Trumpets of Silver

Harris, Norma

ISBN 10: 052524879X / ISBN 13: 9780525248798

Published by Dutton, (NY et al.), 1990

About this Item

slight discoloration around the edges of the dj.

Seller Inventory # 16416

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Trumpets of Silver
• Publisher: Dutton, (NY et al.)
• Publication Date: 1990
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 052524879X
• ISBN 13: 9780525248798
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: First Printing.
• Condition: Very Good
• Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good
• Seller catalogs:
  • All
  • Fiction

About this title

Synopsis

From the prejudice and pogroms of czarist Russia to the poverty of New York, and from the violence and hatred of World War II to the founding of Israel, the three children of Schmuel Kaminsky carve out their separate destinies

Reviews

As though written by a computer, this formula saga seems programmed to include every facet of Jewish experience worldwide from 1891 through WW II. Escaping a bloody massacre in Odessa in 1891, Shmuel Kaminsky moves his wife and three young children to a muddy village within the Russian pale of Jewish settlement, where obligatory bar mitzvah, bris, Sabbath and betrothal scenes occur. Although bound by tradition and strong family ties, the two older children, Sonia and Joshua, seek better lives elsewhere, their search grinding forward with relentless predictability. Joshua escapes to Palestine, en route meeting Theodore Herzl. After arriving in Chicago and working as a maid, Sonia marries the son of her wealthy employers and brings the remainder of her family to America. In New York her sister marries an aspiring actor with serious character flaws, and begins work in the Triangle Shirtwaist factory. Moving into high gear with the third generation, we are whisked at a dizzying pace through the Depression, WW II and the emergence of the Jewish state. The plot, doomed by stereotypes, becomes reduced to a mind-numbing blur.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Harris's novel follows the fortunes of a Jewish family who flee the pogroms of 19th - century Russia. The eldest son emigrates to Palestine and participates in the founding of the Jewish state. Two daughters come to America, where one marries into wealth while the other joins New York's immigrant community. All three--and later their descendants--must decide how their Jewish faith will affect their lives. While the dramatic plot moves the story briskly along, the novel suffers from an attempt to cram a panoramic family saga into too few pages. There are abrupt transitions, sketchy settings, and some undeveloped characters. Such is the inherent drama of this slice of history, however, that nothing really blunts its impact. This should find readers wherever family sagas are popular.
- Beth Ann Mills, New Rochelle P.L., N.Y.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.