The Fifth Servant: A Novel [Hardcover]

Kenneth Wishnia (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 26, 2010

In 1592 Prague, Emperor Rudolph II sits on the throne; the Papal Inquisitor has arrived to persecute witches and heretics; and the city's Jews live behind the walls of the ghetto. When the body of a young Christian girl is found in a Jewish shop on the eve of Passover, a blood libel charge is brought against the shopkeeper. The relative peace enjoyed by the Jewish community is in peril, and a rabbinic student just arrived from Poland must find the real culprit.

--This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Set in 16th-century Prague, Wishnia's outstanding debut convincingly transforms a Jewish sexton and his rabbinic mentor into a plausible pair of sleuths. Just before the start of Passover, the discovery of the bloody corpse of Gerta Janek, a blond girl, maybe seven years old, inside the store of Jacob Federn, a Jewish businessman, triggers the inevitable revival of the blood libel and threat of mass retribution against the entire Jewish community. Benyamin Ben-Akiva, the newly arrived shammes, has three days to prove that someone other than Federn is guilty of Gerta's brutal murder. He faces opposition from his own people, but manages to win the respect and support of the legendary Rabbi Loew, who helps him gain access to the body so that a rudimentary examination can be done, though many Gentiles are offended by the very notion. Well-developed characters and detailed portrayals of life at the time help make this historical crime thriller a gripping page-turner. (Feb.)
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From Booklist

Author of five mysteries featuring Ecuadorian American Filomena Buscarsela as a New York detective, Wishnia here explores the history of Jewish persecution during the sixteenth-century Inquisition. Set in Prague, the story features famous Rabbi Loew and his not-so-famous shammes (synagogue sexton), Benyamin Ben-Akiva. On Passover, a Christian girl is murdered and left in a Jewish shop, stirring up wild accusations of blood libel and witchcraft against the Jews. Benyamin endeavors to find the culprit, wending his way carefully as clues take him into the Christian community. When the situation degenerates into violence, he calls on Yahweh and his greatly divided children for the power to overcome evil, often using Talmudic analogies to convince Jews to break the letter of the law for the sake of life itself. Readers of Lisa Goldstein’s Alchemist’s Door (2002) and Harry Mulisch’s The Procedure (2001), both about Golem in sixteenth-century Prague, will feel at home here, but Richard Zimler’s The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon (1998), about the massacre of Portuguese Jews in 1506, may come closest to matching Wishnia’s powerful (some may feel too detailed) evocations of Jewish persecution. A densely philosophical yet surprisingly witty historical mystery. --Jen Baker

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow; First Edition edition (January 26, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061725374
• ISBN-13: 978-0061725371
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #900,762 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Religious Themed Mystery In Sixteenth Century Prague, December 31, 2009

By 

Philip R. Heath "Gadgets, Music, & Books" (DFW) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Fifth Servant: A Novel (Hardcover)

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The Fifth Servant by Kenneth Wishnia is a fascinating mystery set in 1592 Prague. The Jewish people of Prague are forced to live in a gated in ghetto, and there is a tenuous coexistence between the Jews and the Christians. The balance is upset when a Christian girl is found murdered in the shop of the Jewish Federn family. The central figure of the story, Benyamin Ben-Akiva, is a shammes just in from Poland who will take on the task of clearing the name of the Federns and saving the Jewish community of Prague. The story that unfolds is one of many layers beyond the crime itself.

Along the way readers will see a bishop who comes to the area to seek out those who practice witchcraft. Readers also get a feel for the tension between the Catholics and the Protestants with the Reformation not 100 years old yet. Even within the Jewish people there is division between the "Free Thinkers" and the more traditional Jews. Wishnia also mixes in a good does of the complicated European monarchy of the time with Emperor Rudolph II. The rulers of the day often sided with the religious groups that best served their own secular agenda. All of these factions translate to quite a few characters to keep track of. Some readers may find this a bit overwhelming, but Wishnia does a good job of tying weaving everything together into a cohesive whole.

In addition to the diverse groups of people, Sixteenth Century Prague comes to life on the pages of The Fifth Servant. Readers are treated to the various homes of the Rabbis and other main characters, various shops, the Emperor's palace, and various streets within the Jewish ghetto. Wishnia's prose makes you feel like you are there.

Wishnia also gives a good picture of how people thought in the late Sixteen Century. One of the Catholic bishops has some digestive problems, and some of the suggested treatments seem comical. On a more serious note this same bishop is a part of the Inquisition who is trying to stamp out witchcraft. Suspects of witchcraft and other crimes were subject to torture in order to gain confessions. However, the greatest insight comes from just how persecuted the Jews were in those days. Wishnia draws out the struggles that the Jews faced, but he also highlights there spirit and perseverance. It is not a story of pity, but one of triumph over circumstance.

As much as Prague came alive on the pages of The Fifth Servant, so did the characters. None did this apply more to than Benyamin. His intellect and wit made him a very likable protagonist. I found myself laughing from time to time at some of the things he would say. Other characters that Wishnia developed well were Rabbi Loew (one of the free thinkers), Sheriff Zizska of Prague, and Anya (daughter of a Christian butcher).

One note on Wishnia's writing style. He mixes in a fair amount of German, Czech, and Yiddish as well as a few words in Hebrew. He gives translations for everything that is important to the story, but some people might not like this.

