THE BOOK FAIR
READ AND FULFILL YOUR LIFE
Isaac Bashevis Singer
The Slave
Author: Isaac Bashevis Singer
Published: 1962
Genre: Historical Novel; Cultural
Cover: Paperback
Pages: 287
Review:
Isaac Bashevis Singer was born in Poland, in 1902 and in 1935, immigrated to the U.S. In 1978, Issac Bashevis Singer received the Nobel Prize in Literature. Singer’s novels and stories are rich with a realistic description of history with personable characters. The author also won two National Book Awards. Issac B. Singer died in Florida, in 1991.
In the 17th Century, Jacob manages to escape the Cossacks hoards that kill his family and ransack his village of Josefov, in Poland, however, he is soon after captured by Polish robbers, and sold into slavery. A slave for four years in a remote village of the Carpathian Mountains, Jacob maintains his Judaism, and keeps distance from the pagans except for Wanda, his master’s daughter who keeps him fed and with whom he falls in love.
Sometime later, Jacob, ransomed by his fellow Jews returns home. Jacob however, finds he misses Wanda and sets out to retrieve her.
The intricate story details the struggles the couple faces in their quest for acceptance into society.
The Manor
Author: Isaac Bashevis Singer
Published: 1967/79
Genre: Historical Novel; Cultural
Cover: Paperback
Pages: 406
Review:
Calman Jacoby, husband to a chronic complainer, and father of four girls, manages to become a successful, wealthy, businessman in the 1860’s, in Jampol, Poland. Jacoby, a religious Jew, takes over the Manor, home of the once prominent, Count Wladislaw Jampolski. By Imperial decree, the Count’s holdings were dispersed and he sent to exile in Siberia. Poland, conquered by the Russians three decades before, fought and lost the last battle against Russia in 1863.
Jacoby’s business acumen and maneuverings lead him to attain the properties of the Count, to which he vastly improves and expands also providing jobs for the emancipated but destitute peasants. The peasants however regard him only as, the Jew.
Jacoby bears responsibility to his community and for his family. Finding husbands for his daughters becomes no small priority, G-d forbid they should pass marriageable age.
Jacoby and his sons-in-law, governed by their strict traditional lives, which are further confined by the limited arena accepted for Jews, must maneuver in the social revolution taking place in Europe, as well as the Industrial Revolution.
Isaac B. Singer was one of the greatest storytellers, his novels replete with personable characters and definitive descriptions of the times. His novels still continue to amaze readers, his books providing a view of history and Jewish life as few others.
THE FAMILY
MOSKAT
Author: Isaac Bashevis singer
Published: 1950/67
Genre: Historical Novel; Cultural
Cover: Paperback
Pages: 625
Review:
I.B. Singer, one of the greatest Jewish authors and storytellers weaves a sweeping historical saga of the family Moskat. The novel offers a realistic portrait of the once thriving Jewish community in 1900’s Warsaw.
Meshulam Moskat, the patriarch, dominates all family decisions. As Polish society undergoes modern reformations, Reb Meshulam, a devout and orthodox Jew, has difficulty in understanding the changing social times of his children and grandchildren. Recently married for the third time, with a new stepdaughter for which he owes a dowry, the wealthy, Meshulam maneuvers his four sons and two daughters, along with their families to abide his plans and decisions while ignoring their anger at his new marriage.
The novel encompasses the first half of the twentieth century up to the onset of World War 11. Realistic characters including the larger than life Abram, the self centered Asa, the frail but determined Hadassah, and the naïve Leah, suffer the love and scandals, and the deceit and betrayals, with humor and compassion.