Rating: 
Summary: A tug of war of a book - a tragedy a minute.
Review: Halfway through "The Assistant" I felt confident enough to make a prediction about its ending. The prediction turned out to be only partly correct, but that is beyond the point. That prediction is at all possible is a sure indication that the author failed to engage me as a reader. Once the prediction is made the book is trapped: if it comes true, then the book is predictable; if it doesn't, then one has the full right to complain about contrived plot twists.Why did I feel confident enough to guess the ending? Because the story is painfully obvious. The story - and the outcome - are evident immediately after the first few pages. A struggling Jewish grocer is robbed, but one of the robbers has a conscience and clandestinely comes back to the store to work off the damage. We aren't told this in these exact words until page fifty or so, but it's obvious as soon as we see the character of Frank Alpine. Here is a character that is engaged in Deep Moral Struggle. Since this is a predictable book, all that is necessary to find out the remainder of the plot is to ask a few questions: Will Frank gather enough self-control to become a decent person (Y/N)? Will the store do better with him around (Y/N)? Will he fall in love with the grocer's daughter (Y/N)? And so on, and so forth. It was with a sinking heart that I guessed the beginnng and the ending, and then beheld the two hundred pages in between. What else could possibly happen? Read on. In those two hundren-odd pages, the book turns into the absolutely sappiest melodrama ever written. To be sure, "The Assistant" lacks a main conflict. Yes, the store is a shambles; yes, these people have been slaving away for nothing; yes, they live in poverty; yes, they're Jews. Those themes almost never surface. Instead, Malamud fills space with the most contrived, cliche mini-conflicts imaginable. I'll leave it up to you to find out what they are, but each of those conflicts is written like it is the end of the world. Of course, it can't be, since there's still 2/3 of the book to go, but the characters gnash and lament like there's no tomorrow anyway. Malamud frantically stitches viewpoint characters, often three times in a single page, to illustrate their grief from all perspectives. Rule #1: the author can only cry "wolf" so many times before it loses punch. It took us four "Scream" movies to get this down. Of course, Malamud predates "Scream". The book reminds me of a scene from a Simpsons Halloween special, where Homer purchases a birthday present from an occult curio store (shades of Matheson's short story "Prey"). The toy is evil. "That's bad", Homer replies. But it comes with a free frozen yogurt! "That's good!" The yogurt is also evil. "That's bad." But it comes with your choice of toppings! "That's good!" The toppings contain potassium benzoate. Homer stares stupidly. "That's bad," the clerk helps him out. The book wouldn't have been as bad if the characters were more solid. The grocer and his wife are stereotypes: Morris is gruff but forgiving, while Ida is the precursor of every strict Jewish mother that ever was. Frank, on the other hand, is a walking collection of human traits that are only loosely connected. He's street-smart and ruthless, both patient and impatient, a gentleman and an animal, frigid and lustful, caring and obscene, both with and without a conscience. He's so diffuse that the reader cannot identify with him. "The Assistant" cannot choose one of its numerous running themes to center on. It tugs the reader this way and that. Characters fall in love, and break up, and fall in love again. Malamud throws so many things at the reader, that after a while the only effect of reading the book is a dull heartache.
Rating: 
Summary: A great read!
Review: I found this book in a used book store and bought it not knowing anything about the book or its author. I'm glad I bought it and read it. It was a wonderful insight into human hearts.
Rating:
Summary: One of my favorite books!
Review: I read this book for a class in high school. That was over 10 years ago and it is still one of my favorites. I read the whole thing in 2 days!
Rating:
Summary: One of my favorite books!
Review: I read this book for a class in high school. That was over 10 years ago and it is still one of my favorites. I read the whole thing in 2 days!
Rating:
Summary: Page after page interest!
