The Sisters of the Winter Wood

by Rena Rossner

  mensches—decent people

  nafkeh—whore

  narishkeit—nonsense

  nebbishers—simpletons, losers

  nishtgedeiget—don’t worry

  nu?—so? and? well?

  oy—oh; oh no!

  oy vey iz mir—woe is me! oh no!

  oyfen himmel a yarid—much ado about nothing (in heaven there’s a big fair)

  oyfvakn—wake up!

  prietzteh—princess/prima donna

  rugelach—an Eastern European Jewish pastry made in the shape of a crescent by rolling up a triangle of dough around a filling

  schmaltz—chicken fat

  schnecken—cinnamon/sticky buns

  shabbesdik—shabbes-like; appropriate for the sabbath

  shaygetzim—non-Jewish men

  shayna meidel—beautiful girl

  schnozzle—nose

  shikseh—non-Jewish woman

  shkotzim—non-Jewish men

  shlofkepele—sleepyhead

  shoyn—enough

  shul—synagogue

  shunda—shame; tragedy

  shtetl(ach)—village(s)

  shtieble/shtieblach—a small room(s) or space(s) used for communal prayer

  shtup—have sex; fuck

  tichel—scarf/head covering

  trayf—non-kosher food

  tsatskeh—plaything; sexy woman

  tze gezunt—you’re welcome

  umbeshrein—God forbid!

  varenikes—Eastern European dumplings usually filled with mashed potato or cheese

  vechter—watchman

  vos iz mit dir—what’s wrong with you?

  yenta—a blabbermouth

  yingele—young one

  zaftig(e)—attractive and plump

  zaftige moid—plump/sexy/attractive girl

  zay gezunt—be well/goodbye

  zeiskeit—sweetheart (term of endearment)

  Yiddish sayings

  A friend is not someone who wipes your tears—he’s someone who doesn’t make you cry—A khave iz nit dafke der vos visht dir op di trern nor der vos brengt dikh bekhlal nit tsi trern

  Beautiful as the seven worlds—Shain vi di zibben velten

  Beautiful is not what is beautiful, but what one likes—Nit dos iz sheyn, vos iz sheyn, nor dos, vos es gefelt

  Better caution than tears—Besser frieher bewohrent, eider sh peter beweint

  Better to die upright than to live on your knees—Besser tsu shtarben shtai’endik eider tsu leben oif di kni

  Every heart has its secrets—Yedeh harts hot soides

  I need it like I need a hole in the head!—Ich darf es vi a loch in kop!

  Let a goose loose in the oats and she will starve to death—Az me zetst arein a gandz in hober, shtarbt zi fun hunger

  Love and hunger don’t dwell together—Libeh un hunger voinen nit in ainem

  Necessity breaks iron—Noit brecht eizen

  No choice is also a choice—Kain braireh iz oich a braireh

  No fruit falls from withered trees—Fun fartrikenteh baimer kumen kain paires nit arois

  With a fairy tale and with a lie you can lull only children to sleep—Mit a meisseh un mit a ligen ken men nor kinder farvigen

  You can’t change the world with curses or with laughter—Nit mit shelten un nit mit lachen ken men di velt ibermachen

  You think that only in dreams the carrots are as big as bears—Nor in cholem zeinen meren vi beren

  Ukrainian words and phrases

  bud’laska—please

  dochka—daughter

  dorohyy—darling

  dubroho ranku—good morning

  koroleva—queen

  malyshka—little one

  ne biytesya—don’t be afraid

  ne zvazhay—never mind

  nmaye!—no!

  pro shcho vy?—what are you?

  sim’ya—family

  vash lebid—your swan

  zhyd(ovka)—male/female derogatory term for a Jew

  Acknowledgments

  First and foremost a massive thank you to agent-extraordinaire, Brent Taylor, who believed in me and my work when I had almost stopped believing. Thank you for your endless insight, advice, ideas, and gut instinct—more than anything, I feel lucky to call you a friend. To Uwe Stender for running such a stellar agency and hand-picking a team of literary agents who know exactly what to do to make dreams come true, and for being excited about the pitch for this book together with Brent, which gave me the courage to keep writing it.

  Thank you to the entire Orbit/Redhook team for making my lifelong dream a reality. To my editor Nivia Evans—your passion, sensitivity, and insight were invaluable—all of this book’s shine I owe to you. To Anna Jackson and Joanna Kramer at Orbit UK—I feel very honored to have been able to work so closely with both of you. To Anne Clarke and Tim Holman for believing in me and this book. To Ellen Wright, publicist extraordinaire—thanks for making everything possible. To Lindsey Hall for falling in love first and for taking a chance on me and this book—I am forever grateful. To Rebecca Yanovskaya for interpreting my book into one of the most stunning covers I’ve ever seen. To Tomer Rottenberg, rockstar photographer, for taking the perfect photos every time.

