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jasmine_paints's review against another edition
Depressing in the very best way. My first Malamud and many more in my future!
chaibby's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
4.25
suvata's review against another edition
5.0
Continuing my TBR project:
This is one the oldest selection on my TBR list - Originally added February 26, 2016.
The Fixer was written in 1966 and won Bernard Malamud both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award. Set in Kiev in 1911, it is the story of a Jewish handyman named Yakov Bok. During that time, anti-Semitism was widespread in Russia. Bok was falsely accused of brutally murdering an adolescent Russian boy. He was arrested, imprisoned and spent years trying to convince the authorities of his innocence. A great work of historical significance.
This is one the oldest selection on my TBR list - Originally added February 26, 2016.
The Fixer was written in 1966 and won Bernard Malamud both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award. Set in Kiev in 1911, it is the story of a Jewish handyman named Yakov Bok. During that time, anti-Semitism was widespread in Russia. Bok was falsely accused of brutally murdering an adolescent Russian boy. He was arrested, imprisoned and spent years trying to convince the authorities of his innocence. A great work of historical significance.
papelgren's review against another edition
4.0
Malamud paints a grim and riveting picture of anti-Semitism in early 20th century Russia. The book trudges in filth but does it beautifully. Bok stubbornly refuses to let the authorities use him to their evil ends, and his stubbornness to find dignity in the worst possible circumstances is what makes the book palatable. This tragedy is not structured like most. It starts low and digs to hell, never once letting up.
krobart's review against another edition
4.0
Written in the folktale style of Sholem Aleichem, The Fixer tells the story of a poor Jewish man who is framed by the authorities for the murder of a young boy. It is based on a true story of 1911 Kiev.
See my complete review here:
http://whatmeread.wordpress.com/tag/the-fixer/
See my complete review here:
http://whatmeread.wordpress.com/tag/the-fixer/
tittypete's review against another edition
5.0
Loved it. Dark and sad but with a glimmer of triumph toward the end. Takes place in a time and location I don't know much about though it's supposedly Fiddler on the Roof's setting was similar. A dude from the Pale of Settlement goes to Kyiv in search of work, hiding the fact that he's a Jew. He gets arrested for killing a Russian kid in a ritual murder blood-libel style and rots in prison while the Russians (Ukranians?) try to get him to confess. He holds fast and it's brutal. Shows the depths people will sink to to hold on to their scapegoats and hatred. Pretty fucked up. And another example of that part of the world being the mother of all shittiness.
carlylottsofbookz's review against another edition
3.0
I was very interested in the story at the beginning, but lost interest as it went on…..
But one less Pulitzer to go!
But one less Pulitzer to go!
jwf's review against another edition
5.0
There's something cursed, it seems to me, about a country where men have owned men as property. The stink of that corruption never escapes the soul, and it is the the stink of future evil.
drewmoody321's review against another edition
5.0
Read my full review here: http://thepulitzerblog.wordpress.com/2010/02/23/entry-2-2-the-fixer-by-bernard-malamud-1967/
jkbartlett's review against another edition
4.0
To keep the review short- a great work of conflict- internally within Yakov Bok, the book's main character, and externally between the persecuted Jewish population in Russia and the Russians agents (from the czar to politicians, jail guards and wardens, prosecutors, and accusers of false claims).
Yakov Bok is falsely accused of killing a young boy and doing so as a religious ritual of the Jewish faith.
It makes no difference that Yakov Bok is a Spinoza admirer and free thinker rather loosely tied to his heritage, a man who is condemned only by hearsay, or a fixer by trade whose only real crime was falsifying his name in order to receive work. In a powerful moment near the end of the novel, Bok's lawyer claims that the essential torture wasn't about Yakov Bok. It could have been any Jew and in fact Bok indeed represents in the eyes of his society every Jew.
It's not for the faint of heart who would prefer to avoid very graphic details about life in a Russian prison. It isn't for those who expect a glass half-full- indeed the most sympathetic characters go down with the proverbial ship.
The Fixer is critically acclaimed as Malamud's best work and earned him a Pulitzer Prize. I was surprised only in that it doesn't read like a book made for a wide audience. It's a great work by a great author. Tread carefully. Have a few drinks. Buckle up. Read.
Yakov Bok is falsely accused of killing a young boy and doing so as a religious ritual of the Jewish faith.
It makes no difference that Yakov Bok is a Spinoza admirer and free thinker rather loosely tied to his heritage, a man who is condemned only by hearsay, or a fixer by trade whose only real crime was falsifying his name in order to receive work. In a powerful moment near the end of the novel, Bok's lawyer claims that the essential torture wasn't about Yakov Bok. It could have been any Jew and in fact Bok indeed represents in the eyes of his society every Jew.
It's not for the faint of heart who would prefer to avoid very graphic details about life in a Russian prison. It isn't for those who expect a glass half-full- indeed the most sympathetic characters go down with the proverbial ship.
The Fixer is critically acclaimed as Malamud's best work and earned him a Pulitzer Prize. I was surprised only in that it doesn't read like a book made for a wide audience. It's a great work by a great author. Tread carefully. Have a few drinks. Buckle up. Read.