Dissenter in the House of God [Hardcover]

Alvin Rosenfeld (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This first novel by a child psychiatrist is the intense and emotional story of Hyman Schwartz, a survivor of the Holocaust who, in 1955, has found a haven as an accountant in a prosperous New York City firm. Hyman's compassionate employer, Sam Teitlebaum, is aware that his taciturn employee is unusually talented, but does not realize that Hyman compulsively uses numbers as a way of blotting out memories of his family, all exterminated in the camps. When Shimshon, a handsome, gregarious young refugee from Communist Hungary, asks Hyman for lessons in accounting, the reclusive and embittered older man reacts with ill-concealed hostility, but at the request of his employer he begins to teach Shimshon, an apt pupil, and a dialogue gradually begins between the two men. Hyman's defenses are lowered and, as he begins to think of Shimshon as a son, he slowly reawakens to life. But Shimshon, once he has mastered the field, plans to leave and start his own firm in Israel. Though his plot has provocative possibilities, Rosenfeld's execution is heavy-handed and lethargic, a victim of his didacticism and his inclination to expound on psychological developments that, more ably rendered, could have been left to the reader's deduction.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 200 pages
• Publisher: St Martins Pr; 1st edition (July 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312043031
• ISBN-13: 978-0312043032
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,181,793 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a unique and extraordinary perspective, January 8, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Dissenter in the House of God (Hardcover)

Although many books have been written about the Holocaust, this is the first book to my knowledge that is written from the framework and viewpoint of a Survivor. We presented the book to a friend who lived through a concentration camp, and his response was enthusiastic and thankful. He felt as if the book had told his personal story, a story not previously recounted. He felt it would help his family understand him better and that it was important and valuable for them to be able to make sense of his experience.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absorbing story of holocaust survivor and his return to life, November 1, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Dissenter in the House of God (Hardcover)

This short book (St. Martin's Press, 1990) is a gem.

Hyman Schwartz, a Polish Holocaust survivor who has lost his wife and son, finds work as an accountant in New York. Hyman lives an ascetic life and accepts no favors or invitations; he is angry at God and sees himself as uniquely qualified to indict Him. Ten years later a young Hungarian refugee, Shimshon, appears in the accounting firm and demands instruction. Hyman rejects Shimshon's requests as he has rejected all other attempts to involve him in relationships.: his life is on hold and he thinks only of his lost Rachel and David. Shimshon appears every day at noon and asks Hyman to eat with him; every day Hyman tells him he is too busy. But Shimshon has a secret: just as Hyman has lost a son, he has lost a father. In a dramatic moment the younger man reveals this, challenging Hyman's claim to solitary suffering. Shimshon's persistence in spite of repeated rebuffs eventually wins him not only Hyman's friendship and support, but also the knowledge that he has reached the embittered man's frozen heart and thawed it.

Rosenfeld enlivens his story with rich detail. The reader is informed about the concurrent activities of the Brooklyn Dodgers (who win their first World Series), about the history of the Jewish communities in Poland and Hungary between the wars, and about the practice and philosophy of accounting. Doubtless there are many literary parallels to the evolving friendship of Hyman and Shimshon, but this reader was reminded of St. Exupery's Little Prince and his instruction by the fox about how the prince must behave if he wants to tame him. He must come the same day of the week at the same time, and though the fox will run from him at first, sooner or later he will look forward to his visits.

The author's style is often spare and poetic.: a barn whose roof was tilted so low "that it looked like an old stoop-shouldered woman bowing to pray," or Hyman finding his old house in Warsaw destroyed; pressing his forehead to the step "he prostrated himself and cried, 'Please send them back, please,' but the cement did not reply."

Hyman Schwartz's story is memorable. This reader has read the book twice and both times found it compelling.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excelent book, Very Real and from the heart., September 7, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Dissenter in the House of God (Hardcover)

This book was wonderful.. You can just feel the characters come alive. I wish it had 300 more pages