The Magic Barrel [Hardcover]

Bernard Malamud (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1958

One of the great story collections of our time-Winner of the National Book Award for fiction.

Bernard Malamud's first book of short stories, The Magic Barrel, has been recognized as a classic from the time it appeared in 1958. Malamud had published two novels, The Natural (itself a classic) and The Assistant, but in these thirteen stories he found the voice that eventually made him one of the most admired and beloved American writers of this century.

The stories are set in New York and in Italy (where Malamud's alter ego, the struggling New York Jewish painter Fidelman, roams amid the ruins of old Europe in search of his artistic patrimony); they tell of egg candlers and shoemakers, matchmakers and rabbis, in a voice that blends vigorous urban realism, Yiddish idiom, and a dash of Chagallish artistic magic.

In recent years, immigrant writers from around the world have acknowledged the book as a landmark in the literature of migration. Few books of any kind have managed to depict heartbreak with such delight, or such artistry-and it is these qualities that make The Magic Barrel so great and so deeply human a collection.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The Magic Barrel is a work radiant with personal vision. Compassionate and profound in its wry humor, it captures the poetry of human relationships on the point where reality and imagination meet." -- National Book Award Jury, 1959

Collection of 13 short stories by Bernard Malamud, published in 1958. Malamud's first published collection, The Magic Barrel won the 1959 National Book Award. The title story, first published in 1954, is considered one of Malamud's finest. Most of the stories concern impoverished New York Jews. Reflecting the rhythm and style of Yiddish folktales, their settings are often bleak; the plots are ironic and humorous and show the influence of Hasidic tales. -- The Merriam-Webster Encyclopedia of Literature --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Bernard Malamud (1914-1986) also wrote eight novels. He won his second National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize for The Fixer. Born in Brooklyn, New York, he taught for many years at Bennington College. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 214 pages
• Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux; First Edition edition (December 1958)
• ISBN-10: 0374504121
• ISBN-13: 978-0374504120
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,546,020 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is a sheer jewel, May 21, 1999

By 

Schmerguls "schmerguls" (Sioux City, Ia USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Magic Barrel: Stories (Paperback)

Since this book won the 1959 National Book Award, and I had not read it, I found a copy and was amazed at the power of the stories. I usually am not too enamored of short story collections, since I don't appreciate starting anew every few pages in a book. But this book is an exception. I was amazed at how quickly one became caught up in each story. The first story is The First Seven Years, and is a most touching story, setting the reader up most felicitously for enjoyment of each of the following 12 stories.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simple, powerful stories, December 13, 2007

By 

Lazyboy (San Francisco, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Magic Barrel: Stories (Paperback)

It was such a pleasure to read these stories. Each story grabs you quickly, and makes its narative thrust accessible. His stories don't stray from his simple narratives; there is very little excess or digression.

The stories are very personal and moral without being preachy. He knows how to capture people's moral ambivalence without judging them or resorting to stereotypes.

I found this book to be both an easy read and very moving.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Stories Covering a Surprising Range of Emotions, July 22, 2000

By 

Jack L. Keller "Avid Reader" (Federal Way, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Magic Barrel: Stories (Paperback)

This set of stories surprises one with breadth of understanding which it exhibits. From the first story ("The First Seven Years") which deals with a father's desire to provide the best for his daughter through the last story ("The Magic Barrel")which provides an interesting contrast to the first, all of these stories expand on the single theme of human experience.

The frustration built upon in "The Key" and "The Last Mohican" if offset nicely by the humor in "A Summer's Reading" and "The Lady of the Lake". "Take Pity" and "The Mourners" offer great insigth into growing old and dealing with lonliness. While "Angel Levine" is probably the most off beat of the set it still manages to increase hope, whereas "The Prison" causes an equal loss of faith in the human race.

The 12 stories here provide a wonderful evening's reading, however if your looking for more they are included in the books of his complete stories.