The Pawnbroker

By Edward Lewis Wallant

Book Overview

For most of us, remembering the Holocaust requires effort; we listen to stories, watch films, read histories. But the people who came to be called "survivors" could not avoid their memories. Sol Nazerman, protagonist of Edward Lewis Wallant's The Pawnbroker , is one such sufferer. At 45, Nazerman, who survived Bergen-Belsen although his wife and children did not, runs a Harlem pawnshop. But the operation is only a front for a gangster who pays Nazerman a comfortable salary for his services. Nazerman's dreams are haunted by visions of his past tortures. (Dramatizations of these scenes in Sidney Lumet's 1964 film version are famous for being the first time the extermination camps were depicted in a Hollywood movie.) Remarkable for its attempts to dramatize the aftereffects of the Holocaust, The Pawnbroker is likewise valuable as an exploration of the fraught relationships between Jews and other American minority groups. That this novel, a National Book Award finalist, remains so powerful today makes it all the more tragic that its talented author died, at age 36, the year after its publication. The book sold more than 500,000 copies soon after it was published.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1941493149
• ISBN13: 9781941493144
• Release Date: November 2015
• Publisher: Fig Tree Books LLC
• Length: 279 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.8" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

great American literature

It's an interesting story, and very sad for much of the novel. But this is what Wallant wanted - a real person - not some literary hero larger than life, but a real person who has been pushed to every extent imaginable and merely desires to stay alive and keep moving, nothing else. Wallant, unfortunately, died early, in his mid 30's of a sudden heart attack. Had Wallant lived and continued to write for decades, we - this country - would most certainly have a much deeper respect and appreciation for this man and for his craft. He was a writer of unmatched precision and empathy. Read this book.

A deeply moving work

This is a rich work whose central theme is the meaning of true humanity. It is the story of a Jew who knows the worst inhumanity in the destruction of his family in the Holocaust( Shoah) and is tested as to the possibility of coming back to life through his meetings in the new world. It is a tightly written and in a way poetic narrative, troubling and moving. A very highly recommended work.

Thought provoking

This is not a book I would've picked on my own. It was a selection in a local book club. Wallant is able to describe the undescribable...holocaust, horror, longing, as well as the everyday, "...in the hallucinatory foyer before sleep..." Perfect. I'm glad that the book club has introduced me to this powerful novel, and to an author of this caliber.

A staple of Holocaust literature...

This heart-wrenching work is a staple of Holocaust literature. It's truly a shame that this monumental novel is not more widely recognized. I count it among my personal favorites.

Bravo! Beautifully portrays life after the Holocaust!

Bravo! Beautifully portrays life after the Holocaust