THE BOOK FAIR
READ AND FULFILL YOUR LIFE
Bernard Malamud
THE FIXER
Author: Bernard Malamud
Published: 1966
Genre: Novel; Cultural
Cover: Paperback
Pages: 306
Review:
Bernard Malamud was born in Brooklyn, NY, in 1917, to Russian Jewish immigrants. Malamud published many novels and became a renowned author of literary achievement. “The Fixer,” reveals the story Yacov Bok, a man accused of the “Blood Libel.” The book was made into a successful film in the 1960’s. Bernard Malamud died Manhattan, NY, in 1986.
Confined to the Pale of Settlement, Yakov Bok, a young, Jewish handyman from a poor shtetl (village), ekes out a living in rural Russia during the early 1900’s. Tired of the poverty, Yakov moves to the city, Kiev, where he cautiously accepts a job from a Gentile. The Gentile, pleased with Yakov’s performance, offers him a managerial position.
Yakov’s fellow employees discover he is Jewish and out of jealousy and rage accuse him of murder.
Malamud’s novels offer a rich knowledge of history depicted in well-drawn scenes related with personable characters expressing their hopes, dreams, fears and desires.
Note:
Blood Libel: The Christian belief that Jews kill Christian children for the use of their blood.
The
Assistant
Author: Bernard Malamud
Published: 1957
Genre: Novel; Cultural
Cover: Paperback
Pages: 297
Review:
The intricately woven story portrays the relationship between two, very different men, Morris Bober, a Russian Jewish, immigrant who owns a small grocery store, and Frank Alpine, a smalltime hood.
In the 1950’s, Bober struggles to keep his small grocery afloat in the declining neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. After a robbery occurs, in which Bober is wounded, Frank begins to frequent the store. Frank is cold and hungry and Morris offers him coffee and sandwiches. Frank begins to do odd jobs for Morris, helping him lug in heavy cartons, stocking the shelves in hopes for a job. Morris, struggling to recover from the attack believes Frank’s plea of poverty and allows Frank to fill in for him. Frank soon casts his eye on Helen, the Bober’s daughter.
Beautifully written, replete with humor, well-defined characters and picturesque scenes of days gone by, the novel expounds on the values of kindness and forgiveness.