The Slave

by Isaac Bashevis Singer, Isaac Bashevis Singer (Translator), Cecil Hemley (Translator)

Overview

Four years after the Chmielnicki massacres of the seventeenth century, Jacob, a slave and cowherd in a Polish village high in the mountains, falls in love with Wanda, his master's daughter. Even after he is ransomed, he finds he can't live without her, and the two escape together to a distant Jewish community. Racked by his consciousness of sin in taking a Gentile wife and by the difficulties of concealing her identity, Jacob nonetheless stands firm as the violence of the era threatens to destroy the ill-fated couple.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780374506803
Publisher:	Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Publication date:	10/01/1988
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	320
Sales rank:	622,355
Product dimensions:	5.61(w) x 8.28(h) x 0.84(d)

About the Author

Isaac Bashevis Singer (1904-91) was the author of many novels, stories, children's book, and memoirs. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1978.

Date of Birth:

July 14, 1904

Date of Death:

July 24, 1991

Place of Birth:

Radzymin, Poland

Place of Death:

Surfside, Florida

Education:

Attended Tachkemoni Rabbinical Seminary in Warsaw, Poland, 1920-27

Table of Contents

Part 1	Wanda	1
Part 2	Sarah	145
Part 3	The Return	281

Editorial Reviews

The Slave is a burningly radiant, intensely beautiful book. Singer is answering his age like a prophet.” —Ted Hughes, The New York Review of Books

“A peerless storyteller, Singer restores teh sheer enchantment with story, with outcome, with what-happens-next that has been denied most readers since their adolescence. There is about him a bardic quality that gives The Slave the strength and authority of a timeless folktale.” —David Boroff, Saturday Review

From the Publisher

Jacob is a Jew, a pogrom survivor, and a slave of Polish peasants; he lives a simple life as a cowherd, tolerated only because of his skills with animals. Against both Jewish and secular law, he falls in love with Wanda, a Christian. Ransomed by his hometown, he flees with Wanda and begins a new life. But because conversion of Christians is against the law and Wanda (now called Sara) cannot speak Yiddish, she must pose as a mute. In the throes of labor, Wanda finally speaks, dies, and is buried as an outcast, outside the Jewish cemetery. Jacob picks up his son and emigrates to the Holy Land, not to return for 20 years. Except for a few references to specific historical events, this story, set in the late 17th century, is timeless. It is read in alternating sections by two highly competent narrators, Tracy Sallows and David Chandler. The transitions between readers are smooth and add interest to the presentation. Recommended for moderate to large audio fiction collections; a necessary purchase for all Jewish libraries with literature collections.-I. Pour-El, Des Moines Area Community Coll., Boone, IA Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

Isaac Bashevis Singer wrote with passion about Jews and their struggles in Europe. In THE SLAVE, Singer tells the story of Jacob, enslaved following a 1648 Polish uprising, and Wanda, a Christian with whom he falls in love. After being freed, Jacob returns to marry Wanda, and they face a life of complications created by their “unthinkable” union. The use of two readers is ideal. David Chandler and Tracy Sallows are flawless as they infuse the characters with intensity and conviction that seem to derive directly from Singer. Chandler provides Jacob with the ideal mix of indignation and righteousness, whether he endures scorn, accepts reverence for his knowledge, or suffers from tragedy. THE SLAVE demonstrates why Singer was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. D.J.S. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, 2003 Audie Award Finalist © AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine

FEB/MAR 03 - AudioFile