The Family Moskat [Hardcover]

Isaac Bashevis Singer (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 611 pages
• Publisher: Knopf; First Edition edition (1964)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1125702818
• ISBN-13: 978-1125702819
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,674,151 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Singer's Finest Novel, October 15, 2000

By 

Adam (Adelaide, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Family Moskat: A Novel (Paperback)

This is a warm, multi-generation story about a large Jewish family in Warsaw and in my view Singer's finest novel. The focus is on the human relationships within the family, magnificently and movingly described; but the novel's edge comes from the constant intrusion of grim outside reality, the tormented history of Poland between the Congress of Vienna in 1815 and the second-world-war Nazi storming of the Warsaw Ghetto. Counterpoint between inner and outer reality, between public and private life, between flesh and spirit, makes this book not just another family saga but a statement about Jewish (and non-Jewish) humanity at large. In that, "The Family Muskat" is characteristic of Singer's work - it is his universality, not his particularity, which makes him one of the most respected writers in modern times.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An exceptionaly powerfula nd moving book, April 22, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Family Moskat (Mass Market Paperback)

A powerful tale of a Jewish family over several genrations ending with the German army at the gates of warsaw and the destruction of the vibrant Jewish communities in Warsaw close at hand.An in depths description of the life of the Jews in Poland over the last century writen in a highly realistic unsentimental style but with a certain affection on the part of the author. Better than any history textbook.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of his best, August 16, 2003

By 

Erik (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Family Moskat (Mass Market Paperback)

Back in the 70s I read whatever was available by Singer. This was one of the first, and my favorite. I love long, involved stories with lots of characters. I don't remember much about any of his stories because it's been over 20 years since I read them, but I remember my impressions. I prefer all his stories that take place in Poland over those that are set in US. The textures are different. I found the North American based tales to be somewhat interesting, but the characters were less appealing. I think his feel for the European context was stronger in him, and was conveyed with more warmth than the American contexts.