Jews Without Money: A Novel [Paperback]

Michael Gold (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 5, 2004

As a writer and political activist in early-twentieth-century America, Michael Gold was an important presence on the American cultural scene for more than three decades. Beginning in the 1920s his was a powerful journalistic voice for social change and human rights, and Jews Without Moneythe author's only novelis a passionate record of the times. First published in 1930, this fictionalized autobiography offered an unusually candid look at the thieves, gangsters, and ordinary citizens who struggled against brutal odds in lower East Side Manhattan. Like Henry Roth's Call It Sleep and Abraham Cahan's The Rise and Fall of David Levinsky, Jews Without Money is a literary landmark of the Jewish experience.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A landmark; the first Jewish novel to make a dent on American culture."--Village Voice

About the Author

Michael Gold (1893–1967) was born in New York City, where later he wrote for radical journals and newspapers such as New Masses and The Liberator. Jews Without Money has been translated in more than fourteen countries, including Germany, where the novel was employed against Nazi propaganda.

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: PublicAffairs; 3rd edition (March 5, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786713453
• ISBN-13: 978-0786713455
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #415,534 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Polemical but Riveting, January 2, 2001

By 

Falco Gingrich - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jews Without Money (Paperback)

"Jews without money" seems to me far more remarkable for its political positions than for its writing. Gold is, to put it bluntly, not a particularly skilled wordsmith. His limitations are obvious from the first page. Nevertheless this novel/memoir makes for fascinating reading. The book consists of a series of loosely connected vignettes from the life of a child growing up in the Lower East Side at the turn of the century. Gold wants to capture the sights and smells and sensations of that world, and while his prose is not quite up to the task, the reader still comes away powerfully moved.

What seems to be unique about Gold's account is his political bent. Rather than softening or sentimentalizing his experiences, he picks at scabs and pulls back the curtain to reveal horrors to his readers. As a devoted socialist, he wants to expose the evils of unrestrained capitalism. What that means for him is, rather than denying anti-Semitic stereotypes, he revels in them. Gold he wants the reader to understand that they are the result, not of Jewish culture, but of the effects of American ghetto poverty upon the Jews of his neighborhood. Povery, he aruges, turns potential into corruption. His is a world in which people will do anything for a few pennies, often all that stands between them and starvation. On the other hand, his world is also populated by characters who remain strong despite their suffering: his mother, who would rather go hungry than see a stranger starve; the foolish store-owner, who loses her livelihood because she cannot stand to turn away the poor. There are also desperate prostitutes, rapacious pawn brokers, crooked businessmen, and dreamers and schemers of all sorts.

This book lacks the literary ambition of Henry Roth's "Call it Sleep" or the narrative power of Abraham Cahan's "Rise of David Levinsky" (in my opinion, the finest novel ever about the Jewish immigrant experience). This is a political tract, and sometimes its dogma is rather irritating, even offensive. Nevertheless, it is a significant and important document of early 20th-century Jewish culture, and deserves to be read.

21 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An earthy description of the immigrant experience., January 4, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Jews Without Money (Paperback)

The only thing marring this important work is the introduction by Alfred Kazin which maligns the novel and Michael Gold and leaves the reader wondering if the publisher is really trying to promote the book. The introduction probably is the result of old grudges from bygone politically motivated "cultural wars" between Jewish writers. The author's widow was deeply upset by the underhanded and cowardly introduction.

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Book, February 26, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Jews Without Money (Paperback)

This is a masterpiece that has lost none of its power since it was first published 70 years ago. The book hooks you from the first paragraph and never lets go.