The Slave

One of his best most resonant books. Heartbreaking and unforgettable.A more powerful and tragic love story than Romeo and Juliet. All of the human impediments to love, different religions, extreme class and cultural misalignment, violence, corruption, the futile appeals to non existent deities when the only one pulling strings here is cruel inscrutable Aphrodite in the Greek tragedian sense.

As a result of the Chmielnicki massacres in 1648, thousands of Jews lost their lives, among them was the family of the Jacob, who was taken as a slave later to be sold to Polish peasants. Up there, in the mountains, he is treated by everyone as subhuman, except by one Polish peasant - Wanda. Naturally, they fall in love.After fellow Jews from his hometown pay the ransom and free Jacob, he tries to live a normal life in his hometown, yet he cannot forgot Wanda. So he decides to go to Poland and bring Wanda back with him. Since it was illegal at the time and punishable by death to convert a Christian to Judaism, he decides to pass her as a mute until she masters the Yiddish language, so her Polish accent won’t reveal her.Although thought to be a Jew, Wanda is mistreated by the community. Wanda, as a non-Jew living among Jews, is able to examine the Jewish community through a different set of eyes. Assumed to be mute, people feel free to talk in her presence. Fairly quickly, as Wanda herself is taught about Judaism by Jacob, she notices the hypocrisy, the decay and the lack of religious discipline within her community.Before Wanda dies in childbirth, she reveals the secret of her Christian birth. This leads to Jacob running away in fear of his life, leaving his son to be taken care of by people in the community. To cut a story short, Jacob returns to take his son to Israel.This is a very powerful story about a relationship between two people from different cultures and religions at a time when there was no tolerance for the other. It also a deep examination of the good and bad of religion.

I read the Slave post college and at the urging of a brother, reread it at 76. Singer is a writer and thinker, bar none. He takes us into the past where Jews and peasants can't seem to accept and love one another, but it is such a timely and thoughtful book, especially in today's atmosphere. Will we ever succeed in accepting our fellow human beings with their different religions, ethnicities, and race? We are all exposed in The Slave. Don't miss this incredible (and short) novel!

Much like his predecessor Henryk Sienkiewicz, Warsaw-born Isaac Bashevis Singer (1904-1991) likewise won the Noble Prize in Literature. 'The Slave' is the first of his writings I have had the pleasure of reading and much like the other reviews reflect, I found it immensly enjoyable. I have read a great deal of Slavic fiction and I found this piece reminding me of other great works, in particular, Eliza Orzeszkowa's 'Meir Ezofowicz'. Similarly, it has the same romance and adventure you would find in Sienkiewicz's epic Triology and it's historically related. Sienkiewicz's 'Z Ogniem i Mieczem' (With Fire and Sword) is historically set around the 17th century Cossack uprising in the Polish Commonwealth.In 'The Slave', the protaganist Jacob is a Jew that has found himself quite literally a slave to a Polish family as a consequent of the anti-Semitic rage that the Cossack uprising brought about. Jacob not only finds himself fortunate to be alive, but is in love with his master Jan Bzik's daughter, the beautiful Wanda. The romance develops throughout the story, along with Jacob the Jew's inner struggle to give into his feelings for Wanda the Gentile.If you are a fan of slavic literature in general, you certainly won't be disappointed by this story.

My bookclub selection, Singer's THE SLAVE was a wonderful tale asking timeless questions - about religious compromise, moral ambiguity, relationships with "the Other," evaluating goodness, kinds of slavery, and responses to antisemitism. Plus,ca whole lot more,call delivered with incredible literary force, language, and plot. I thoroughly enjoyed it, even if it's neatly tied up with a bow at the end. If you're not used to reading about how Poles, etc., really treated Jews, you'll be shocked. Highly recommend it.

No one can bring characters to life, and scenes to the immediate like IB Singer. This is a passionate, beautiful love story set during the 16th century in Poland, amid ignorance, violence, and a Poland transitioning from medieval mindsets. The courage and strength of the main characters, Jacob and the converted pagan, Sarah, is inspirational. Their love and devotion is palpable, and the historical context is absolutely fascinating. A great, unforgettable read. It is what I call READABLE LITERATURE.

If anyone likes to get submersed in a book, this is one that will do it for you. The village and the people come alive while reading this. Descriptive and historically informative...great human plot. I have read this book several times over the years and love it more every time I read it. A CLASSIC!!!

Singer is one of the best story tellers - in the same league as Garcia

Livro espetacular: o prazer da leitura não impede um ganho inesperado - conhecimento e sabedoria. Uma lição para a vida e para o conhecimento religioso.

beautiful book in a very good shape

What a great storyteller I. B. Singer is…

Very poor print

ALSO AN EXCELLENT NOVEL AND A FASCINATING READ : BUT WHAT ELSE WOULD ONE EXPECT FROM ISAAC BASHEVIS SINGER !