‘Mazel tov’ recommended by Die Zeit

The original Dutch-language edition of Margot Vanderstraeten’s ‘Mazel tov’ (2017) was a bestseller in Flanders and the Netherlands. It’s a story based in part on the author’s own experience as a tutor for a Jewish Orthodox family in Antwerp. The book offers an interesting introduction to a closed community, as seen through the eyes of a young woman who is not Jewish.

The book’s success is not limited to the Low Countries: its translations are also very well received. The Polish edition, translated by Malgorzata Woźniak Diederen and published by Czarne, caused quite a stir. A French edition (to be published by Presses de la Cité) and an English one (Pushkin Press) are on the way.

The German translation by Christiane Burkhardt was recently published by Piper Verlag under the pseudonym J.S. Margot. The publication did not go unnoticed. At the end of June Die Zeit, one of the major German weekly magazines, published its ‘Sachbuch Besten-liste für Juli/August’ (list of the ten best nonfiction titles for the summer months). Mazel tov is number six on that list. This will undoubtedly help many German readers find their way to the book and thus contribute to the continuation of its international success.