Named a Best Book of Fall by Parade • Buzzfeed • New York Post • GMA.com • People "Loigman's latest is a gem. A scrappy Jewish teenager newly arrived in 1920s New York struggles to follow her calling as a matchmaker––seventy years later, her cynical divorce-attorney granddaughter realizes she has very inconveniently inherited the family gift for matching soulmates. Both funny and moving, The Matchmaker's Gift made me smile from start to finish." ––Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of The Rose Code Is finding true love a calling or a curse? Even as a child in 1910, Sara Glikman knows her gift: she is a maker of matches and a seeker of soulmates. But among the pushcart-crowded streets of New York’s Lower East Side, Sara’s vocation is dominated by devout older men—men who see a talented female matchmaker as a dangerous threat to their traditions and livelihood. After making matches in secret for more than a decade, Sara must fight to take her rightful place among her peers, and to demand the recognition she deserves. Two generations later, Sara’s granddaughter, Abby, is a successful Manhattan divorce attorney, representing the city’s wealthiest clients. When her beloved Grandma Sara dies, Abby inherits her collection of handwritten journals recording the details of Sara’s matches. But among the faded volumes, Abby finds more questions than answers. Why did Abby’s grandmother leave this library to her and what did she hope Abby would discover within its pages? Why does the work Abby once found so compelling suddenly feel inconsequential and flawed? Is Abby willing to sacrifice the career she’s worked so hard for in order to keep her grandmother’s mysterious promise to a stranger? And is there really such a thing as love at first sight?
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A charming tale told in dual timelines and centered around Jewish matchmaking with a touch of magical realism thrown into the mix. Sarah, a Jewish immigrant living in the 1920's on New York's Lower East Side, has a talent for telling when two people are soulmates. She offers her services for free, challenging the male elders in her community who charge for this service. Then it's fast forward to New York in the 1990's and the perspective of Abby, an ambitious divorce lawyer, who seems to have inherited her grandmother's matchmaker gene, making her work with warring spouses that much more challenging. This heart-warming tale is a nice blend of history, romance, and family ties, with female characters that are well-written and relatable and two strong women at its core who you'll root for and embrace even with all their foibles. Perfect for those days when you want to curl up in front of a roaring fire and get lost in a treasure of a novel.
My thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
