The Assistant

The Assistant

Bernard Malamud

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2:00--3:15pm Sun., Nov. 16

The Assistant by Bernard Malamud

Set in a failing Brooklyn grocery, Malamud's 1957 novel follows shop owner Morris Bober as his lightless existence is touched and confused by hardworking Frank Alpine, an "Italyener" he doesn't so much hire as inherit. Over the course of Alpine's short tenure, he steals from Bober, falls in love with his charmless daughter, and converts to Judaism. Malamud negotiates his bleak subject without sentimentality. Like many of Malamud's stories, The Assistant poignantly (and perfectly) captures the specific struggles of immigrants in language both plain and poetic.

ISBN

9780374504847

Publication Date

Fall 11-16-2008

Keywords

Judaism, Brooklyn, immigrants

Disciplines

American Literature | Fiction | Jewish Studies

The Assistant

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