Job: The Story of a Simple Man

by Joseph Roth and Dorothy (translator) Roth, Joseph; Thompson

Book Overview

A newly arrived immigrant to New York experiences a series of devastating misfortunes. Just as he begins to lose his faith in God, something comes along to restore his faith, a miracle that will have... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1585673749
• ISBN13: 9781585673742
• Release Date: January 2003
• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams
• Length: 238 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.0" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

A Beautiful Book

One of the most beautifully written novels of the Twentieth Century. It is a simple story about suffering, love and loss in the life of a Russian Jew. There are moments of quiet and solemn heartbreak. We witness the slow, subtle fragmentation of a man's life, his family and yet all is not lost. I deeply love German literature and the works of Roth are intelligent and equally moving. His prose is tender, simple and yet there is so much compassion and depth in his composition one is left feeling both glorious and tearful at the end. This is the book to reach for to regain faith in life and one's life path. When you read it and finish it, pass it on to loved ones. The story of Mendel is the story of an everyman in all of us. Hopefully I will be able to read the original in German one day. The translation is inspiring.

Job

A book so beautifully wrought, so poetically driven, so simple in its profound telling of sadness, despair and redemption. Read this and be rewarded with the memory of Mendel which, hopefully, will accompany you all your years

Great story telling

Joseph Roth uses the style of Yiddish story telling to retell the ancient story of Job. This is a beautiful and poignant story in which all the characters are fully drawn and recognizable from our own lives. Since reading this book, I've gone on to read all Roth's works of fiction. I wish we had writers of his quality today.

Beautiful story

Mendel Singer parallels the biblical Job. Roth's characters are warm and human. The best of all the fictional treatments of the Job story. I particularly appreciated his treatment of the most difficult part of the Book of Job, his final restoration.

I couldn't stop crying or smiling

It is so good to see that people haven't changed in almost 100 years. What moved people then, still moves us today. Life has come full circle. It is among the wisest books about human nature and life's bare essentials.