Visit my Jew Wishes website to read my complete review. http://jewwishes.wordpress.com/2009/0...

Bread Givers, by Anzia Yezierska is a compelling book, not only in its vivid descriptions of life in Manhattan during the 1910s-1920s, but also its look into an Orthodox Jewish family, and its standards. It is a coming of age story, of the youngest of four daughters, told through her narration.

The familial patriarch is Rabbi Smolinksy, and his wife is Shenah, who is in awe of him, despite her nagging manner. His interactions, decisions and doctrine influence his daughters, Fania, Bessie, Mashah, and Sara in ways that mold their lives, in a negative manner. The three older daughters go along with his dogmatic and fanatical whims and attitude. His manipulations, rants and raves eventually cause them to give in to his dictates. The youngest daughter, Sara, learns at the age of ten, about the family dynamics, and how each daughter was expected to turn over their entire income to support the family. She learns what she wants early in life, due to her father’s looming presence and demands. She is very strong-willed. Family life is seen through her eyes, and they are the eyes of a three-dimensional person, a person of substance and depth.

The masterful writing of Anzia Yezierska has given us an inspiring character to admire. The past is ever present, no matter how hard we try to leave it behind. One world was trying to compete with another, and not always successfully, as culture clashes were abundant. The book has much historical value, giving the reader a perspective on the Jewish immigrant experience, and bringing the reader insight into the life of Jews trying to assimilate into the American/Manhattan social structure. ( )

As pertinent today as when it was first written. It is the story of Old World parents and New World children, with the focus on the story of one daughter who watches her father ruin the futures of her older sisters and who refuses to accept her lot in life and strives for a better future. Stark and beautiful, it is defly told. The narrative is easy to get into, and because of the language-style used it is both captivating and a fast read. ( )

Excellent book describing life for a young Jewish woman in the early 1900s in America. ( )

Sara Smolinsky lives in a small house in the Neww York's Lower East Side during the 1920's. Her family is poverty stricken and she has had to work every day since she was 9 or 10. Her father refuses to work because he says his job is to study the Torah. As she grows up, her three older sisters are forced to reject the men they love and marry to disgusting, ltying, men their ftaher has picked for them. Sara overcomes all of the examples that shes lived through and lives out her dream of becoming a teacher.

This book had a great story that took you on a roller coaster. You feel angry at the father, then pity, then happiness, then suspense, then joy, then sadness, and then love. The book is really great if you have to do an assignment on because it has so much to relate to and an easy plot to follow. Anyone can apreciate this story. ( )

This gripping novel of the American Jewish immigrant experience was first published in 1925. Written from the point of view of an increasingly Americanized daughter it tells the story of a father who, as he sees his daughters betginning to break from the traditions of life in the old country, becomes a tyrant. The narrator leaves home to study nights while working in laundries. She eventually goes to college and becomes a teacher, but she realizes that she has been able to achieve this because of what she learned from her father. ( )