The Bread Givers

This 1925 autobiographical novel dropped me into the middle of New York’s Lower East Side Jewish neighborhoods in the early 20th century. The main character has a life of substantial struggle with and against her family, employers, landlords, and an American society that seems intent on erasing her.

While the book has elements of both a classic immigrant story and a coming-of-age tale, I love how it reveals the realities of urban living for a young immigrant woman. The pace and practices of making a home in a too-small space, getting by on minimal resources, scrumming for work, and avoiding… show more.

I enjoyed Yezierska’s ability to effectively portray the struggles of a young girl growing up in a poor immigrant Jewish household. I found myself cheering Sara on as she yearned to escape her household and the expectation placed upon her to marry.

Yezierska’s use of language and vivid imagery made the act of reading an almost palpable experience. I felt as though I was living Sara’s life as she lived it herself.

I first read The Bread Givers in college. It was assigned to me and I read the entire thing on a flight to London. This is one of my favorite novels to read because of how the narrative follows a young Jewish woman in New York as she struggles against tradition and expectations to pursue her own desires.

This historical novel set in the lower East Side, one of my favorites, tells the saga of a gifted young woman, an immigrant, who breaks free from the restricted environment of her Orthodox community to become a school teacher.  Before the word “feminism existed, before women were given the vote, when anti-Semitism was rife in this country, she demanded the right to live a productive and meaningful life. She gave so much to her new country. That is why I love this book.