Ethel Hofman's Mackerel at Midnight: Growing Up Jewish on a Remote Scottish Island is a collection of remarkable stories about the meeting of two diverse cultures in a unique landscape. Fleeing Russia a century ago, the author's family finds safe haven in Lerwick, Shetland, where they open "Greenvald's," the shop on Commercial Street. Her father, Harry, embraced by the locals, soon turns the shop into the beloved gathering place for "a good yarn and a dram of whisky."
This is also the story of Jean, the wife Harry brings to Lerwick through a marriage broker. Though an ocean away from other Jews, Jean Greenwald, "Our Ma," vows to rear her children with deep pride in their heritage and religion. Despite the hardships, good food always brings solace, and recipes for the Jewish and island dishes she prepares weave through the narrative. Both memoir and cookbook, Mackerel at Midnight brings the reader back to gentler times that exemplify how food can instill a lasting identity, and people of different religions and cultures can live together in peace.
