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Summary: A POIGNANT REMEMBRANCE
Review: "For a real bargain, while you're making a living, you should also make a life." That was Aaron Bronson's motto. Well, Russian Jewish immigrant Bronson did both, "in spades," as he would say. His daughter, Stella Suberman, has now written a book, and she's done it "in spades."This warm memoir of her family's experiences as the first Jews to live in Concordia, Tennessee, is vibrant with wit and cogent with commentary about 1920s life in a small Southern town. Rather than a pejorative title, Ms. Suberman says "the Jew store" is what people really called such shops, businesses owned by Jews who catered to farmhands, share croppers, and factory hands, offering them inexpensive clothes, piece goods, and linens. "They didn't know about political correctness in those days," she said, "that is just what it was called." Seeing opportunity in the South, Aaron Bronson, his wife, Reba, and their two children, Joey and Miriam (Stella was not yet born) set out from New York City to open a dry goods store. Upon arriving in Concordia, population 5,381, the family was taken in by voluble, independent Miss Brookie. Reba, who came with a mood that was "like a thing on her chest," was ill-at-ease, fearing the Ku Klux Klan, and people who believed Jews had horns on their heads. Later, she faced what she considered to be an even greater terror: Joey might not have a bar mitzvah and Miriam might be in love with a Gentile. On the other hand, Aaron took to the town immediately and opened "Bronson's Low-Priced Store," so identified by gilt lettering on the windows. His elation at having his own business knew no bounds; Reba described him as "Flying with the birdies." Aaron's shop flourished, as did he, becoming the first to hire a black as a salesperson. In years to come, he would make invaluable contributions to his Depression wracked community. Detente preceded affection as the townsfolk overcame their initial skepticism of Jewish people and grew to view the Bronson family as neighbors and friends. Miss Brookie gave Miriam piano lessons and attempted to enlist Reba in a battle to do away with child labor in the local shoe factory. Nonetheless, In 1933 Reba held sway and, although Aaron thought of Concordia as home, he agreed to take their three children and return to New York City, where he would open a garage and each child would eventually marry within the Jewish faith. Stella Suberman has turned a poignant family remembrance into a rich, sometimes funny, always touching story. In addition, she has shed light on a little known facet of Jewish/American history.
Rating:
Summary: A POIGNANT REMEMBRANCE
Review: "For a real bargain, while you're making a living, you should also make a life." That was Aaron Bronson's motto. Well, Russian Jewish immigrant Bronson did both, "in spades," as he would say. His daughter, Stella Suberman, has now written a book, and she's done it "in spades." This warm memoir of her family's experiences as the first Jews to live in Concordia, Tennessee, is vibrant with wit and cogent with commentary about 1920s life in a small Southern town. Rather than a pejorative title, Ms. Suberman says "the Jew store" is what people really called such shops, businesses owned by Jews who catered to farmhands, share croppers, and factory hands, offering them inexpensive clothes, piece goods, and linens. "They didn't know about political correctness in those days," she said, "that is just what it was called." Seeing opportunity in the South, Aaron Bronson, his wife, Reba, and their two children, Joey and Miriam (Stella was not yet born) set out from New York City to open a dry goods store. Upon arriving in Concordia, population 5,381, the family was taken in by voluble, independent Miss Brookie. Reba, who came with a mood that was "like a thing on her chest," was ill-at-ease, fearing the Ku Klux Klan, and people who believed Jews had horns on their heads. Later, she faced what she considered to be an even greater terror: Joey might not have a bar mitzvah and Miriam might be in love with a Gentile. On the other hand, Aaron took to the town immediately and opened "Bronson's Low-Priced Store," so identified by gilt lettering on the windows. His elation at having his own business knew no bounds; Reba described him as "Flying with the birdies." Aaron's shop flourished, as did he, becoming the first to hire a black as a salesperson. In years to come, he would make invaluable contributions to his Depression wracked community. Detente preceded affection as the townsfolk overcame their initial skepticism of Jewish people and grew to view the Bronson family as neighbors and friends. Miss Brookie gave Miriam piano lessons and attempted to enlist Reba in a battle to do away with child labor in the local shoe factory. Nonetheless, In 1933 Reba held sway and, although Aaron thought of Concordia as home, he agreed to take their three children and return to New York City, where he would open a garage and each child would eventually marry within the Jewish faith. Stella Suberman has turned a poignant family remembrance into a rich, sometimes funny, always touching story. In addition, she has shed light on a little known facet of Jewish/American history.
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Summary: Excerpt from NYTimesBkRev review, 12/20/98 issue
Review: "Like the store, which is practically a character in its own right, the people in 'The Jew Store' linger in the mind...the reader may...wish that the golden letters of Bronson's Low-Priced Store were still gleaming on First Street."
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Summary: "The Jew Store" puts real faces on a place in our history.
Review: "The Jew Store" was a great read, and I hated to put it down. For me, it made a small town in rural Tennesse in the 1920s a real place with real people. I have never lived there, or then, but now I feel as if I had.
