Snow in August
by Pete Hamill
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In the year 1947, Michael Devlin, eleven years old and 100 percent American-Irish, is about to forge an extraordinary bond with a refugee of war named Rabbi Judah Hirsch. Standing united against a common enemy, they will summon from ancient sources a power in desperately short supply in modern Brooklyn-a force that's forgotten by most of the world but is known to believers as magic.Tags
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anonymous user Both of these books deal with a boy's coming of age during tense times.
Member Reviews
Unheard of! A miracle! Or magic, at the very least. In the midst of a December blizzard, on his way to serve at Saturday mass, 11-year-old Michael Devlin hears a voice asking for his help. When he realizes it's coming from the synagogue across the street, he has some trepidation...there are stories about Jews, everyone has heard them. But the rabbi calling to him seems harmless, sad, a bit lost. And Michael also knows that his father died fighting the Nazis, who did terrible things to Jews; his father would have wanted him to be kind, to be helpful. Thus begins an adventure that even Michael's extremely healthy imagination, fueled by Marvel comics and his mother's stories of Irish heroes, could not have invented. Rabbi Hirsch, it turns show more out, is very new to America; his English is rough; his wife is dead; his congregation is dwindling. And he needs a Shabbos goy to do the tasks he cannot perform for himself on the Sabbath under Jewish law. A marvelous friendship develops, as Michael not only turns on the lights and shovels the sidewalks, but helps the Rabbi with his English and sorts out the mysteries of baseball for him. In turn, his new friend tells him tales of old Prague, teaches him Yiddish, and becomes a source of comfort and wisdom. The Brooklyn neighborhood where Michael and Rabbi Hirsch live is not a congenial place. It is terrorized by a gang of useless yout's who call themselves the Falcons. Women, children, and especially Jews are considered fair game for taunting, extortion, and worse. As winter recedes and the summer approaches, life heats up on Ellison Street. Michael needs to grow up fast, and make hard decisions for himself. His vivid imaginings of Rabbi Hirsch's Old Country and his mother's auld sod set the stage for an ending in which snow in August is just the first of many miracles. show less
Snow in August is an excellent book, brilliantly written by Hamill. He infuses solid Brooklyn postwar history within the pages, not coloring over the hardships of tenement living within the confines of poverty, of gangs, and racial and cultural differences. Religious discrimination is a prominent theme of the book, and Hamill illuminates Jewish practices and traditions, and includes the mystical aspects of Judaism in the novel. The relationship between mother and son is deeply felt, evoking emotions within the reader. Snow in August is a story of survival, survival of the fittest, in a world of religious and racial hatred. It is a story of overcoming the odds, and of overcoming adverse situations. But more than that, it is a story of a show more deep friendship between two improbable individuals. It is a soulful and heartfelt novel, filled with reality, fantasy and magic. Once I began it, I couldn’t put the book down until I finished it. I was completely involved in the story line.
Pete Hamill’s Snow in August is a masterpiece, written by a master. One can visualize each situation through his vivid word images. It is a book that involves the reader from the beginning. The beauty of the novel is the brilliance of the author. I highly recommend Snow in August to everyone, whether they are Jewish or otherwise. show less
Pete Hamill’s Snow in August is a masterpiece, written by a master. One can visualize each situation through his vivid word images. It is a book that involves the reader from the beginning. The beauty of the novel is the brilliance of the author. I highly recommend Snow in August to everyone, whether they are Jewish or otherwise. show less
What do you rate a book that proceeds in a realistic, extremely affable way for hundreds of pages, only to tie up a plot saturated with grief, loss, and lack of justice with a literal deus ex machina that resolves everything magically? I'm going to go with a 3, though it pains me. The overall work is still educational and remarkably readable, but there's no denying the feeling of being straight-up cheated when all the metaphorical magic hinted at for 90% of the book becomes bafflingly literal, to no clear narrative or symbolic purpose.
Set in late 1940s Brooklyn, Michael Devlin, a Catholic altar boy, pursues an unlikely friendship with Rabbi Hirsch, performing duties such as turning on lights on the Sabbath and teaching the Jewish leader English and baseball. In return Michael learns Yiddish. The neighborhood is full of bullies who terrorize Jews. Michael realizes these were the same Jews his dad died trying to free from Hitler's regime. It's an interesting story depicting consequences of prejudice. This poignant read will stay with me awhile. The cursing seemed to fit the characters, even if I do not enjoy it.
Irish Catholic Boy + freindship elderly Rabbi — 1940 Brooklyn neighborhood — things, music, Marvel comics — Jackie Robinson — ending disappointing — too mystical
Set in a working-class Brooklyn neighborhood in 1947, this poignant tale revolves around two of the most endearing characters in recent fiction: an 11-year-old Irish Catholic boy named Michael Devlin and Rabbi Judah Hirsch, a refugee from Prague.
Set in a working-class Brooklyn neighborhood in 1947, this poignant tale revolves around two of the most endearing characters in recent fiction: an 11-year-old Irish Catholic boy named Michael Devlin and Rabbi Judah Hirsch, a refugee from Prague.
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i liked so much about this ipad book. i cared so much about many of the characters and learned so much about life in brooklyn after world war II i also learned some interesting about both Judaism and Catholicism. hamill hit on many important points in leading a moral life. i was not thrilled with the end of the book, but i understood the metaphor that was presented and am willing to overlook it.
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Snow in August
- Original publication date
- 1997
- People/Characters
- Michael Devlin; Rabbi Judah Hirsch; The Golem of Prague
- Important places
- Brooklyn, New York, New York, USA; Prague, Czech Republic
- Related movies
- Snow in August (2001 | IMDb)
- Epigraph
- Now faith ins the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.----HEBREWS 11:1
A Jew can't live without miracles. ---Yiddish proverb - Dedication
- This book is for my brother John
AND IN MEMORY OF Joel Oppenheimer who heard the cries of "Yonkel! Yonkel! Yonkel!" in the summer bleachers of 1947. - First words
- Once upon a cold and luminous Saturday morning, in an urban hamlet of tenements, factories, and trolley cars on the western slopes of the borough of Brooklyn, a boy named Michael Devlin woke in the dark.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)And we shall dance.
- Blurbers
- Hijuelos, Oscar; McCourt, Frank; Barnicle, Mike; Maas, Peter
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- 1,248
- Popularity
- 19,608
- Reviews
- 42
- Rating
- (3.74)
- Languages
- 5 — Dutch, English, German, Italian, Spanish
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 26
- ASINs
- 9