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The Family Moskat: A Novel (FSG Classics) Paperback – April 3, 2007

by Isaac Bashevis Singer (Author), A. H. Gross (Translator)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 94 ratings
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The vanished way of life of Eastern European Jews in the early part of the twentieth century is the subject of this extraordinary novel. All the strata of this complex society were populated by powerfully individual personalities, and the whole community pulsated with life and vitality. The affairs of the patriarchal Meshulam Moskat and the unworldly Asa Heshel Bannet provide the center of the book, but its real focus is the civilization that was destroyed forever in the gas chambers of the Second World War.

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  1. Part of series
    Isaac Bashevis Singer: Classic Editions
  2. Print length
    624 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    Farrar, Straus and Giroux
  5. Publication date
    April 3, 2007
  6. Dimensions
    5.5 x 1.38 x 8.5 inches
  7. ISBN-10
    0374530645
  8. ISBN-13
    978-0374530648
  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

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“Singer's deep-running narrative makes a microcosm of the Warsaw ghetto. Reminiscent in scope of the great Russian novels of the nineteenth century, his novel moves with the leisure of abundance--eddying, pausing, plunging. Its surface ripples with passages of delicate description, trenchant dialogue and precisely observed detail; its depths roll forward with the heavy, hidden surge of life itself.” ―Time

“The Family Moskat, although it deals with an era that has been buried in the ashes of the Holocaust, retains its strength, and has an appeal that will fascinate all readers.” ―Detroit Jewish News

About the Author

Isaac Bashevis Singer (1904-91) was the author of many novels, stories, and children's books. His books include The Slave and Gimpel the Fool and Other Stories. He received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1978.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Farrar, Straus and Giroux; First Edition (April 3, 2007)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 624 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0374530645
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0374530648
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.2 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 1.38 x 8.5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 94 ratings

About the author

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Isaac Bashevis Singer

Isaac Bashevis Singer

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Isaac Bashevis Singer (1903-1991) was a Polish-born Jewish-American author of short stories, novels, essays, cultural criticism, memoirs, and stories for children. His career spanned nearly seven decades of literary production, at the center of which was the translation of his work from Yiddish into English, which he undertook with various collaborators and editors. Singer published widely during his lifetime, with nearly sixty stories appearing in The New Yorker, and received numerous awards and prizes, including two Newberry Honor Book Awards (1968 & 1969), two National Book Awards (1970 & 1974) and the Nobel Prize for Literature (1978). Known for fiction that portrayed 19th-century Polish Jewry as well as supernatural tales that combined Jewish mysticism with demonology, Singer was a master storyteller whose sights were set squarely on the tension between human nature and the human spirit.

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
94 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

A good book and a glass of wine
5.0 out of 5 stars Early, excellent I.B. Singer novel
Reviewed in the United States on May 20, 2014
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If you are interested in Jewish life in eastern Europe from the years before WWI through the Russian revolution, the partition of Poland, etc. then this is an engrossing story that reveals the actions, thoughts and motivations of a family from the original patriarch through the next 2 generations. Excellently written in Yiddish, and translated into English by Joseph Singer, the son of I.J. Singer who was the older brother of I.B. Singer and an excellent writer also. I.B. Singer is the only writer in Yiddish to have received a Nobel Prize.
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C. Irish
5.0 out of 5 stars Asa Heshel, Man Or Moron?
Reviewed in the United States on March 9, 2018
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Isaac Bashevis Singer made it his purpose in life to remember the culture of the Eastern European Jews, particularly those in Warsaw Poland-his own native land. In The Family Moskat we follow the lineage of Meshulam Moskat who was a pious and successful Jew. The rest of his family some pious and some finding their own way tell their stories in the pages of this book. One of the central characters, Asa Heshel, should have been a pious Jew, however, he left his village in search of knowledge and falls in with the Moskats. Mostly, he ponders Spinoza, for years. Frankl wrote Search For Meaning is a much better way and had Heshel had the opportunity for That book, his life may have been much more different, but that would be a different tale.

My favorite character of this book is Abram Shipiro. He dances in and out of the story in his boisterous, larger than life way and was very entertaining for me. There is a lot to dive into in this book. Fate plays a large role as do the choices people make. Singer's books are deep dives into the comings and goings of people in life. They don't always make great choices and later in life, they often wonder what they did with their years.

I have to say, personally, I liked The Manor and The Estate a little better than The Family Moskat, but it was a different time period. It was the time of gaslights, tuberculosis and intense family drama. The Family Moskat deals with a later time. Socialism, communism and the looming German invasion is nearly upon the Moskats when in The Manor and The Estate, Calman Jacoby was building his empire. In Family, Reb Meshulam has his empire and has it doled out to the leeches in his family for their income as well, so many of his struggles are over, but the family plight plays on.

