WHAT HAPPENED TO THE FAMILY OF TEVYE THE MILKMAN AFTER THEY LEFT ANATEVKA?
AFTER ANATEVKA: Tevye in Palestine follows Sholom Aleichem’s timeless character, Tevye the milkman, as he moves his family from Russia to Palestine. Tevye, the wisecracking, Bible-quoting man of God, tells the story of his family’s new life against the backdrop of the conflict between Jews and Arabs in the Holy Land prior to the establishment of the State of Israel.
In AFTER ANATEVKA, Tevye decides to take his wife and three youngest daughters (the three eldest remain in Russia with their husbands) to live on a kibbutz where he must adjust to a secular lifestyle and struggle with the tension between the kibbutzniks’ “religion” of labor and his Jewish beliefs.
The clash between tradition and life in Palestine manifests also in Tevye’s relationship with his daughters, who become assimilated in the kibbutz culture.
For Tevye's wife, Golde, the most important thing in life is keeping her family together. Golde secretly stays in touch with her daughters Hodel and Tzeitel in Russia, and Chava, who married out of the faith, and moves to the United States. Tevye has disowned Chava and, despite Golde's pleas, refuses to utter her name. Despite the time and distance apart, Golde dreams that the family will someday be reunited.
AFTER ANATEVKA is set against the backdrop of the Zionist conflict with the Arabs. Tevye develops a relationship with a Bedouin sheikh, who explains why the Arab claim to Palestine is as valid as that of the Jews, which convinces Tevye war is inevitable. Before fighting for survival in Palestine, however, the Zionists must first win the political battle at the United Nations where a vote will be held to determine whether Palestine should be divided into a Jewish and an Arab state.
Millions of people around the world are familiar with the stories of Sholom Aleichem from the movie and play, Fiddler on the Roof, which was an amalgamation of stories about Tevye and his family. The author wrote other stories involving Tevye, however, which were not in Fiddler. AFTER ANATEVKA is inspired by one of those stories, “Tevye Goes to Palestine.”
What Critics and Amazon Readers Say About After Anatevka
Author Mitchell G. Bard has done Sholom Aleichem's iconic character full justice and in the process deftly crafted a truly memorable, thoughtful, and above all, entertaining novel that is very highly recommended for anyone who ever enjoyed a performance of "Fiddler On The Roof" and wanted to know what came next for Tevye and his family.
-- Midwest Book Review
Tevye lives! A wonderful and hilarious extension of the dramas and challenges of the dairy man/theologian and family man. Truly enjoyable.
Mitchell Bard in "After Anatevka” writes with humor, sensitivity and insight about the establishment of a kibbutz in Palestine. He transports Tevye and his family to a new environment with daunting challenges, explores the conflict between Zionism and the need to maintain the traditions of Judaism, and shows the amazing resilience of a people attempting to make an arid land flourish while building a new society. Entertaining as well as informative, After Anatevka is a great read.
It is amazing how Mitchell Bard is able to maintain the personality and character of Tevye, a character developed by another author in a different era. Brilliant!
This book was wonderful and thoroughly enjoyable. It tells the story of the early pioneers who moved to Israel and helped the country to grow and thrive and readers will find this jewel of a book captivating, entertaining and funny. The struggles of Israel in its infancy and the growing pains and challenges it faced are told with an obvious love for the country. I could not put the book down. It should be a must-read for all readers.
I am a devoted Zionist. As a result, I am familiar with the recent history which preceded the recreation of the Jewish State, Israel. After Anatevka I knew well what it meant to live in Palestine in the years before the state of Israel was recreated. The author knows the conditions of the nascent Jewish society and does a great job in describing the very different characters of the people living in the kibbutz. I truly enjoyed the book.
The author recreates the unique characters that we know and love from Fiddler on the Roof and imagines their future in a way that is both entertaining and educational. Excellent story of the birth of the State of Israel and the sad ongoing failure of her neighbors to accept peace.
I love the book. Very nice continuation of the story for Fiddler on the Roof. Excellent way to describe and learn about life in Palestine before the establishment of Israel. Very well written, easy and enjoyable reading.
Found the book very entertaining and enlightening. I read it because a relative said I should gain insight on life on kibbutz in Palestine, the forming of the State if Israel, and the turbulent years that followed. All of this is seen thru the eyes of Tevya. The book also tells you what happened to Tevya’s family
Easy to read, deep but fun. I loved it. I recommended to all lovers of Reb Tevye.
I love books which complete a favorite story. Sometimes it wrecks your memory but this one I found fascinating. It is a really good history of Israel's struggles before becoming a state. Characters are as you know and love them in Fiddler on the Roof.
