Kith and Kin

In this vibrant and witty family saga, André Kaminski chronicles the fortunes and misadventures of two Jewish families as the Austro-Hungarian Empire is crumbling, World War I is brewing, and Bolshevism has become the hope of the idealistic young.

The Kaminski clan is headed by a rich manufacturer, a tyrant who disowns his eleven sons when they are repeatedly arrested as revolutionaries. The boys escape to America, where, for a time, they become famous as the world's only Jewish soccer team. The Rosenbachs, whose fortunes are dwindling along with the monarchy, include a patriarch dreaming of the old days; an uncle determined to invent colour photography, converting to Christianity along the way and then backing out in a panic; and a beautiful mother and daughter whose ideas of sexual liberation are far ahead of the times. Through a series of rollicking adventures, these two families are eventually united.

Brimming with colourful and outrageous characters and written with a satiric edge and earthy humour, this is a novel with universal appeal.

»Kaminski's broad humor and affectionately drawn portraits of his socialist parents make this a lively narrative. A bestseller in Europe, this first novel is as much a reflection on the Jewish diaspora as on the author's own family history.« Publishers Weekly

»With the pinioning irony, extravagant humor, and pervasive humanity traditional in the Jewish comic novel of the Diaspora, this first novel […] assembles a diverse family of Kaminskis. […] A witty, shrewd flight over plausibility, but infused with home truths about human idiocy and miraculous aspirations, as well as a scalding commentary about injustice and symbol-laced speculations and intuitions concerning Jewish identity.« Kirkus Review