Bread upon the Waters [Large Print] [Hardcover]

Irwin Shaw (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 667 pages
• Publisher: Ulverscroft Large Print Books (June 1982)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0708980503
• ISBN-13: 978-0708980507
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,449,064 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Angsty, but with substance, February 6, 2008

By 

Rebecca M (Somerville, MA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bread upon the Waters (Mass Market Paperback)

In the tradition of Agee's A Death in the Family, or Guest's Ordinary People, this is a book about a family's whose life changes drastically after their tennis-playing teenage daughter becomes an unlikely hero one evening in Central Park. Driven by this one catalyst, the events that play out for the Strand Family become like dominoes, each one building momentum as they fall against each other.

Shaw does a masterful job with the narrative rhythm, careful not to show his hand too soon. This might infuriate some readers with a lack of patience or a preference for plot-driven narrative. The plot picks up speed about two-thirds of the way into the book, and comes to a halt (but by no means a "grinding" one) only at the very end.

This is a portrait of a family and the lives that touch it (and vice-versa). It is beautifully lifelike it its messiness, but also in its portrayal of perseverance. Tragedy does not always beget tragedy, but in Shaw's world, good deeds are not always wholly good, either.

It is a book about the complexities of life. The characters are "everyman" characters in that Shaw keeps them at a distance, so we become attached more to their predicaments than to the characters themselves. While this is more instructive for the reader, it does steal something from the fictional experience, at least for me.

Overall, a very fine novel that captures the angst of everyday life with a certain refreshing objectivity.

7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Storyline ...., May 30, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Bread upon the Waters (Mass Market Paperback)

... "Anger and compassion, insight and intimacy ... a rare novel of substance, Shaw hits the top of his mark in this novel about gratitude and the entangling relationship of giver and receivers ... a crackling story of happiness, tragedy, bathos, unkindess, failure to communicate, hope, selfishness, and minor revelations ..." Excellent book!

9 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars one of the best, July 13, 2000

By 

michael hp (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bread upon the Waters (Mass Market Paperback)

I really enjoyed this book. It was a great story about power and wealth and it was just great reading.