Hide this

Results from Google Books

Click on a thumbnail to go to Google Books.

The Assistant by Bernard Malamud
Loading...

The Assistant (1957)

by Bernard Malamud

Other authors: See the other authors section.

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
900188,924 (3.79)22

None.

Loading...

Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book.

English (17)  Italian (1)  All languages (18)
Showing 1-5 of 17 (next | show all)
i read this book so thirstily that i know i didn't get as much out of it as is in it. but i still think it says a lot about loneliness, honesty, character, anti-semitism, desperation, and the immigrant situation in america in the 50's. definitely a good read, and probably an even better one than i'm giving it credit for. ( )
  elisa.saphier | Apr 2, 2013 |
A Jewish immigrant named Morris Bober owns a grocery store in Brooklyn, New York, where he takes in a drifter named Frank. Morris gives Frank a job as a clerk in his store and tries to help him in any way he can. Frank has a checkered past and continual falls into his old ways, stealing from Morris and even peeping on his daughter. The store experiences the hardship of competition with the opening of another grocery store down the street and tensions run high as Morris and his wife fight to stay afloat—not knowing that the new grocery store is not the only thing keeping money out of their cash register. Frank fights his conscience as he begins courting Morris's daughter and comes to a crossroads when his two former accomplices in crime show up and threaten to reveal his identity.
  Kyle_Peters | Oct 13, 2012 |
00001592
  cavlibrary | Oct 11, 2012 |
After reading this book I think I should have been born Jewish. This is the first book by Malamud I've read and I will now seek out more of his work to read. ( )
  ncnsstnt | Apr 10, 2011 |
A novel about Jewish-gentile relations and morality -
  Folkshul | Jan 15, 2011 |
Showing 1-5 of 17 (next | show all)
no reviews | add a review

» Add other authors (11 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Bernard Malamudprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
Hoog, ElseTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
You must log in to edit Common Knowledge data.
For more help see the Common Knowledge help page.
Series (with order)
Canonical title
Original title
Information from the Dutch Common Knowledge. Edit to localize it to the English one.
Alternative titles
Original publication date
People/Characters
Important places
Important events
Related movies
Awards and honors
Epigraph
Dedication
For Ann with love
First words
The early November street was dark though night had ended, but the wind, to the grocer's surprise, already clawed.
Quotations
Last words
Disambiguation notice
Publisher's editors
Blurbers
Publisher series
Information from the Dutch Common Knowledge. Edit to localize it to the English one.

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English (1)

Book description
Haiku summary

Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0374504849, Paperback)

Introduction by Jonathan Rosen

Bernard Malamud’s second novel, originally published in 1957, is the story of Morris Bober, a grocer in postwar Brooklyn, who “wants better” for himself and his family. First two robbers appear and hold him up; then things take a turn for the better when broken-nosed Frank Alpine becomes his assistant. But there are complications: Frank, whose reaction to Jews is ambivalent, falls in love with Helen Bober; at the same time he begins to steal from the store.

Like Malamud’s best stories, this novel unerringly evokes an immigrant world of cramped circumstances and great expectations. Malamud defined the immigrant experience in a way that has proven vital for several generations of writers.

(retrieved from Amazon Thu, 14 Feb 2013 13:35:22 -0500)

(see all 3 descriptions)

"Frank Alpine knew he could be good at something. But nothing ever worked out. Then he went to work for Morris Bober, a poor Jewish grocer. And his life-- his very soul-- began to change...."--Container.

Quick Links

Swap Ebooks Audio
9 avail.
36 wanted
2 pay

Popular covers

Rating

Average: (3.79)
0.5
1 2
1.5 1
2 9
2.5 4
3 29
3.5 17
4 49
4.5 11
5 32

Is this you?

Become a LibraryThing Author.

 

Help/FAQs | About | Privacy/Terms | Blog | Contact | LibraryThing.com | APIs | WikiThing | Common Knowledge | Legacy Libraries | 81,872,783 books!