The Pawnbroker by Edward Lewis Wallant
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Read and Download Ebook The Pawnbroker... The Pawnbroker Edward Lewis Wallant PDF File: The Pawnbroker... 1 Read and Download Ebook The Pawnbroker... The Pawnbroker Edward Lewis Wallant The Pawnbroker Edward Lewis Wallant For most of us, remembering the Holocaust requires effort; we listen to stories, watch films, read histories. But the people who came to be called “survivors” could not avoid their memories. Sol Nazerman, protagonist of Edward Lewis Wallant’s The Pawnbroker, is one such sufferer. At 45, Nazerman, who survived Bergen-Belsen although his wife and children did not, runs a Harlem pawnshop. But the operation is only a front for a gangster who pays Nazerman a comfortable salary for his services. Nazerman’s dreams are haunted by visions of his past tortures. (Dramatizations of these scenes in Sidney Lumet’s 1964 film version are famous for being the first time the extermination camps were depicted in a Hollywood movie.) Remarkable for its attempts to dramatize the aftereffects of the Holocaust, The Pawnbroker is likewise valuable as an exploration of the fraught relationships between Jews and other American minority groups. That this novel, a National Book Award finalist, manages to be both funny and weighty, makes it all the more tragic that its talented author died, at age 36, the year after its publication. The book sold more than 500,000 copies soon after it was published. The Pawnbroker Details Date : Published November 10th 2015 by Fig Tree Books (first published 1961) ISBN : 9781941493144 Author : Edward Lewis Wallant Format : Paperback 279 pages Fiction, World War II, Holocaust, Novels, Literature, Jewish, Historical, Historical Fiction, War, Genre : 20th Century, Realistic Fiction Download The Pawnbroker ...pdf Read Online The Pawnbroker ...pdf Download and Read Free Online The Pawnbroker Edward Lewis Wallant PDF File: The Pawnbroker... 2 Read and Download Ebook The Pawnbroker... From Reader Review The Pawnbroker for online ebook Melinda says Visit My Book Self for more reviews & giveaways Sol Nazerman is a victim of the Holocaust, as you become familiar with Sol you understand he is far from the label of survivor. He's best described as a dead man walking, an automaton of trauma. Broken from all he has endured and lost, impacting his life greatly, the mental and emotional damage unrepairable. An affecting story of tremendous loss, family, sacrifice. A story of picking up the pieces when every thing has been stolen from you. Well written, a harsh glimpse into the lasting effects of those enduring the unthinkable of the Holocaust. I enjoyed the story, the portrayal of Sol is well done. I'm not sure how I felt about the ending, one big allegory leaving me ambiguous. The ending was predictable to a degree yet it caught me somewhat off guard. I found it interesting, halting, yet completely unsure on my final verdict. Great story, lovely writing perfect counterbalance of fiction and literature. Lorilin says Sol Nazerman runs a pawn shop in a low-income neighborhood. His business is mostly legitimate--sure, he pays money for the random trinkets brought in by his destitute neighbors--but the business isn't profitable. And he's only able to stay afloat through the patronage of a local criminal who is using Sol's business as a vessel to launder his money. Sol lives an isolated and sad existence. As the story advances, we see why. Sol is a Holocaust survivor--the only one of his nuclear family to make it. His wife and two children were all not only killed, but also suffered horribly beforehand. (His flashbacks about his wife were awful, nearly unbearable to read.) While many see the numbers etched into Sol's forearm, few seem to make the connection that he is a survivor. Or maybe they just don't care. This book reads about as drearily as the plot sounds. At first, I didn't know if I was going to make it through. I've heard a bunch of people say this book reminds them of Dostoevsky's works, but I have to disagree. At least Dostoevsky injected some mania in with his depression; The Pawnbroker, on the other hand, is straight melancholy, through and through. However, when I made it past the first 50+ pages, when I started knowing more about Sol's backstory and started seeing his more significant relationships unfold, I found myself hooked. I was absolutely enthralled and invested. And though I really don't want to sound cliche here, the flashbacks to his experiences as a prisoner broke my heart. I'm not going to lie: I cried...a lot. I have to give Wallant credit for creating a deep, thoughtful, multidimensional story and cast of characters. I don't think that I ever really liked anyone in this book, but I definitely felt for all of them. Ultimately, The Pawnbroker is not a book to read if you want to feel warm fuzzies. It's deeply--just OPPRESSIVELY--sad. But it is also thought-provoking and honest. (And I would add that it ended on a surprisingly optimistic note; I actually wasn't expecting that.) Before reading this book, I had no idea that Edward Lewis Wallant was a Jewish-American author lumped in with the likes of Saul Bellow, Norman PDF File: The Pawnbroker... 