This is the story of a civilization told expertly through the immensely enjoyable writing of Isaac Bashevis Singer.
7 people found this helpful
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EYESMILE
4.0 out of 5 stars Good read but not as good as The Manor
Reviewed in the United States on November 5, 2012
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After the Manor and the Estate, this book was not quite on par. Same theme, well drawn characters. Towards the end, tho, it seemed a little rushed, suddenly trying to expand on previously minor characters. I found myself skimming, trying to get back to the main people. Perhaps I shouldn't have read them back to back. Very informative and interesting, tho.
One person found this helpful
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Mrs.58
5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful copy of a classic book
Reviewed in the United States on March 7, 2022
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I am updating my home library. Glen The Book Seller has expansive collections and can always be counted on to ship super fast, its a pleasure to buy from them, highly recommended.
One person found this helpful
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Bonnie Belknap
5.0 out of 5 stars A Jewel
Reviewed in the United States on March 4, 2021
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I reread this book after many years, and it did not disappoint. He does not whitewash his characters but rather presents them realistically. A priceless snapshot of a world lost in the ovens of the Holocaust.
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Judy B
5.0 out of 5 stars A very well-crafted story of a Jewish family living from ...
Reviewed in the United States on January 28, 2015
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A very well-crafted story of a Jewish family living from the 19th to 20th Century - exploring the life of the patriarch and taking a convoluted path through three generations - the family with all its foibles; friends, both real and opportunist; lovers; outsiders who create major changes; etc. Long but always provocative.....
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Robert Farlee
4.0 out of 5 stars Rich depiction of real life
Reviewed in the United States on August 26, 2007
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I moved to this book just after finishing a fast-paced historical novel ("Pompeii" by Robert Harris), and had to change gears before I could begin to really enjoy this. It isn't the type of novel where a lot "happens"--but it is a beautifully nuanced portrayal of life in a particular community--eastern European Jewish, early 20th century--and even more, of universally human life. The characters interact in believable ways, the descriptions are deep without being stultifying, and I was left deeply satisfied.
3 people found this helpful
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Oliver P. Kent
1.0 out of 5 stars The one star is regarding the digital file
Reviewed in the United States on September 21, 2023
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It's a great book, but the digital file is full of incorrectly rendered words - and it gets worse as the book progresses. "Gennan" should be German etc., etc, etc, ...
The impression is that someone (understandably unnamed) scanned the original book, and skipped the spell checking / proofreading steps and simply published it.
If this book was free, I might zip my lip but - how about you give me my ten dollars back and I'll remove the bad review? And just ask your friend to to a peer review next time you are hired to do a digital file rendering of a classic novel - You should be ashamed of yourself for doing this to such a good piece of work.
2 people found this helpful
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thegreenhillsofafrica
5.0 out of 5 stars his masterpiece
Reviewed in Canada on August 17, 2023
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At one time I was going to say, oh, it’s like Dickens because it’s so long, and there are so many characters, and so many subplots. But it’s not Dickens. It’s too visceral for Dickens. And there are no villains. Not really. Just regular people, family and friends, who sometimes get along, but a great deal of the time do not.

We follow them from teens and twenty somethings into their fifties, sixties, seventies and eighties. Some die young just as some of our friends and family do. They bicker and fight nonstop. Divorces and affairs and broken relationships without stop. Arguments and mean spiritedness.

Religious people who are intolerant and cruel and judgmental, whose rituals matter more to them than human life. Religious people who are merciful. People without religion who are kind. People without religion who are cruel. So much antisemitism it makes a reader sick. Christians beating on Jews. Pogroms. Injustice. In the end, you just want some forgiveness, some love, some marriages to work, some peace. But you rarely get it.

Yet I wound up caring about everyone, yes, some more than others, but each death was a loss. When the person from whose point of view we were following the narrative suddenly dies of a heart attack, we are shocked - who will tell the story now? Another person takes over. But soon enough they too die. The story becomes about morgues, and funerals and headstones. We thought they’d live forever. Just like many people on earth think they’ll live forever. Even the characters in this long novel I detested wound up troubling me with their deaths.

Then the Nazis invade Poland and by this time you’re practically a member of the family and running running running with them from the planes and bombs. You want to survive. You want them all to survive. And then a bomb explodes and kills one of the women you liked the most. And this is the lot of all who flee from war or natural disasters. Yet for the family Moskat there is nowhere to flee. After the invasion come the death camps.

Beautifully written. Painfully written. And utterly compelling.
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saraladasmishra
5.0 out of 5 stars Revisited the book almost after 20 years. It is getting better and better as the years pass by. Singer at his best. No other book can bring out the pain and helplessness of a community in the face of imminent annihilation. A part of history buried in the ashes of insane war
Reviewed in India on July 14, 2023
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It is a historical war novel depicting in detail the life and times of four generations of jews in Poland and the sad demise of a community
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Traudy Rinderer
5.0 out of 5 stars Genial
Reviewed in Germany on March 27, 2023
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Isaak Bashevi Singer muss ein Lexikon verschluckt haben. Großes Wissen weitergegeben in herrlicher Sprache. Unendlich interessant jüdisches Leben. Der Kontrast zwischen den Religiösen und den Modernen. Nur traurig, dass die Juden immer noch auf den Messias warten.
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Beatrice Gould
5.0 out of 5 stars A forgotten classic.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 21, 2012
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Read this book many years ago and have just read it a second time.A sprawling family saga in the footsteps of Dostoyevsky with marvellous character studies. What a great T.V. series it would make. !!
4 people found this helpful
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Dee
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 5, 2015
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Very pleased with product
One person found this helpful
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