  I know that people like to say “it takes a village” but I think in my case it’s more accurate to say that it takes a lifetime of encouragement—my journey began with my parents, who always supported me as a reader first and foremost, feeding the voracious need of a daughter who read books well beyond her years, and then as a writer. To my dad who said “writers write, always” even though there were days I wanted to burn “Throw Momma From the Train” with fire for giving my father that ammunition to use against me. (Newsflash: it worked.) And to my mother, who fought for me as a gifted kid who was miserable in school, who listened to me, who continues to listen to me every day, and who helped me create the opportunities that formed me into the person and the writer I am today.

  Thank you to my teachers—Arlene Fishbein and Marlene Mitchell—who recognized the writer in me in elementary school and cultivated that talent, not just by encouraging and believing in me, but also by entering my work into contests that showed me that I had what it takes. To the correspondence course writing tutors that Johns Hopkins University’s CTY/IAAY program provided me with. To Erica Rauzin who took me under her wings and taught me how to spread mine. You always took me seriously, and you not only kept up with my frantic reading pace, but you taught me how to be a real writer. There were many other teachers along the way—who taught me Torah, Halacha, Tanya, Likutei Moharan, History, AP English—and who introduced me to the Rabbis and authors who inspired this book—sometimes against their better judgment. You formed me into the reader, writer, and agent I am today.

  Thank you to Johns Hopkins University’s Writing Seminars program—not only for accepting me Early Decision, Early Admission and getting me the hell out of high school, but also for giving me a place to thrive, to encounter both your incredible teachers and other upstart writers like me. To Greg Williamson for teaching me to be the poet I am today. And to Chaim Potok z”l—I was so lucky to have met you, but even luckier still to be able to call you my teacher.

  Thank you to my beta readers (and friends!)—Gili Bar-Hillel, you are so much more than just a beta reader—thank you for being a listening ear and for loving Goblin Market as much as I do. To Jill Schafer Boehme for being a shoulder to cry on but also for the endless support—so excited to celebrate this amazing year together with you! Helen Maryles Shankman, Holly Bodger, Stacey Filak, Adam Heine, Stephanie Feldman, Kaitlyn Sage Patterson—this book would not be what it is today without your insight.

  Thank you to my friends, of which I am so lucky to be able to say that there are many. I consider myself forever blessed to have you all in my life. Thank you for understanding why I sometimes disappear for weeks on end. (I truly don’t prefer the comfort of my computer screen and my imaginary friends more than I enjoy spending time with you—it
just seems that way.) Thank you for giving me a place on your couch, for endless culinary and other kinds of support, for bottomless cups of coffee and sympathy, for reading both trash and treasure with me. You know who you are.

  Thank you to Deborah Harris—for changing my life by taking me in to the Deborah Harris Agency family. To George Eltman, Efrat Lev, Ilana Kurshan, Hadar Makov, Ran Kaisar, Geula Geurts, and Shira Ben-Choreen Schneck for being there for me day in day out, listening to both my frustrations and my triumphs. I could ask for no better gift than to work by your sides and to love my job with all of my heart.

  Thank you to my kids—Nachliel Yishayahu, Avtalyon Yitzchak, Lehava Aderet, Shaanan Shalom and Nehorai Ahallel. Thank you for understanding (though I’m not always sure that you do) why I spend so much time in front of my computer. I only hope that I’ve instilled within all of you a love for reading and writing, but more than anything, I hope that you will always let your imagination soar and take you to all the places in your dreams.

  And last, but never least, thank you to my husband Jonathan, for loving me, believing in me, and supporting me through it all, even though I know that there were many times when it wasn’t easy. You stuck with me through thick and thin. I think it most apt to end on the pasuk that your grandfather taught you, that you inscribed on one of the first gifts you ever gave me: “Hazorim Be’dimah Be’Rena Yiktzoru—those who sow with tears, will reap with joy.”

  About the Author

  Rena Rossner lives in Israel, where she works as a literary agent. She is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University’s Writing Seminars program and McGill University, where she studied history. All eight of her great-grandparents immigrated to America to escape the pogroms from towns like Dubossary, Kupel, Riga, and Bender. It is their story, together with her love of Jewish mythology and fantasy, that inspired her to write The Sisters of the Winter Wood.

  Thank you for buying this ebook, published by Hachette Digital.

  To receive special offers, bonus content, and news about our latest ebooks and apps, sign up for our newsletters.

  Sign Up

  Or visit us at hachettebookgroup.com/newsletters