3 Read and Download Ebook The Pawnbroker... Mailer, and Bernard Malamud. But after reading this book, I can definitely see that his talent more than qualifies him for the company of those gifted authors. This was a heavy read, but also a very, very good one. Elyse Walters says This story is primarily about Sol Nazerman, a victim Holocaust Survivor, and his present day life as a Pawnbroker. This was first written in the 60's. There is a movie - which I haven't seen. Sol, 45 years old, survived Bergen-Belsen, but his wife and children did not. The flashback scenes -haunting dreams - are gruesome graphic scenes of Sol's past Nazi imprisonment - including horrific memories of his wife being forced into prostitution and equally horrific suffering his children endured before their deaths. Sol tries to deal with the pawn shop - daily business needs - in East Harlem...while constantly plagued with nightmares and headaches from the wartime traumas. Nazerman is a completely shut down man.... essentially a walking dead man! He sees everybody who comes into his shop as 'scum'. Sol not only cares nothing for himself - he doesn't feel any compassion for the community around him. No matter if they are poor, lonely, hurting or desperate....Sol doesn't feel anything for them. This story not only deals with the after effects from the concentration camp experience- ( PTSD), but it explores the relationships between Jews and other minority groups....other residents of Harlem.... who are also suffering. The pawn shop itself - is mostly a front for Mafia money....which Nazerman uses to support his sister, and her two kids. Sol also supports a 2nd family: his best friend Tessie and her dying father. Later in the book -he will help his nephew out of trouble, too. If I needed to borrow $10...I might consider borrowing from Sol Nazerman myself. --- but don't think you can offer a helping hand 'free-of-charge' to Sol. He would insist that he was "scrupulous about money matters". A sad man - but a proud man! The powerful forward written by Dara Horn is a beautiful tribute to Edward Lewis Wallant who died at age 36 of an aneurysm. Wallant was compared with his contemporary Saul Bellow. It's sad that such a talented author died so young. It's all sad: the book is a sad subject- yet beautifully written. The author dying shortly after its release, is also sad. I'm glad this book made a new recent release. Absolutely one of the best Holocaust 'NOVELS' I've read. I usually shy away from 'fiction' Holocaust stories -- but this book has an important message... and is done well! This novel brought up thoughts for me about my father, Max, who also owned a Pawn Shop in Oakland. My father died young, too -- also of an aneurysm-- at age 34. I still remember- going to the shop with my dad -playing on the adding machine. After he died - I spent time in my uncle Abe's store and my grandparents store. They each own pawn shops too - on the same street. I guess it was a common Jewish business back in the 50's and 60's. PDF File: The Pawnbroker... 4 Read and Download Ebook The Pawnbroker... VERY SPECIAL THANKS to "Fig Tree Books"...... for this powerful book. I can't tell you how glad I am to have learned more about Edward Lewis Wallant. A very gifted writer. Graham P says They don't write novels like this anymore. There is such an inherent ugliness in 'The Pawnbroker', and rarely does it ever let up. Heavy-handed, morose, darkly humorous, and at times, gloriously overwritten. This is as much a book about the Holocaust as it is about poverty in New York City--everybody is ruined in more ways than one. Rarely have such unlikable characters been so lovingly treated by their author. Edward Lewis Wallant had that rare touch of hammering the reader with the grotesque and pitiful, and then on the next page, plucking the right heart strings and embracing the characters with a strange, soulful empathy. An important American novel. A beautiful passage: 'And the pawnbroker stared just as yearningly as a freezing man stares at the last ember of a fire and suddenly sees how lovely the color of light can be.' Marla says This was a life-changing book for me when I was 12.