Review: If ever there was a verbally-tight book, it is this. Every page is interesting, every word, and there is never a dull page. In true Melamud style, the stories are short but powerful. The superb writing of the plot moves consistently. However, I did get the feeling toward the end that a number of dramatic sequences seemed crammed at the end, and without the minute attention paid to the earlier part of the story. The plot evolves in post-war, a neighborhood in New York among an aging Jewish grocer whose deli/food store business struggles amidst modernism and greedy competition. The main characters, Morris, his stoic wife Ida and a grown daughter Helen live above the store and work long hours to keep it alive. Daughter Helen yearns to have a loving man and an education. Enter Frank Alpine, a young Italian man who after a criminal act upon Morris, and unbeknown to Morris, Frank lands a job in the store to pay his debt. Here, he continuously fends off his demons while attempting to follow a morally correct life and in his command, the store goes through economic and physical changes that fluctuate greatly, not always good or bad. And, as expected, he falls in love with the daughter and their relationship takes turns and twists too. Immediately, Melamud gives us a distinct picture of the desperation the family endures. You can grasp with ease the images and separation of personalities. This is done with precision applied by the finest authors. We get more than we anticipate, when Melamud provides extensive insight into his character descriptions, and most important, to their thoughts. Above that, he provides us with questions and answers we might need to further develop the characters thoughts and actions. After absorption into the story, I still had questions and I'm sure you will too and maybe it takes another read. Overall, the short classic is excellent. ........MzRizz
Rating:
Summary: Page after page interest!
Review: If ever there was a verbally-tight book, it is this. Every page is interesting, every word, and there is never a dull page. In true Melamud style, the stories are short but powerful. The superb writing of the plot moves consistently. However, I did get the feeling toward the end that a number of dramatic sequences seemed crammed at the end, and without the minute attention paid to the earlier part of the story. The plot evolves in post-war, a neighborhood in New York among an aging Jewish grocer whose deli/food store business struggles amidst modernism and greedy competition. The main characters, Morris, his stoic wife Ida and a grown daughter Helen live above the store and work long hours to keep it alive. Daughter Helen yearns to have a loving man and an education. Enter Frank Alpine, a young Italian man who after a criminal act upon Morris, and unbeknown to Morris, Frank lands a job in the store to pay his debt. Here, he continuously fends off his demons while attempting to follow a morally correct life and in his command, the store goes through economic and physical changes that fluctuate greatly, not always good or bad. And, as expected, he falls in love with the daughter and their relationship takes turns and twists too. Immediately, Melamud gives us a distinct picture of the desperation the family endures. You can grasp with ease the images and separation of personalities. This is done with precision applied by the finest authors. We get more than we anticipate, when Melamud provides extensive insight into his character descriptions, and most important, to their thoughts. Above that, he provides us with questions and answers we might need to further develop the characters thoughts and actions. After absorption into the story, I still had questions and I'm sure you will too and maybe it takes another read. Overall, the short classic is excellent. ........MzRizz
Rating:
Summary: Opposites react.
Review: It seems impossible, yet somehow Malamud made magic. Here is retold the story of St. Francis of Assisi through the life of a failing Jewish grocer. Allow me to rephrase: the story is not retold, it is taken apart, reapplied and subtly explicated. The life of a Catholic saint applied to the interaction of frustratingly flawed characters leads to a perfect conclusion and examination of, surprisingly, what it means to be Jewish and what it means to be good.
Rating:
Summary: A real look at the changing of times.
Review: Malamud comes up with a gritty look at surviving with the times and how age can trap you into a life of heartache. The small 2-story grocery store is his prison and Frank is his ray of hope but it does'nt shine bright for long. Malamud seems to chastize gentiles as self centered and makes judism the only basis of a true life which works in this book but has ruined other books for him. A gritty story though that will make you think about your future.
Rating: 
Summary: "They suffer because they are Jews"
Review: Malamud paints a dismal picture of life in Brooklyn as a struggling Jewish grocer works with a dark, troubled Italian. The conflicts they face are very real and the mistakes they make all have painful consequences. At times the story moves slowly, perhaps to enhance the dreary life in the dreary store, but there are enough tragedies (such as a robbery, rape and worse) to keep the reader on edge and nervous. Ultimately this tale works on an internal level, where the reader must look within and question the basis and nature of morality. There are no easy answers in this story, but plenty of pain and heartbreak. A solid story, well worth the few short evenings it will take you to finish.
Rating:
Summary: A riviting story brilliantly read
Review: Thank goodness this is not an abridged version of this masterpiece. It takes time to build the complex characters and the moral universe they are living within. Which is not to say the story is not dramatic - it is that, and the reader/hearer is grateful for every riveting detail. Most of all the performance of George Guidall is a masterpiece in itself. Every character has a distinctive and compelling voice. A great experience!
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