2022 Official March International Pulpwood Queens and Timber Guys Book of the Month
Gold Award in the Regional Fiction (Europe) category of the 2020 IPPY Awards
Gold Medal in the Fiction–Literary category of the 2020 Readers’ Favorite Book Awards
Silver Award in the Audiobook: Fiction category of the 2020 IBPA Benjamin Franklin Awards
Award-Winning Finalist in the Literary Fiction category of the 2020 American Fiction Awards
Award-Winning Finalist in the Fiction: Literary category of the 2020 Best Book Awards
Award-Winning Finalist in Best Cover Design: Fiction category of the 2020 International Book Awards
Award-Winning Finalist in Visionary Fiction of the 15th Annual National Indie Excellence Awards
Award-Winning Finalist in the Historical Fiction category of the 2019 Sarton Women's Book Awards
“Teitelman paints an intensely beautiful world in which different cultures merge in surprising ways. . . . A rich and moving story about an unlikely pair.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“Readers who are drawn to stories about maintaining faith in challenging times, particularly those with religious views rooted in a pluralist approach to theism rather than any single system’s tenets, will find Esther’s epiphany moving. The relationship between the two strands of narrative, one human and one deity, invites readers to consider the relationship between the secular and sacred in their everyday lives. And the interstices in Teitelman’s narrative, where specific religious systems connect and collide, suggest a comforting movement toward harmony. Most importantly, Esther survives; hers is a hopeful tale.”
—Los Angeles Review of Books
“Spiritual, socially astute, politically chilling, and psychologically gripping, Guesthouse for Ganesha is the kind of novel marketers hate and readers love because it challenges simple categorization. . . . Neither a Holocaust story nor Hindu legend, Guesthouse for Ganesha blends elements of both with an exceptional attention to vivid detail and transformation that results in a thoroughly unexpected, delightful dance through life.”
—Midwest Book Review
“It is an intense tale, but one that has, in the end, huge reserves of warmth and hope, and which ultimately guides us to salvation. This is a truly original novel, one which resonates in a way that is surprisingly universal.”
—Neon Books (United Kingdom)
“Ms. Teitelman, please take a bow for an inspiring and touching story of love, loss, and spirit, beautifully told with great conviction and style. The debut novel, which weaves Eastern beliefs with stark realities, speaks volumes about the talent of this budding author.”
—Khaas Baat: A Publication for Indian Americans in Florida
“. . . a riveting story of lost love, survival, and spiritual awakening.”
—NRI Pulse, Home of the Indian American Family
“From the dreamlike prologue to the final epilogue, this is a powerful and absorbing read—a novel written with love in the spirit of healing and renewal.”
—Jewish Book Council
“Poignant and lyrical . . . Guesthouse for Ganesha is a huge literary success, from the skillful handling of plot elements to the meticulous weaving of historical elements into the story to the gorgeous prose.”
—Readers’ Favorite, FIVE STAR review
“This is stunning historical fiction about a long journey from hellish darkness to divine light and peace, presented by a highly skilled writer.”
—Historical Novel Society
“A parable, a prayer, a piece of magic realism, Judith Teitelman’s Guesthouse for Ganesha begins with the (improbable; wondrous) visit of Ganesha, the Hindu elephant deity, to strife-torn 1920s Köln, setting us off on a journey of love, grief, understanding. A feat of (and feast for) the imagination, the novel unfolds in ways at once heartfelt, surprising, inevitable. You will not be sorry you accepted this invitation to voyage.”
—Howard A. Rodman, Past President, Writers Guild of America West, screenwriter of Savage Grace and Joe Gould’s Secret, author of Destiny Express, and professor at the Universityof Southern California)
“Have you ever read a book that begins with the great Indian elephant god Ganesha dancing through the night with a spunky young German woman? Judith Teitelman’s Guesthouse for Ganesha is a truly original novel. I was immediately hooked by that image with its blend of magic realism and a down-to-earth heroine who must grapple with abandonment and her own capacity for fortitude, all under the compassionate gaze of Ganesha, observing and guiding her with his ‘surveillance of souls.’ Teitelman yokes holocausts—both historical and personal—to compassion and possibility, giving us the timeless writerly gift of immersing this reader—and I’m sure many others—in a journey of renewal both archetypal and unprecedented.”
—Janet Sternburg, author of The Writer on Her Work, Phantom Limb, and White Matter
“Esther's journey is compelling. I’m drawn into her character, fascinated that she is ‘emotionally hardening’ before my eyes. Yet there are these exquisite moments of her softening, succumbing, listening. I like the historical milieu, this eerie calm before the maelstrom of war, where an outsider can catalyze such irrational (and violent) race hatred. These pages are beautiful . . . Judith has breathed them into being.”
—Louise Steinman, author of The Crooked Mirror: A Memoir of Polish-Jewish Reconciliation
“Judith Teitelman’s remarkable imagination produces the thrilling illusion of several layers of different lives. The way she honors her main character’s indifference to human contact and emotion and then poetically leads her to a redemption is an act of cosmic chutzpah.”
—Sasha Anawalt, author, educator, and director of arts journalism master’s programs at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism
“Lyrical and moving, Guesthouse for Ganesha weaves a story of daring and courage in a world rent mad by war and destruction.”
—Gary Phillips, editor of The Obama Inheritance: Fifteen Stories of Conspiracy Noir
2019-01-29
In this magical realist novel set in 1920s Germany, a young Jewish woman inexplicably bonds with the Hindu god Ganesha.
Esther Grünspan is 17 when she first moves to Köln, Germany, from her hometown in Poland, where her fiance recently failed to show up to their wedding. She starts a new life in her new city as a talented seamstress. However, this life is withdrawn and lonely, as she barely interacts with anyone, although she's avidly trying to learn how to speak German to achieve "business success." Even with her own family members, who visit and send letters, Esther is cold and difficult to connect with. One day, while walking through the Rheinpark, she spots a wooden stand decorated with "vibrant, garish colors" and images unfamiliar to her. She becomes fixated with one image in particular—an "elephant-headed man." The memory of this figure sticks with Esther, who begins to doubt if it was even real. She's actually fixated on the Hindu god Ganesha, who has similarly bonded with Esther, as revealed through his own italicized narration, interspersed throughout the novel. Later, she navigates marriage and motherhood, but she never forgets her Rheinpark memory, and Ganesha watches out for her with wisdom and love. As years pass, anti-Semitism in the city becomes more rampant, and Esther begins to obsess over India. Her decision to travel to Ganesha's home ultimately results in an emotional, enlightening revelation. Over the course of this debut novel, Teitelman paints an intensely beautiful world in which different cultures merge in surprising ways. Although it centers on what may seem like an odd pairing—a Jewish mortal and a Hindu god—the novel weaves the two characters together in a very natural way, as Esther, withdrawn from those around her, is shown to need Ganesha as a protective, loving companion. Teitelman's deft execution as she explores this relationship is a major factor in why this unusual novel works so well. Throughout, her writing shows a finesse that's as compelling as the story it presents, employing a lyrical prose style when focusing on Ganesha and a more decadent tone during Esther's parts.
A rich and moving story about an unlikely pair.
