The Beginnings of Ladino Literature

"With detailed notes, bibliography, and an index, this work is a critical addition to the growing body of research on the importance of Ladino literature today."—Association of Jewish Libraries Reviews

"[Olga Borovaya's] labor of many years resulted in a superb and insightful book, which approaches the classics of Sephardi literature from a perspective different from the one adopted until now, and thus teaches us to explore new paths. It should be read and savored slowly, because one is sure to encounter there an intriguing fact that will open a gold mine where one will discover new approaches to the study of sixteenth-century Sephardi literature, a virgin field never before plowed in depth. We need many works like this one by Olga Borovaya. "—Pilar Romeu, Sefarad

"Like the best scholarship, Olga Borovaya's book is quietly revolutionary and serves to open up many new conversations in various fields."—Vincent Barletta, author of Covert Gestures: Crypto-Islamic Literature as Cultural Practice in Early Modern Spain

"Olga Borovaya uncovers previously unacknowledged or misunderstood aspects of the literary, philosophical, and historical underpinnings of early Ladino literature. An impressive and erudite work."—Julia Phillips Cohen, author of Becoming Ottomans: Sephardi Jews and Imperial Citizenship in the Modern Era

"This book is heartily recommended for anyone wishing to learn more not only about one fascinating rabbi, traveller and author, but about the nature and development of a fascinating literary culture, and the world of two dynamic Ottoman cities."—Bulletin of Spanish Studies