How Jewish is the Aqua Maddas Novel?

The answer to the question is, the Aqua Maddas Novel is definitely 'Jewish-ish'.

Available as a Kindle ebook and paperback from Amazon.

So just how 'Jewish-ish' is 'Aqua Maddas'?

It Features the Exodus

Aqua Maddas is a genderless sea creature trapped in a mental health hospital. They tell their stories to various people, including a therapist, mental health nurses and other patients. One of the stories includes their witnessing of the Exodus from a hiding place in the parted ocean. 

I mean, can you imagine seeing the Exodus through the eyes of an aquatic being?

(Image by Jeff Jacobs from Pixabay)

Cortissos the 'Pirate' is Sephardic

The Sephardic Jews were expelled from Spain and Portugal in the late 1400s. As a proud descendent of the Sephardim and thoroughly aware that their historical struggles are not common knowledge, I decided that the character Aqua Maddas needed to meet a Sephardic 'pirate'. 

Image by Rujhan-Basir from Pixabay

The chapter also references the Ladino (Judeo-Spanish) folk song 'A la una yo nasi'. It's a rare gem of a tune.

Maddas has an Adventure in the Jewish East End of London

Maddas takes a dip in the Thames and visits the enchanting Jewish East End of London in the early 1990s. After researching my Jewish ancestry and finding Great-Grandparents buried in East London Jewish graveyards, I felt that the Aqua Maddas novel needed to include this part of history.

This chapter will make you hungry for beigels, I warn you.

(Image from Steve Birch)

Here, Maddas meets a musically talented Jewish refugee, learns to love beigels and becomes obsessed with  klezmer and Yiddish folk music.

The Name Aqua Maddas is Inspired by Modern Hebrew

The word 'Aqua' is from the Latin word for 'water', but 'Maddas' is a modification of the word 'madda'. 'Madda' is modern Hebrew for 'science'. There are splashes of science here and there in the novel, mostly in the form of natural history. As Maddas is a sea creature, most of their stories feature the ocean and its many wonderful animals. 

There's definitely a dolphin or two in there.

(Image by Claudia Beer from Pixabay)

In conclusion, the Aqua Maddas novel is definitely 'Jewish-ish'.

Where to Buy

It is available on Amazon Kindle here and as a paperback. If you do not have an Amazon Kindle, you can download the Kindle app for free here.

Happy Rosh Hashanah!

Have a sweet New Year!