New York Times #1 Best-selling Author presents “The Familiar”.
“All reading is escapism, even nonfiction” – Leigh Bardugo.
Bardugo found this means of escape when she was forced to move to a new school after her mother remarried. The nerdy, book-loving awkward preteen had no friends within a milieu which seemed totally populated by cheerleaders, football players and surfers. But when the school librarian placed a sign reading “Discover New Worlds” on a table covered with science fiction and fantasy, Bardugo found her place in this world by escaping to alternate ones.
Bardugo went on to create her own alternate worlds. A New York Times best-selling author, whose works have been translated into 22 languages and sold in 50 countries, she is best known for the Young Adult books which were the source of the Netflix “Shadow and Bone” series. The “Shadow and Bones” trilogy, The “Six of Crows” duology, and the “King of Scars” duology take place in a fantasy version of early nineteenth century Russia, populated by various ethnic groups, social classes and competing empires, as well as the “grisha”; those who possess magical powers. Bardugo, who is half Ashkenazic and half Sephardic, has stated that the setting of these books is a tribute to the Russian/Lithuanian Ashkenazic side of her family.
Born in Jerusalem and raised in Los Angeles, Bardugo studied English literature at Yale, where she was a member of the Wolf’s Head secret society. Her “Ninth House” and “Hell Bent” novels take place in another imaginary world but one based on Bardugo’s own experiences, a fictional Ivy League wherein obscure secret society rituals are actual magical spells.
With “The Familiar” the author pays tribute to her Sephardic heritage. The Sephardim are Jews who trace their roots to the Iberian Peninsula. After the Alhambra decree of 1492 which expelled all unconverted Jews from Spain and initiated the Spanish Inquisition, Bardugo’s ancestors fled to Egypt and Morocco. But relatives who chose to stay and convert to Christianity were required to cease all contact with Jews. Bardugo reconnects with these lost family members in an alternate version of the Inquisition wherein Judaism is forbidden, but magic is allowed. “The Familiar” takes place in sixteenth century Spain, after the destruction of King Phillip II’s Armada by the English. This disaster throws the nobility into chaos, with various factions jockeying for position. But in Bardugo’s imagination, the competing noblemen and women seek out magicians to strengthen their claims.
The author remembered her Sephardic grandmother’s refranes, or Ladino (Judeo-Spanish) proverbs (see sidebar), heard in childhood, and incorporated them into her novel. Her protagonist Luzia, an orphaned scullion and secret Jew, sleeps on a bed of rags in a cellar, with no hope of a better future. Luzia utilizes these Ladino refranes as magical incantations to make her work a bit easier. Her mistress discovers her secret and aims to use Luzia to elevate her own social standing. with unanticipated consequences. Luzia and her mistress are thrust into a stratosphere of wealth, power, danger…and romance.
Leigh Bardugo will be speaking on Sunday, December 7 at 7:30 p.m. as the final program of the 27th annual Jewish Book Festival of the Jewish Federation of the Greater San Gabriel and Pomona Valleys. This event will be hosted by the Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center (PJTC) at the United Methodist Church, 500 E Colorado Blvd in Pasadena. The author will sign books after her presentation and refreshments will be provided by the PJTC Sisterhood. “The Familiar” as well as all other books featured in the Festival will be available for purchase. Literary Circle members are invited to a reception with the author prior to the program. Registration materials are in this copy of JLIFE, or may be found at jewishsgpv.org. 
Shelley Klein is Chair of the Book Festival Committee of the Jewish Federation of the Greater San Gabriel and Pomona Valleys.
