Alexandra recommends: The World to Come - Dara Horn 

I had never read much Yiddish literature before but this book made me want to devour all the Singer, Peretz and Shalom Aleichem I could find. Dara Horn's modern book is written in a distinctly Yiddish style and introduces the reader to a number of stories of popular European writers. The World to Come is a lyrical book that travels  between times and generations past, present and yet to be born. The main plot centers on a man who steals a  small Chagal painting he sees on display at a gallery because he is convinced it is the same painting his  mother used to have in her home. This mystery story provides the anchor but the real theme of the book is about how we are affected by our past, and the effect we have in turn on generations to come. The final section stands alone as one of the most beautiful midrashim I have ever read.