The Assistant: A Novel

I've read this book 50 years after it was published, but unlike some novels, it's not dated at all. Not only does it work well as a period piece, but its portrayal of people, of the body blows dealt by life, and of the way this country doesn't live up to what immigrants think they are going to find is relevant today. I felt the publisher's blurb on the edition I had and some other reviews may have oversimplified or misstated some of the characters. Frank is not some remorseless sociopath who walks in to rob, rape and pillage. Frank is a complex person who for much of the book is caught in a vicious circle of doing wrong, experiencing tremendous pain of conscience, determining to make right what he has done, getting into difficulties, and doing wrong again to get out of a jam. At one point, he is described as a man of morality, and there is hope for him. He's not a thug; that would be Ward, the police officer's son who returns to the neighborhood to commit crimes. Helen takes a long time to realize that she isn't entirely blameless in her involvement with Frank. Whether a rape takes place is somewhat ambiguous, but Helen believes this is what happened. Helen is caught in the trap of waiting for nothing, in her own words. Frank looks better and better given the other choices she has. Morris, Helen's father, looks at his mom and pop grocery store as a prison. Morris is a victim, yet if he had made a little effort to help himself, things may have turned out better for him. He is a terrible businessman, he makes foolish decisions about his health, and he is taken advantage of by everyone. The whole family is caught in a trap by the failing store and grinding poverty that has them in a downward spiral. Morris and Ida are Russian Jews who came to America with the hope of finding something better. It appears the only thing that is better is the absence of pogroms. The people in this book are Italians, Germans, Poles, Norwegians. Today the immigrants come from different countries, but I'm willing to bet that quite a few have the same experience in this country that Morris's family did. Today it may even be worse. Aside from the characters, the author gives a wonderful description of a 1950s Brooklyn neighborhood. The reader can picture everything in such detail it's like watching a DVD in one's head. A book like this will always hold up, and I'm anxious to read more of the author's work. Finally, this novel made TIME magazine's Top 100 novels last year, which is why I picked it up.

It's sad to me that Bernard Malamud's novels seem to be falling by the wayside lately. After reading The Assistant recently, I've been reminded of just how excellent Malamud's writing is. In particular, Malamud is excellent in The Assistant, his best novel. This is definitely one of the must-read novels of the twentieth century. The novel centers around the characters affected by Morris Bober's grocery in a poor neighborhood in Brooklyn. The middle-aged Morris has lost his life working in the unsuccessful store. Because of the economic/spiritual struggles caused by the store, each member of the family has been scarred. Morris's wife Ida has become bitter and cynical. His daughter Helen searches longingly for love and laments the failed realization of her dreams. Then, into their lives comes Frank Alpine, a troubled, depressed man who will become the assistant at the store. The four struggle with one another, attempting constantly to overcome their harsh fate and to obtain some sort of fulfillment together. It's a fairly simple story that reads really well, and remarkably quickly, in my opinion. Despite the simplicity of the story, however, meaning, almost archetypal meaning, ebbs at every moment. It's a beautifully conceived and constructed work touching on themes of morality, justice, redemption, and love. It's very much about what it means to be human. The Assistant is definitely one of those novels that serious readers should catch.

If ever there was a verbally-tight book, it is this. Every page is interesting, every word, and there is never a dull page. In true Melamud style, the stories are short but powerful. The superb writing of the plot moves consistently. However, I did get the feeling toward the end that a number of dramatic sequences seemed crammed at the end, and without the minute attention paid to the earlier part of the story.The plot evolves in post-war, a neighborhood in New York among an aging Jewish grocer whose deli/food store business struggles amidst modernism and greedy competition. The main characters, Morris, his stoic wife Ida and a grown daughter Helen live above the store and work long hours to keep it alive. Daughter Helen yearns to have a loving man and an education. Enter Frank Alpine, a young Italian man who after a criminal act upon Morris, and unbeknown to Morris, Frank lands a job in the store to pay his debt. Here, he continuously fends off his demons while attempting to follow a morally correct life and in his command, the store goes through economic and physical changes that fluctuate greatly, not always good or bad. And, as expected, he falls in love with the daughter and their relationship takes turns and twists too. Immediately, Melamud gives us a distinct picture of the desperation the family endures. You can grasp with ease the images and separation of personalities. This is done with precision applied by the finest authors. We get more than we anticipate, when Melamud provides extensive insight into his character descriptions, and most important, to their thoughts. Above that, he provides us with questions and answers we might need to further develop the characters thoughts and actions. After absorption into the story, I still had questions and I'm sure you will too and maybe it takes another read. Overall, the short classic is excellent. ........MzRizz