Elie Wiesel: As a story, The Heretic is deeply absorbing – but also helps Jews and Christians better understand their complex and often painful relationship.

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Alan M. Dershowitz: The historical novel that is both true to the past and relevant to the present is rare indeed. The Heretic helps us to understand why the Pope is correct in insisting that the Catholic Church do much more to seektschuva – forgiveness and redemption – for its monumental sins and crimes against the Jewish people.  The Heretic humanizes the tragic history of religious persecution.

Faye Kellerman: The Heretic is a sweeping historical tale of love, honor, justice, religion and morality, meticulously researched and wonderfully exciting.

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Rick Steves’ Spain 2007: To get the feel of Spain past and present, check out a few of these books: The Sun Also Rises, For Whom the Bell Tolls, and Death in the Afternoon (Ernest Hemingway); Don Quixote (Miguel de Cervantes); The Heretic (Lewis Weinstein); and Tales of the Alhambra (Washington Irving).

Monsignor Thomas Hartman: I found The Heretic a compelling read.  I felt the emotion.  I kept wishing it would turn out differently, but of course I knew it wouldn’t.  Unfortunately, the book is historically accurate.  The Church has treated Jews horribly over the years, and we were wrong.  It is important for Catholics to know what was done and the impact it has had, even in this century, if we are to continue Pope John Paul’s initiatives to build a different path to the future. (Father Tom Hartman is the co-host of The God Squad, and the Director of Radio and Television for the Diocese of Rockville Center.)

Hadassah Magazine: The Heretic is a captivating first novel. For anyone who wants to know why Jews have long memories regarding tragedies of the past, this well-researched narrative is valuable reading for Jew and non-Jew.  But as much as The Heretic is a story of horror and destruction, it contains, as all Jewish stories must, the kernel of perpetual hope and rebirth. 

David A. Harris:  This book should come with a warning label: don’t start reading it unless you’re prepared to put everything else aside until you finish.  The Heretic is powerful, riveting, and inspiring.  It should be a must read Catholics and Jews.  (Mr. Harris is Executive Director of The American Jewish Committee.)

Midwest Book Review: The Heretic is a superbly written debut novel of political intrigue that adds a definitively human touch to the terrible ills of religious persecution. Weinstein is a master storyteller, and The Heretic leaves the reader looking eagerly toward his next literary effort.

The Jewish Press: The Heretic is a breathtaking tour de force that is both historically accurate and unusually entertaining. Weinstein’s book has captured the spice and flavor of 15th century Spain. It is a truly exciting page turner.

Jewish Telegraphic Agency: The Heretic is a compelling and gripping depiction of the hatred wreaked by religious fanaticism directed at both Jews and “conversos” in 15th century Spain.  The lives, loves and tragedies of the characters, fictional and historical, come alive, inviting the reader to see, feel and share their emotions.  The Heretic is a must read for both Jews and Christians as we engage in dialogue to explore the depths of devastation and destruction unleashed by religious fanaticism, yesterday and today.

John Cardinal O’Connor:  “The Spanish Inquisition of which you write in The Heretic was just one tragic event out of many in the Jewish-Catholic encounter.  As we freely admit the sins of many of our Catholic brothers and sisters over the centuries, we can move on, hopefully liberated by the truth and reminded by it to challenge hatred and intolerance in our present time. (Cardinal O’Connor was the Archbishop of New York.  He wrote these comments shortly before his death.)

The Jerusalem Post: Weinstein portrays his characters as real people living in a very frightening period, bringing to life the fanaticism of the period, highlighting for both Jews and Christians alike the dangers of intolerance.  He has written an exciting, interesting and very readable epic.

Bishop John J. Snyder:  I found The Heretic an absorbing and challenging story.  From one perspective it was not easy reading since it presents us with a part of the Church’s history that we would rather not face.  However, it brings home to us the reality of our sinfulness and the discrimination and violence that is part of our story.  We can and must seek forgiveness for the past but even more importantly we are challenged not to follow that path in the years to come. My gratitude to you for sharing this important epic with me. (Bishop Snyder is the Bishop of the Diocese of St. Augustine and a member of the U.S.Bishops Committee for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs.)

Professor Jane S. Gerber: I couldn’t put the book down and was thoroughly absorbed in the character development and plot line. The Heretic is the best book I have encountered using Sephardic history as the backdrop.  (Professor Gerber is Professor of History and Director, Institute for Sephardic Studies at the Graduate School of the City University of New York, and the author of The Jews of Spain.)

Lorraine Gordon:  When I finished reading your wonderful novel, I wished I had another one just like it.  I thoroughly enjoyed The Heretic.  As a matter of fact, it has the same appeal as Noah’s books have for me … well-drawn characters, interesting history, and an absorbing story.”  (Ms. Gordon is the wife of author Noah Gordon.)

Dr. Eugene J. Fisher: My predecessor, Fr. Edward Flannery, used to say that we Christians have torn out of our history books all the pages the Jews remember.  The Heretic may help redress that serious imbalance in historical memory between our two ancient peoples.  If so, you will have done a mitzvah for the Church, and for future generations of Catholics and Jews.  (Dr. Fisher is Associate Director of the Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, National Conference of Catholic Bishops.)

Rabbi Leon Klenicki:  I want to tell you how much I appreciate The Heretic.  Its historical view, the vividness of portraying characters and situations, surrounded me immediately and made me feel in situ.  I will recommend The Hereticto my Christian friends.  (Rabbi Klenicki was, until recently, the director of the Department of Jewish-Christian Relations of the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith.)

Rabbi Emanuel Rackman:  The Heretic is an electrifying work.  (Rabbi Rackman is the Chancellor of Bar-Ilan University.)

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Historical Novel Review: Steeped in late medieval culture, immerses the reader in a world of religious intolerance and cross-cultural cooperation. Characters, both fictional and historical, are vital living beings, well motivated, true-to-life and, more importantly, true to the period. The narrative is compelling, sweeping the reader along on a well-paced journey, while the setting comes alive with the sights, sounds and smells of medieval Spain. The history of the relationship between the Jewish people and the Christians is incorporated in a believable way so that readers become acquainted with the historical background behind the rise of the Inquisition.

Curled Up With A Good Book: Weinstein sets his dramatic novel in the bloody upheaval of the Spanish Inquisition. The great Dominican purges of 1391 and 1412 have created a large number of conversos, those willing to relinquish their faith and embrace Christianity rather than be burned at the stake as heretics. Weinstein reveals the ugly face of intolerance, fanatics demanding blood sacrifice in one of the most brutal periods of history, Jews and conversos scattering before the sword of Christianity, one great religion pitted against another. God watches His children destroyed in His name.

Jewish Week: a stirring novel, much period detail, with fictional as well as actual events and historical figures. Much to say about family, faith and Jewish identity.

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First Things, The Journal of Religious and Public Life: reflects the conflicted motives that led churchmen to cooperate with the royal effort to “purify” the Spanish nation … vividly dramatizing the sins which John Paul II has asked Christians to candidly acknowledge

Sephardic Image: a compelling historical novel (set against) a backdrop of political and religious upheaval. Intriguing portraits of real historical figures, enthralling fictional treatment of a pivotal point in history. A historical novel with a message about the future (and) special relevance for our time.

Midstream: The Heretic revives a world of the past. It’s historical reimagining sings. It will captivate you.

Renaissance Magazine: an affirmation of faith, inspirational, vivid and descriptive, breathtaking detail.

San Diego Jewish Times: a mesmerizing novel about all those things that make us humane and caring human beings

Detroit Jewish News: literary brilliance, exciting action, romance, cinematic action on paper

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