In Sep­tem­ber 2021, A. J. Sidran­sky and his twen­ty-sev­en-year-old son, Jake, set off on a jour­ney pro­pelled by fam­i­ly his­to­ry, years of genealog­i­cal research, and devot­ed rev­er­ence for their ances­tors. This mem­oir, Sidransky’s first work of non­fic­tion, chron­i­cles the trip through Hun­gary, Slo­va­kia, and the Czech Repub­lic — serv­ing as a trav­el­ogue, a food tour, and a history.

As A. J. and Jake weave their way through East­ern Europe, the author vivid­ly describes famous land­marks, memo­ri­als, city streets, small remote vil­lages, and scenic forests and moun­tains. Yet the real­i­ties of the present are shad­owed by the old mem­o­ries. Facism, Nazis, and Com­mu­nism have left their marks on the peo­ple and lands of the once pow­er­ful Aus­tro-Hun­gar­i­an Empire. 

The Sidran­skys want to bet­ter under­stand the cus­toms, sto­ries, and cul­ture passed down and infused into A. J. as a young Bronx boy liv­ing among Hun­gar­i­an immi­grants. This journey’s goal is to feel and imag­ine their ances­tors’ lives and souls and pay homage to their ghosts. Many years of painstak­ing research have enabled them to map out an itin­er­ary, ascer­tain facts, dates, and build­ing loca­tions in remote vil­lages. A. J.’s knowl­edge of Hun­gar­i­an becomes a help­ful aid as they dri­ve along backroads.

The father-son rela­tion­ship is height­ened through their com­pan­ion­ship, con­ver­sa­tions and shared ideas and thoughts. Both men are appre­cia­tive and grate­ful for this spe­cial time togeth­er and its deep spir­i­tu­al effect on them. The duo also finds joy in their cel­e­bra­tion and love of food. There’s a great deal of dis­cus­sion and mouth­wa­ter­ing details con­cern­ing Hun­gar­i­an del­i­ca­cies on every stop of their adven­ture. Pas­tries, plum wines, brandy, and main cours­es are exquis­ite­ly pre­sent­ed. The foods evoke a life­time of taste and com­fort mem­o­ries for the author. A. J. and Jake even take a strudel-mak­ing class in Pest. Many of the recipes of the dish­es men­tioned are includ­ed as a bonus.

As the two explore the rem­nants of East­ern Euro­pean Jew­ish life, the his­to­ry of this region span­ning from Medieval set­tle­ments through the events of World War I and World War II as well as the often-cir­cuitous immi­gra­tion routes of those who left are explained. The Holo­caust, the effects of years of Com­mu­nism destroy­ing Jew­ish iden­ti­ty, vis­its to ceme­ter­ies, syn­a­gogues, fam­i­ly homes, and talks with vil­lagers prompt many reac­tions from A. J. He dis­cuss­es his belief in Recon­struc­tion­ism, his faith and rela­tion­ship with God, and Amer­i­can Jewry’s reli­gious schisms. Their trav­els coin­cide with the High Hol­i­days, and they attend Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kip­pur services.

Any­one who has ever won­dered what life was like for Jews in the ​“old coun­try” will find this sto­ry com­pelling, touch­ing, and infor­ma­tive. Plums, Papri­ka & Ghosts pro­vides a fas­ci­nat­ing guide for delv­ing into the roots and ghosts of one’s ances­tors’ world. Although there are a few cov­er pho­tos of the trip, includ­ing more pic­tures with cap­tions of the places vis­it­ed would have great­ly added to the reader’s appreciation.

This inspir­ing sto­ry of a life-chang­ing and enlight­en­ing expe­ri­ence is one that Sidran­sky pro­fi­cient­ly shares. It’s a his­to­ry famil­iar to so many Jew­ish fam­i­lies and will emo­tion­al­ly res­onate with them.