Mikhoel Burshtin's novel paints an unforgettable portrait of a community—delicate, tenacious, and vulnerable.


Poland, 1935. Under the shadow of the Nazis' rise to the west, the Jews of Smolin continue to eke out their existence, marked by poverty, family tragedies, class conflict, and anti-Semitism. Their story unrolls from twin spools: Hersh Lustig, the orchard keeper who with Tevye-like vim acts as the beating heart and conscience of the town; and Gabriel Priver, the newly minted doctor who offers an outsider's critical view of his family's hometown. Entropy and modernity vie to erode Smolin's way of life, propelling it toward the inevitable cataclysm.


By the Rivers of Mazovia is the third in a loose trilogy of novels exploring the decline of the Polish shtetl.

Translated by: Jordan Finkin