Gold Award in the Regional Fiction (Europe) category of the 2020 IPPY Awards; Gold Medal in the Fiction–Literary category of the 2020 Readers’ Favorite Book Awards; Silver Award in the Audiobook: Fiction category of the 2020 IBPA Benjamin Franklin Awards; Award-Winning Finalist in the Literary Fiction category of the 2020 American Fiction Awards; Award-Winning Finalist in the Fiction: Literary category of the 2020 Best Book Awards; Award-Winning Finalist in Best Cover Design: Fiction category of the 2020 International Book Awards; Award-Winning Finalist in Visionary Fiction of the 15th Annual National Indie Excellence Awards; Award-Winning Finalist in the Historical Fiction category of the 2019 Sarton Women's Book Awards
 
Narrated by the Hindu God Ganesha who journeys with a young, Jewish woman in Europe between 1923 and 1945, Guesthouse for Ganesha, weaves Eastern beliefs and perspectives with Western realities and pragmatism. It is a magical realist tale of love, loss, and spirit reclaimed.
 
“Teitelman paints an intensely beautiful world in which different cultures merge in surprising ways. . . . A rich and moving story about an unlikely pair.” –Kirkus Reviews
 
“Readers who are drawn to stories about maintaining faith in challenging times, particularly those with religious views rooted in a pluralist approach to theism rather than any single system’s tenets, will find Esther’s epiphany moving. The relationship between the two strands of narrative, one human and one deity, invites readers to consider the relationship between the secular and sacred in their everyday lives. And the interstices in Teitelman’s narrative, where specific religious systems connect and collide, suggest a comforting movement toward harmony. Most importantly, Esther survives; hers is a hopeful tale.” –Los Angeles Review of Books
 
“It is an intense tale, but one that has, in the end, huge reserves of warmth and hope, and which ultimately guides us to salvation. This is a truly original novel, one which resonates in a way that is surprisingly universal.”
—Neon Books (United Kingdom)
 
“Spiritual, socially astute, politically chilling, and psychologically gripping, Guesthouse for Ganesha is the kind of novel marketers hate and readers love because it challenges simple categorization. . . . Neither a Holocaust story nor Hindu legend, Guesthouse for Ganesha blends elements of both with an exceptional attention to vivid detail and transformation that results in a thoroughly unexpected, delightful dance through life.” –Midwest Book Review
 
“This is stunning historical fiction about a long journey from hellish darkness to divine light and peace, presented by a highly skilled writer.”
—Historical Novel Society
 
“Poignant and lyrical . . . Guesthouse for Ganesha is a huge literary success, from the skillful handling of plot elements to the meticulous weaving of historical elements into the story to the gorgeous prose.” –Readers’ Favorite, FIVE STAR review"