Published in 2023, Elizabeth Graver’s Kantika is an adult historical fiction novel. This multigenerational saga traces the journey of a Sephardic Jewish family led by the indomitable Rebecca Cohen from their affluent beginnings in early 20th-century Istanbul through displacements to Barcelona, Havana, and finally New York. The novel won a National Jewish Book Award, an Association of Jewish Libraries Fiction Award, and the Edward Lewis Wallant Award. It explores themes of displacement, cultural preservation, and women’s strength.

This study guide refers to the e-book edition released by Metropolitan Books in 2023.

Content Warning: The source material contains depictions of antisemitism, child loss, infertility, xenophobia, wartime violence, genocide, and ableism.

Plot Summary

In 1902, Rebecca Cohen is born into a large and prosperous Sephardic Jewish family living in Constantinople. Her father, Alberto, owns a textile factory, and her mother, Sultana, is involved in local charitable efforts. The second of six siblings, Rebecca is a creative and active child who loves to sing, draw, and sew. Her best friend is a girl named Lika who looks so much like her that they are sometimes mistaken for twins. Alberto divorced his first wife, Djentil Nahon, after she was unable to bear children. Rebecca and Lika often visit Djentil to listen to her stories, but they stop after the lonely woman’s desperation for their company begins to alarm them.

When Rebecca is 12 years old, the outbreak of World War I ends her idyllic childhood. Lika and her family immigrate to the United States, and she and Rebecca never see one another again. The Cohen family’s fortune dwindles due to a combination of political upheaval and mismanagement by Rebecca’s father. In 1924, Alberto makes the painful decision to leave his beloved city and take his family to Spain. He accepts a position as a caretaker at a small synagogue in Barcelona, and he becomes embittered and distant toward his relatives. After he learns that his eldest daughter, Corinne, is expecting his first grandchild, Alberto apologizes and resolves to do better by his family.

Even though the Spanish government invites members of the Sephardic Jewish community to immigrate there, the Cohens encounter antisemitism in their new home. Rebecca must conceal her religion and use an alias to find work. The young woman saves some of her wages so that she can open her own business.

At age 23, Rebecca marries Luis Baruch, who is six years her senior and one of the few Jewish bachelors in Barcelona. After the wedding, she learns that exposure to mustard gas during World War I left him with a vacant, childlike mentality. He spends much of his time traveling abroad, leaving her to raise their two sons, David and Alberto, on her own. Luis dies suddenly during a visit to his family in Adrianople. Rebecca only learns of his death after she makes the voyage from Spain with their two young sons to come see him. Luis’s relatives plead with her to stay with them, but she now understands that Turkey is no longer truly her home. She returns to Barcelona and throws herself into her private dressmaking business, determined to give her children a better life.

Rebecca’s childhood best friend, Lika, dies, leaving behind her husband, Sam Levy, and her daughter, Luna. Four years later, Corinne suggests that Rebecca marry Sam so that she can gain entrance to America. Her parents encourage the match because they fear the growing antisemitism in Europe and want their grandchildren to live somewhere where they don’t have to hide their Jewish identity. In 1934, the 32-year-old Rebecca meets Sam in Havana, Cuba. The two are drawn to one another almost immediately, and they are soon wed.

When Rebecca moves into Sam’s Astoria apartment in 1934, she learns that his daughter has cerebral palsy. With Rebecca’s encouragement and tireless efforts, Luna gains greater control over her body as well as a more positive self-image. A few years later, Rebecca is able to bring her two oldest sons, David and Al, over from Spain. However, her parents are not allowed to immigrate. The Spanish Civil War breaks out, and antisemitism grows more severe in Spain. The synagogue that Alberto spent so many years caring for is attacked, and he dies of malnutrition in June of 1939.

On September 1, 1939, World War II begins, and Rebecca and Sam move their family to Cambria Heights. Rebecca helps to open a synagogue in their new neighborhood and runs a thriving fashion business, and Sam opens his own store. Their family grows as the couple has three children together, Jacob, Suzanne, and Frank. Luna enrolls in a school that offers full scholarships for gifted students with disabilities. There she makes friends, including her future husband.

In 1944, Rebecca’s mother dies after falling down a flight of stairs. Sultana is buried in a different cemetery than her husband because of the war, and her immigration to the United States is finally approved by the Spanish government three months after her death.

On March 19, 1945, the 18-year-old David is serving aboard the USS Franklin when it is bombed by Japanese fighter planes. He survives by jumping overboard, and the harrowing experience ends his belief in God.

In 1950, Rebecca, who is now in her forties, performs a moving song in her mother tongue of Ladino at her local Jewish center. Her family is in attendance, and Luna hurries to the stage and tells her stepmother that she is pregnant. Rebecca joyfully announces to the audience that she will soon be a grandmother, and the two women receive a standing ovation.