Customer Reviews

Jews Without Money: A Novel

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"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.

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.

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.

I really enjoyed this book. Gold's writing style is very unorthodox but I think this allows you to feel the emotion in his words. This story really makes you appreciate the issues that these poor Jewish immigrants faced and confirms that the American Dream certainly is possible as we have the luxury today in 2007 to evaluate the situations of many of these character's descendants. These people worked hard and helped each other and therefore made better lives for their future generations.

A book you won't be able to put down. Gold does an excellent job in conveying to the reader the very hard lives of immigrant adults and children who lived in poverty. This book should be part of the curriculum in high schools. Although I was raised in NY I knew nothing about the hardships that immigrants went through in NY.

The shipping was quick, I got my package two days after I purchased it. Very, very good condition, seems like its new. Very happy with the seller and I would definitely buy from this seller again!

Michael Gold's "Jews Without Money" is a great representation of the hard lives of immigrants in the 1920's. Although his writing style is not quite intricate, the delivery is both addicting and satisfying: You won't be able to put this one down. The autobiographical type of narration works well, and the tales of Michael and his family are sure to smear your mind with many images of the hard life they lived and how important it was to get by. I am reading this for a course at my university, but I would recommend this book to anyone, even casual readers. The book does not mean to be informative, but it puts you back in the time and Gold makes you feel as if you are experiencing event after event in his life. Enjoy this one, it was good! Read the Godfather by Mario Puzo before this, and boy are they two substantially different immigrant experiences.

I read the large print edition which i ordered by accident, but it was still good. It came hastily and I finished it just as fast - i wasn't able to put it down.

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