The Gates of November: Chronicles of the Slepak Family - Hardcover

Potok, Chaim

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0394588673 ISBN 13: 9780394588674

Publisher: Knopf, 1996

Synopsis

From the author of The Chosen comes a work of nonfiction that chronicles the stormy lives of a Jewish father, Solomon Slepak, an infelxible old-guard Bolshevik, and his son, Volodya, who became an internationally renowned "refusenik" hero during the 18 years of his persecution for attempting to leave the Sovviet Union. Potok tells their story with deep understanding and empathy. 13 photos.

About this title

Review:

Potok, well known for his novels of Jewish family life such as The Chosen, turns to nonfiction in The Gates of November, a wrenching family chronicle with a riveting historical undercurrent. The story of the family patriarch, Solomon Slepak, spans most of the book: ignoring his mother's wish that he become a rabbi, Slepak emigrated at 13 to America, became a Marxist in New York, returned to fight in the Russian Revolution, and rose to prominence within the Communist Party. But while Solomon remained a convinced Bolshevik, his son Volodya rejected socialism when anti-Semitism emerged during Stalin's era. Disowned by his father, Volodya was later exiled to Siberia as a dissident. The story of the Slepaks is simultaneously the story of Soviet Jewry and the rise and fall of the Soviet Union.

From the Publisher:

It was my sincere priviledge to work on the hardcover edition of this book. Chaim Potok is an amazingly gifted man, not just his writing, which is extraordinary, but in how he approaches being human. The story of a father and son divided by a faith that would not be supressed, not even in Communist Russia, is heart-breaking. A must read.
A. Scheibe, editorial

About this edition

• Publisher: Knopf
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 0394588673
• ISBN 13: 9780394588674
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 249