All in all, The Fifth Servant is the best book that I've read in 2009. I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys mysteries but also has an interest in religion as well.

Overall A+

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A different time, a different place, January 19, 2010

By 

Kurt G. Schumacher "Grey" (Broomfield, CO USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Fifth Servant: A Novel (Hardcover)

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I like books that take me somewhere else, and "The Fifth Servant: certainly accomplished that. A different time: the 16th century. A different place: Prague. And a different culture: the Jewish ghetto.

I am somewhat familiar with Jewish culture, by marriage. So I recognized a lot in this book, including some of the Yiddish phrases. But this story took me much deeper into the culture, and its history, than my contemporary relationships have ever done.

As others have pointed out, the murder mystery does tend to get lost behind the political and religious plot lines. But I thought of the book not as a mystery novel, but as a historical novel that happens to include a murder investigation. The author uses the murder as a frame on which to weave his tapestry. And on that level the book succeeds very well. Just as Ken Follet's "The Pillars of the Earth" is not so much about the building of a cathedral, as it is about the people who built it. If you liked Follett's book, I suspect you will like "The Fifth Servant".

I enjoyed this book a lot. If you like historical novels that immerse you in a different culture, with some politics and religion and a bit of mystery thrown in, I recommend that you pick up "The Fifth Servant".

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An incredible journey back in time to 16th Century Prague, June 16, 2010

By 

Jojoleb "jojoleb" (Pittsburgh, PA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Fifth Servant: A Novel (Hardcover)

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In his novel, The Fifth Servant, Kenneth Wishnia transports us back in time to the 16th Century Jewish Quarter in the city of Prague. Although the who-done-it mystery is solved a little too quickly and without complete satisfaction for the reader, the plot is almost ancillary to Wishnia's well drawn characters and vivid setting. Indeed the characters and setting bring this book to life and make it a compelling and interesting read.

The set up is intriguing: A Czech girl is found dead on the eve of Passover near the Jewish Quarter and the city is on the verge of a blood libel. The new man in town, Benyamin Ben Akiva, is the new Shames (sexton or beadle) in the community. He is a Talmudic scholar with an analytical mind and is enough of an outsider that the great Rabbi Judah Loew has charged him with the task of solving the mystery.

But Ben Akiva has problems of his own. He has come to Prague in hopes of reestablishing his failing marriage with his estranged wife. He is also a freethinker who has started to lose some of his faith in religion. And because he is an outsider, he is neither trusted by the Jews of the city or by the non-Jews in local law enforcement. He also has to deal with political issues of the day, including the arrival of the Inquisition to Czechoslovakia in the form of a new Bishop whose zealous quest is to expunge witchcraft from Prague and is no friend of the Jews.

The mystery itself has many twists and turns and leads Ben Akiva on a number of blind alleys. But within each alley we meet the characters that inhabit the Jewish Quarter and those outside the ghetto, who are incredibly well illustrated by Wishnia. Herein lies the interesting aspect of the book. The 16th Century was considered the time of the Prague Renaissance and Wishnia has a field day with the characters an details of this time.

We meet everyone from shopkeepers and prostitutes to the likes of the great Rabbi Loew and Rabbi David Gans, two luminaries of Jewish mysticism and Talmudic scholars. The conversation is peppered with references to the Bible and the Talmud, whether it is between Ben Akiva and Rabbi Loew or the madam of the Jewish Quarter's house of ill repute.

The non-Jewish characters are not always placed in the most favorable light, but the premise of the book is the impending blood libel and 16th Century Europe was not known for its tolerance for Jews. Even so, we are introduced to King Rudolf II--a monarch known for his kindness to the Jewish community--and the Prague chief of police is characterized as evenhanded and fair minded.

Wishnia's characters speak with an authentic voice and are placed carefully in their setting and the political conflicts of the time. But by far the star of the show is Ben Akiva himself. Wishnia has produced a three dimensional character who possesses an incredible intelligence, strength of character, and gentle soul but who is also plagued by self doubt and angst.

The book, of course, is not without a few flaws. In an attempt to make their voices more authentic, Wishnia uses a lot of Yiddish and Hebrew terms that may be unfamiliar to many of his readers. There is a glossary of sorts at the end of the book and he tries to give the terms context, but these words occur with great frequency--especially at the beginning of the book--and this may be a stumbling block for some readers. In a further attempt at authenticity, Wishnia writes these words out phonetically as they would have been pronounced in 16th Century Prague (as opposed to 20th Century Brooklyn) making the decoding of some of these words a tricky affair, even for those who are in the know.

Wishnia also takes some liberties with strict, Orthodox Jewish observance, but I think that he can be forgiven for these lapses as they help move the story forward. In the same vein, he also (admittedly) bends the time line a little so that interesting characters are able to interact with each other. There are also novelistic coincidences and kinks in the plot that may not sit well with some readers. Towards the end of the book the plot wanders a bit and the book seems to sag, but Wishnia brings things back to full force quickly enough with a surprise ending and an ingenious twist on the legend of the Golem of Prague.

In the end, I enjoyed the book greatly and would recommend it to anyone who likes books that turn back the hands of time and really make you feel as though you've visited an interesting place and time in history.