The Assistant (Magill Book Reviews)
At a glance:
- Author: Bernard Malamud
- First Published: 1957
- Type of Work: Novel
- Genres: Long fiction, Social realism, Domestic realism
- Subjects: Family or family life, New York, North America or North Americans, Northeast, U.S., United States or Americans, New York City, Guilt, 1930’s, Robbery or robbers, Ethics, Judaism, Grocery trade
- Locales: Brooklyn, NY
Morris Bober is a sixty-year-old Jew who operates a small run-down grocery. Though he and his wife barely have enough to eat themselves, he does not have the heart to refuse credit to the poor families of the neighborhood. His failure is inseparable from his honesty and compassion.
His daughter, Helen, twenty-three, has had to abandon her dream of a college education so as to contribute to the family income.
Morris’ bad luck is unremitting. A new, more modern store opens across the street and takes away his customers. Then he is held up and knocked unconscious.
...[The entire page is 668 words long]
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- The Assistant (Magill’s Survey of American Literature, Revised Edition)
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