- Paperback: 384 pages
- Publisher: Grand Central Publishing (Oct 1 1999)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0446675253
- ISBN-13: 978-0446675253
- Product Dimensions: 13.3 x 2.5 x 20.3 cm
- Shipping Weight: 272 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (84 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #562,816 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon
In 1940s Brooklyn, friendship between an 11-year-old Irish Catholic boy and an elderly Jewish rabbi might seem as unlikely as, well, snow in August. But the relationship between young Michael Devlin and Rabbi Judah Hirsch is only one of the many miracles large and small contained in Pete Hamill's novel. Michael finds himself in trouble when he witnesses the 17-year-old leader of the dreaded Falcons gang beating an elderly shopkeeper. For Michael, 1940s Brooklyn is a world still shaped by life in the Old Country, a world where informing on a fellow Irishman is the worst crime imaginable--worse even than the violent crimes committed by some of those fellows. So Michael keeps silent, finding solace in the company of Rabbi Hirsch, a Czech refuge whom he meets by chance. From this serendipitous beginning blossoms a unique friendship--one that proves perilous to both when the Falcons catch up with them.
Interlaced with Hamill's realistic descriptions of violence and fear are scenes of remarkable poignancy: the rabbi's first baseball game, where he sees Jackie Robinson play for the Dodgers; Michael's introduction into the mystical world of the Cabbala and the book's miraculous ending. Hamill is not a lyrical writer, but he is a heartfelt one, and this story of courage in the face of great odds is one of his best. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
In Brooklyn in 1947, Michael Devlin, an 11-year-old Irish kid who spends his days reading Captain Marvel and anticipating the arrival of Jackie Robinson, makes the acquaintance of a recently emigrated Orthodox rabbi. In exchange for lessons in English and baseball, Rabbi Hirsch teaches him Yiddish and tells him of Jewish life in old Prague and of the mysteries of the Kabbalah. Anti-Semitism soon rears its head in the form of a gang of young Irish toughs out to rule the neighborhood. As the gang escalates its violence, it seems that only being as miraculously powerful as Captain Marvel?or a golem?could stop them. Strongly evoking time and place, Hamill (Piecework, LJ 12/95), editor of New York's Daily News, serves up a coming-of-age tale with a hearty dose of magical realism mixed in. Recommended for most public libraries.?Lawrence Rungren, Merrimack Valley Lib. Consortium, Andover, Mass.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most helpful customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
A transcendent tale of faith and friendship,
By A Customer
This review is from: Snow in August (Mass Market Paperback)
If you have a pulse, you will love this book. Whether you are from Brooklyn, Boston or Bangladesh, you will love this book. Whether you are Jewish, Catholic or Athiest, you will love this book! Pete Hamill does a fabulous job of harkoning us back to a simpler time (Brooklyn, circa 1947) without making us think that it was Utopia. The lead characters, Michael Devlin and Rabbi Hirsch, both are longing for acceptance and companionship. The Rabbi lost his wife in the Holocaust. Michael, the 11-year old protagonist of the story, lost his Father in the Battle of the Bulge. An unlikely meeting leads to a mutually beneficial relationship. The Rabbi fine tunes his English and learns the magical appeal of the game of baseball through the boy's teachings. Michael is equally enriched by falling under the spell of the Rabbi's stories and the Yiddish language. As outsiders, both revel in the exploits of Jackie Robinson, who breaks baseball's color line with his combination of skill and grace. Unfortunately, the duo learns that all is not wonderful and safe in postwar Brooklyn. A gang called the Falcons and their leader, Frankie McCarthy, intervenes with menacing intent. The gang inflicts serious beatings on the Rabbi and the boy and with threats of worse consequences lingering, Michael has to turn to his belief in one of the Rabbi's parables to save the day. It is a beautiful tale of friendship. Both lead characters are extremely likeable. The theme of overcoming all odds is exhilirating. Take the leap of faith and enjoy this wonderful novel.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Snow in August by Pete Hamill,
By A Customer
This review is from: Snow in August (Audio Cassette)
The neighborhood in which Hamill is writing about is where I grew up. I was raised around the corner from "the temple, the armory and the factory". I passed by the temple every day on my way to "Catholic school." I can hear a Rabbi blowing the Shofar. I climbed the fence in front of the factory in an attempt to collect my lost Spaldine. The comic books and the New York Yankees were a main stay with local kids. We dreamed of becoming the next Reggie Jackson and Thurmon Munson. We spoke the name Jackie Robinson in hopes that Ebbets Field would come alive again;"Shazam!" We "borrowed" our mother's broomsticks to play stickball.Dreamt of a time when the Dodgers would return home to Brooklyn. We lived a life in which all faiths integrated. Race discriminated amongst our elders. Baseball kept us grounded and occupied. There were local gangs.The reality of "Snow in August" takes on the coldness of another's heart.This shares a common love of language;baseball or Yiddish-the words combine into a homerun at Ebbetts Field. The snow will melt your heart the same way Jackie Robinson stole the hearts of fellow Brooklynites.
3.0 out of 5 stars
A rollercoaster of ups and downs.,
By Kevin Currie-Knight "Education Grad Student" (Newark, Delaware) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Snow in August (Mass Market Paperback)
"Snow in August" seems divided into three parts (at least to me). They are:1.) First 100 pages found me wondering where it all was going and whether it was worth my time to find out. These pages are quite slow and seem to be somewhat aimless (with little hints of a coming story line here and there). 2.) The midsection of the book takes these bland pages and 'clicks' them into place, revealing ever-better characters and a nice forward moving tale. This is the rewarding section 3.) The last forty pages were filled with utter confusion about why in the world the author decided to end what was a great 'earthly' story in such an 'unearthly' way. (those that have read it know what I'm talking about). The ending was compoletely unsatisfying and left an ever-promising book (that escalates the whole way) with a sharp decline and a 'flicker' rather than a 'bang' for an ending. It is not that I wanted the book to end differently and was disappointed that it didn't. Rather it is literally like Pete Hamill stopped writing only to have a completely new writer pick it up and write the ending after the manuscript sat in a desk for 6 years. That's how drastic the change is! All in all, I give it three stars because the characters and scenery are so vivid ('40's New York) and some of the moments so touching (a catholic priest helping a rabbi scrub a spray-painted swastika off his synagogue). I am rarely one who likes over-detailed descriptions of scenery or a character's inner life(don't tell me; show me) but for this book, I gladly made an exceptin as the prose is so well done and the pictures, utterly delightful. But the last 40 pages - I can't emphasise this enough - were so strange as to be...well...inappropriate-feeling. I figured that maybe it was just me - maybe a religious person would've gotten more from this ending than I (as it is very religio-mystical). But all of the devout religionists I know who read this were as troubled by the ending as I was (and a few reviewers, too, from the looks of it). So there you have it: a roller coaster ride of ups and downs. Get the book, don't give up before page 100 (where things really start to fly) but if you don't 'get' the ending, know that not many other people did either.
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