THE JEWISH GYPSY:   Nadia Kovach’s once-carefree life as a spirited young Gypsy in 1940s Czechoslovakia is shattered when the horrors of World War II reach her doorstep. Captured with her young love, Raul, they endure the horrors of the Theresienstadt Ghetto, where Nadia encounters the Jewish people for the first time. Among them is Tuvia, a grieving man who has lost his wife and daughter. As friendships form and bonds deepen amidst unimaginable suffering, an intricate love triangle emerges between Nadia, Raul, and Tuvia, each grappling with their own losses and desires amid the dire circumstances of the Holocaust.
Lala, a fellow Gypsy from Nadia and Raul’s clan, harbors an intense love for Raul and manages to escape the camp without leaving a trace. Years later, she resurfaces, setting the stage for emotional turmoil and complicated dynamics between the trio.
After the war, Nadia’s plans to reunite with Raul are shattered by unfortunate events, leading her on a solitary journey to Israel. There, amidst the promise of a new homeland, Nadia must conceal her Gypsy identity, pretending to be a Jewish woman who returns to her homeland together with many Jews who survived the war.
Due to her extraordinary talents in languages and her spiritual abilities, Nadia is recruited for a part-time job by the Intelligence Office to assist in tracing Nazi war criminals.
Throughout her journey, Nadia continues to yearn for reunion with Raul while grappling with the complexities of her dual identity and the profound challenges of rebuilding her life in a new land.
Reviews:
• “Ruti Yudovich has crafted a masterpiece that is both enlightening and enthralling. The characters leap off the page, their relationships rich and complex, keeping readers hooked until the very end.” – Tom Greeley
• “A page-turner that delves into the little-known world of Gypsies during the Holocaust. Yudovich’s storytelling is spellbinding, weaving historical events with gripping personal drama.” – Stu Sjouwerman
• “The Jewish Gypsy is an epic, in the grand tradition of Gone With The Wind, War and Peace and The Winds of War. Her characters are alive, passionate, cruel, sacrificing, sensuous, and above all, real. So real in fact, that while reading I found myself talking to them, scolding them, cheering for them and last night actually dreaming about them. I read the last one hundred or so pages at a gallop, forgetting food and breaking appointments to find out what happens on the next page, then the next and the next. My only question now is: When does the movie come out?” – Michael Lewis

“Ruti Ydovich has that rarest of talents — she is a wonderful story-teller who passes the test of the great novelist: the ability to tell the most intimate of stories against the background and sweep of overwhelming earth-shattering events. The Jewish Gypsy is an epic, in the grand tradition of Gone With The Wind, War and Peace and The Winds of War. Her characters are alive, passionate, cruel, sacrificing, sensuous, and above all, real. So real in fact, that while reading I found myself talking to them, scolding them, cheering for them and last night actually dreaming about them. I read the last one hundred or so pages at a gallop, forgetting food and breaking appointments to find out what happens on the next page, then the next and the next. My only question now is: When does the movie come out?” – M.L