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Reviews
Editorial Reviews
The Merriam-Webster Encyclopedia of Literature , April 1, 1995
Novel by Henry Roth, published in 1934. It centers on the character and perceptions of a young boy, the son of Yiddish-speaking Jewish immigrants in a ghetto in New York City. Roth uses stream-of-consciousness techniques to trace the boy's psychological development and to explore his perceptions of his family and of the larger world around him. The book powerfully evokes the terrors and anxieties the child experiences in his anguished relations with his father and realistically describes the squalid urban environment in which the family lives. The novel was rediscovered in the late 1950s and early '60s and came to be viewed both as an important proletarian novel of the 1930s and as a classic of Jewish-American literature. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. Synopsis
First published in 1934, and immediately hailed as a masterpiece, this is a novel of Jewish life full of the pain and honesty of family relationships. It holds the distinction of being the first paperback ever to receive a front-page review in The New York Times Book Review, and it became a nationwide bestseller. Now, for the first time, it is available in both cloth and paper.
Customer Reviews
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A Must-read Novel
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Reviewer:
A reader
from New Mexico
September 27, 1999
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Call It Sleep is a powerful story about a young Jewish immigrant boy who seeks to find his own identity amidst the cultural disarray of early 20th century America. In the novel, Roth reveals the sacrifice immigrants must make in order to assimilate into the American culture. Essentially, the novel is about a shift from an old way of life to a new way. Capturing the heart of this theme is Reb Yidel Pankower. As this rabbi ponders the condition of his pupils, he realizes that they do not understand who they are and what has happened to their people. In a sense, the rabbi mourns because he feels that the Jewish culture is inevitably dying in America. He refers to this as being "an evil day" (p. 375).
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2 people found this review helpful.
0 did not.
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A masterpiece for sure
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Reviewer:
A reader
from Italy
August 26, 1999
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I didn't read this novel in English and I'm sure I've missed a lot.. but even in Italian this novel is absolutely great and one of the best I encountered in my life. I don't agree with the guy who think that's incredible so few people read this book: it's logical instead because of the fews who want to understand and look into their minds and experiences.
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puts the lessons of joyce into a modern context
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Reviewer:
A reader
from New York City
August 19, 1999
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Call It Sleep, the first novel of Henry Roth, is the book that must be be next in your life. To get pedantic about it, Call It Sleep is the logical (don't think about it -- logic has little to do with the visceral impact) outgrowth of the lessons of novel-craft as demonstrated in James Joyce's Ulysses (read Roth's later books, Mercy of a Rude Stream et al. to find out more). No literate person should neglect this striking work. It is another example (and perhaps the finest) of how the simple is the most complex; its story will find that part of you that needs to hear it most and you will never be sorry. Blah Blah -- THE AMERICAN NOVEL. READ IT AGAIN.
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Perhaps The great American novel.
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Reviewer:
robcancook@aol.com
from Williamsburg, VA
February 18, 1999
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Quite simply, this is one of the greatest novels ever written. If you want to experience the galvanic and redemptive power of language, read this book. Roth was a genius, and his writing will change you.
--This text refers to the Unknown Binding edition.
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1 people found this review helpful.
0 did not.
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