David Levinsky is a young and talented orphan Talmud student escaping an Eastern Europe tormented by pogroms and hate. Lucky enough to find a benefactor (a young lady from an "enlightened" Jewish family called Mathilda) to give him the money helping him to touch upon the American dream from the native and aggressive Antomir.
The long years of study dedicated to the Torah helped him to adjust relatively fast to the language and the customs. Add to this a relative easiness in fully respecting ethical rules and you will have at the end of the day a successful business career, where the fat bank account matters and loneliness is the only friend left.
You will find in this book a lot of sociological insights regarding the generations of Jewish immigrants in America: you will find descriptions about the transmission of tradition from a generation to another, the relations between the German and Russian Jews, the booming business of real estate in Brooklyn, the increase of socialist ideas in the Jewish communities from the US. The story in itself is entertaining, with a bit of suspense and tension, focused mostly on the autobiographical account. The influences could be both from social authors as Dickens as from the Russian literature of Tolstoi and Gogol.
The author himself, Abraham Cahan, could be considered an example of success story in America and maybe some of the traits of Levinsky are shared from his own experience as a successful first editor-in-chief of Forverts. At the end of a full life, with outstanding professional achievements in the clothing industry - but a failed academic journey, Levinsky is longing after the "David, the poor lad swingering over a Talmud volume at the Preacher's Synagogue".
In comparison with other characters of the novels dealing with Jewish immigrants in America, Levinsky isn't tempted to baptize although his practice of Judaism is becoming almost symbolical. He is looking - from time to time - for a Jewish wife and will offer free day to his workers on Sabbath, and will always remember the yahrzeit of his mother - killed by mushiks in Antomir after an altercation with those who were aggressive against David - but the joy of the mitzvot left him.
What I liked very much about this book - in addition to the sociological background, is the realism of the character. I met many David Levinsky in America: some of them looking for a better economic achievements, for fun or for something else than what they called a boring life in a small country. Some realized that they could be the next Levinskis and returned, others are still looking for their luck, maybe in Beverly Hills. In comparison with the poor orphan Levinsky, they have more than a foggy Antomir.
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