Review of A Cobbler's Tale
1 posts
[Following is a volunteer review of "A Cobbler's Tale" by Neil Perry Gordon.]
I rate A Cobbler's Tale by Neil Perry Gordon four out of five stars. The editing is well done with few no errors that I noticed. The book has some profanity, but it lends a realistic quality to the characters. Speaking of characters, the author did a lovely job introducing them and their subsequent development. Clara's character development and growth made her my favorite character, perhaps surprisingly. I found the period interesting, and the book was an intriguing look at Jewish life in New York City as an immigrant at the beginning of the early twentieth century. I learned a lot about Jewish culture, American immigration policies of the early twentieth century, American and world history, and other aspects of the intersectional experiences of the main characters. The book was slow to start and I wasn't initially sure if I liked the narration style, but it grew on me. Once Pincus arrives in New York, the book picks up rapidly. It is written as a multi-POV; you bounce back and forth between the main characters, Pincus, Clara, and Jacob, with a few POVs from other characters, such as Moshe, one of Pincus and Clara's sons. It was a gripping page-turner as I reached the end of the book more quickly than I had anticipated, unable to put it down. A tale of adventure, romance, tragedy, drama, and a bit of comedy, Gordon did an excellent job in this historical fiction, loosely based on the lives/experiences of his great-grandparents. One of my favorite things about the book was the character names and how unfamiliar they were to me.
I would have liked it if the author had prolonged some of the suspense by not solving problems quite so expeditiously and by not wrapping up the ending so quickly. The ending effectively wrapped things up but would have been more enjoyable had it been fleshed out to the same level as the rest of the book.
I recommend this book to anyone interested in historical fiction, Judaism, early twentieth-century American history, or World War I.
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A Cobbler's Tale
View: on Bookshelves |
I rate A Cobbler's Tale by Neil Perry Gordon four out of five stars. The editing is well done with few no errors that I noticed. The book has some profanity, but it lends a realistic quality to the characters. Speaking of characters, the author did a lovely job introducing them and their subsequent development. Clara's character development and growth made her my favorite character, perhaps surprisingly. I found the period interesting, and the book was an intriguing look at Jewish life in New York City as an immigrant at the beginning of the early twentieth century. I learned a lot about Jewish culture, American immigration policies of the early twentieth century, American and world history, and other aspects of the intersectional experiences of the main characters. The book was slow to start and I wasn't initially sure if I liked the narration style, but it grew on me. Once Pincus arrives in New York, the book picks up rapidly. It is written as a multi-POV; you bounce back and forth between the main characters, Pincus, Clara, and Jacob, with a few POVs from other characters, such as Moshe, one of Pincus and Clara's sons. It was a gripping page-turner as I reached the end of the book more quickly than I had anticipated, unable to put it down. A tale of adventure, romance, tragedy, drama, and a bit of comedy, Gordon did an excellent job in this historical fiction, loosely based on the lives/experiences of his great-grandparents. One of my favorite things about the book was the character names and how unfamiliar they were to me.
I would have liked it if the author had prolonged some of the suspense by not solving problems quite so expeditiously and by not wrapping up the ending so quickly. The ending effectively wrapped things up but would have been more enjoyable had it been fleshed out to the same level as the rest of the book.
I recommend this book to anyone interested in historical fiction, Judaism, early twentieth-century American history, or World War I.
******
A Cobbler's Tale
View: on Bookshelves |
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