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Description
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"For a real bargain, while you're making a living, you should make also a life."--Aaron Bronson. In 1920, in small town America, the ubiquitous dry goods store--suits and coats, shoes and hats, work clothes and school clothes, yard goods and notions--was usually owned by Jews and often referred to as "the Jew store." That's how Stella Suberman's father's store, Bronson's Low-Priced Store, in Concordia, Tennessee, was known locally. The Bronsons were the first Jews to ever live in that tiny town (1920 population: 5,318) of one main street, one bank, one drugstore, one picture show, one feed and seed, one hardware, one barber shop, one beauty parlor, one blacksmith, and many Christian churches. Aaron Bronson moved his family all the way from New York City to that remote corner of northwest Tennessee to prove himself a born salesman--and much more. Told by Aaron's youngest child, THE JEW STORE is that rare thing--an intimate family story that sheds new light on a piece of American history. Here is ONE MAN'S FAMILY with a twist--a Jew, born into poverty in prerevolutionary Russia and orphaned from birth, finds his way to America, finds a trade, finds a wife, and sets out to find his fortune in a place where Jews are unwelcome. With a novelist's sense of scene, suspense, and above all, characterization, Stella Suberman turns the clock back to a time when rural America was more peaceful but no less prejudiced, when educated liberals were suspect, and when the Klan was threatening to outsiders. In that setting, she brings to life her remarkable father, a man whose own brand of success proves that intelligence, empathy, liberality, and decency can build a home anywhere. THE JEW STORE is a heartwarming--even inspiring--story.
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From Back Cover Copy
Review:
HE HAD SAID THE UNSAYABLE
In my mother's mind the word Jew used all by itself, nakedly, as it were, was not a word but a curse. She believed it was used only by people who hated Jews. If it had its three letters--its "-ish"--on the end, ah, that made the difference. If I said that someone was a Jew, my mother would ask me, "So what is he? A no-goodnik? A gangster?" As I have understood it, my mother had come out on the porch at the very moment Miss Brookie had used the phrase "Jew store" on the telephone with Tom Dillon, before my father's meeting with Dillon. Miss Brookie used it as shorthand for the kind of business my father had in mind...but all my mother knew at that moment was that Miss Brookie had said the unsayable--had said "Jew store." -- Stella Suberman, from The Jew Store From the Flap Copy
The Jew Store is that rare thing--an intimate family story that sheds new light on a piece of American history. Here is One Man's Family with a twist: a Jew, born unto poverty in pre-revolutionary Russia, finds his way to America, finds a trade, finds a wife, and sets out to find his fortune in a place where Jews are unwelcome. In 1920s small town America, the ubiquitous dry goods store--selling work clothes and school clothes, sheets and towels, yard goods and notions--was usually owned by Jews and often referred to as "the Jew store," which is how Bronson's Low-Priced Store, Stella Suberman's father's retail establishment in Concordia, Tennessee, was known. The Bronsons were the first Jews to ever live in that tiny town (1920 population: 5,318) of one main street, one bank, one drugstore, one picture show, one feed and seed, one hardware, one beauty parlor, one barber shop, one blacksmith, and many Christian churches. Like other enterprising Jewish immigrants of the period--Levi Strauss and the founders of Rich's and Goldsmith's, for instance--Aaron Bronson set out from New York City in search of a place to settle his family a nd prove himself as businessman and provider. He proved that...and much more. With deft fondness and a fine dry humor, Stella Suberman turns the clock back to a time when rural America was perhaps more peaceful but no less prejudiced, when educated locals were suspect, and when the Klan threatened all outsiders. In that setting, she brings both the townspeople and her family members to vivid life. The Jew Store is the heartwarming--even inspiring--story of Aaron Bronson, a man whose own brand of success proves that intelligence, empathy, liberality, and decency can build a home anywhere.
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Author Biography
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Stella Suberman, born in Tennessee, was eleven when her family returned to New York City. She grew up in New York and Miami, married, lived in Raleigh, North Carolina, for many years. A retired publicist and book reviewer, she lives now in Boca Raton, Florida with her husband.
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Summary: Rather disappointing
Review: Based on earlier recommendations here, I selected this for my book group to read. While the story was entertaining and evoked memories of stories told by some of my older relatives, I felt that it was not particularly well written, and would have benefited from some serious editing. The author used language repetitiously, and there was no particularly grace or eloquence to her writing style. Although it was a good chronicle of the family's life, as a literary work, it left me wishing for something richer.
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Summary: This is a wonderful story of love, tolerance, and hope
Review: For me this story was personal, for it is actually my family's story. I have heard the anecdotes before at get-togethers, but now presented in this manner I have come to better understand my own history. Despite my obvious personal bias, I found the book to be engaging, humorous, tragic, and full of love. My grandfather (the character of Joey) passed away this summer, and it was only after reading this book that I began to come to terms with his death. I hope those who read this book are touched by its sparkle. I truly believe that the emotions it contains are meaningful to anyone who has ever dreamed before. Thank you Aunt Stella. Love.
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Summary: A real winner
Review: I come from a Georgia Jewish family although my father couldn't quite handle it and I was born in New York. I felt this book taught me more about my own family than they ever did! I am sure it is going to make a great movie some day. This is "Driving Miss Daisy" in spades!
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