luis de Santángel’s hapless lover makes his destiny of being Christobal Colόn’s financier seem more of a stroke of luck and serves to expose the fictional character of Judith Migdal for what she has been all along – expendable.

Review: Santangel is the chancellor to the court of Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand in a time when it is dangerous to be a converso, (convert from Judaism to Christianity specifically Catholicism) he is a third generation convert to Christianity through the Catholic church in a time when the Catholic Church still holds great sway in the population's everyday lives, homes, and personal convictions. Santangel must take desperate measures to try to protect those he holds most dear from the prying eyes of the new inquisition in Spain. While researching the the truth about his past one of Santangel's intimate friend's learns the cost of being on the wrong side of religion in Catholic ruled Spain. Santangel mixes his family up in a plot that brings the head of the new inquisition to his door specifically Torquemada, who is a inquisitor investigating the murder of a high ranking official; this causes tragedies and inquiries to unfold that will change multiple families lives forever in numerous ways.Judith a young Jewish woman living in Ferdinand and Isabella's kingdom find's the courage to help raise her nephew and take care of his grandfather, after tragedy strikes. Judith also learns how to do metal work and thus keeps the family business going in a time when women were expected to stay behind the scenes and shows remarkable courage in stepping forward in a country where there was prejudice against both her sex, and her religious beliefs. The twist and turns in her story alone could have made a book themselves.Christopher Colon (Columbus would be the more well known name) is also interwoven throughout the story as a sailor and at one point asks the royals for a grant to go to the new world. He is also involved with some of the plotting / mapping that related to the Hebrew writing (on a map and scrolls) that was connected to Santangel's family being accused of heresy because of their converso background.The entire novel fit together like a beautiful manuscript. I read it in a day, and could not put it down. I usually read books that have more female characters then male, however this book is easy to relate to, well put together and VERY easy to recommend. I love it.

Kaplan is an exquisite writer and for a first novel he surpassed my expectations. This book may be fiction but the story behind it is a vital and elemental part of history. It is a story that shows how dangerous ignorance can be combined with religious fanaticism. This is also part of my history as my paternal side of the family hails from Spain, mainly from Andalusia and Cataluña. I can't help but wonder how many of us in Latin America may be descendants of Jews or "conversos" those who adopted the new "faith" in order to save their own lives. This novel bears a terrific story with beautiful prose that is neither indulgent nor uses cheap sentimentality to get its point across. I hope this is the first of many novels by James Kaplan.

As a descendant of Sephardic Jews from Portugal, this title struck me immediately. The author has done an excellent job in describing the complex situation between Jews in Spain during the inquisition period, of those that maintained the faith of their ancestors and those who yielded to Catholicism, as dictated by the state. The author has done his research well and manages to take the reader on a balanced journey back into the late 15th century. This book is surely worth reading.

Niche market perhaps but I really enjoyed this book