From AudioFile
Isaac Bashevis Singer wrote with passion about Jews and their struggles in Europe. In THE SLAVE, Singer tells the story of Jacob, enslaved following a 1648 Polish uprising, and Wanda, a Christian with whom he falls in love. After being freed, Jacob returns to marry Wanda, and they face a life of complications created by their "unthinkable" union. The use of two readers is ideal. David Chandler and Tracy Sallows are flawless as they infuse the characters with intensity and conviction that seem to derive directly from Singer. Chandler provides Jacob with the ideal mix of indignation and righteousness, whether he endures scorn, accepts reverence for his knowledge, or suffers from tragedy. THE SLAVE demonstrates why Singer was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. D.J.S. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine


Review
"The Slave is a burningly radiant, intensely beautiful book. Singer is answering his age like a prophet."--Ted Hughes, The New York Review of Books

"A peerless storyteller, Singer restores teh sheer enchantment with story, with outcome, with what-happens-next that has been denied most readers since their adolescence. There is about him a bardic quality that gives The Slave the strength and authority of a timeless folktale."--David Boroff, Saturday Review



Review
"The Slave is a burningly radiant, intensely beautiful book. Singer is answering his age like a prophet."--Ted Hughes, The New York Review of Books

"A peerless storyteller, Singer restores teh sheer enchantment with story, with outcome, with what-happens-next that has been denied most readers since their adolescence. There is about him a bardic quality that gives The Slave the strength and authority of a timeless folktale."--David Boroff, Saturday Review



Book Description
Four years after the Chmielnicki massacres of the seventeenth century, Jacob, a slave and cowherd in a Polish village high in the mountains, falls in love with Wanda, his master's daughter. Even after he is ransomed, he finds he can't live without her, and the two escape together to a distant Jewish community. Racked by his consciousness of sin in taking a Gentile wife and by the difficulties of concealing her identity, Jacob nonetheless stands firm as the violence of the era threatens to destroy the ill-fated couple.



Language Notes
Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Yiddish


About the Author
Isaac Bashevis Singer (1904-91) was the author of many novels, stories, children's book, and memoirs. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1978.

ANNOTATION

The love story of Jacob, held in bondage, and Wanda, his master's daughter, set in 17th century Poland.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Four years after the Chmielnicki massacres of the seventeenth century, Jacob, a slave and cowherd in a Polish village high in the mountains, falls in love with Wanda, his master's daughter. Even after he is ransomed, he finds he can't live without her, and the two escape together to a distant Jewish community. Racked by his consciousness of sin in taking a Gentile wife and by the difficulties of concealing her identity, Jacob nonetheless stands firm as the violence of the era threatens to destroy the ill-fated couple.

SYNOPSIS

The Slave, published in 1962, by Nobel Laureate, Isaac Bashevis Singer, is set against the events of 1648, when the Cossack leader Bogdan Chmielnitski led an uprising against the aristocratic leaders of Poland. Hundreds of thousands of Jews, caught between the rival armies, were slaughtered and enslaved. For Jacob, a Jew, and Wanda, a Christian, to fall in love in the wake of "The Great Catastrophe" was unthinkable to both their communities. From their story, Singer weaves his greatest novel of passion and devotion.

8 CDs, 10 hours

FROM THE CRITICS

Library Journal

Jacob is a Jew, a pogrom survivor, and a slave of Polish peasants; he lives a simple life as a cowherd, tolerated only because of his skills with animals. Against both Jewish and secular law, he falls in love with Wanda, a Christian. Ransomed by his hometown, he flees with Wanda and begins a new life. But because conversion of Christians is against the law and Wanda (now called Sara) cannot speak Yiddish, she must pose as a mute. In the throes of labor, Wanda finally speaks, dies, and is buried as an outcast, outside the Jewish cemetery. Jacob picks up his son and emigrates to the Holy Land, not to return for 20 years. Except for a few references to specific historical events, this story, set in the late 17th century, is timeless. It is read in alternating sections by two highly competent narrators, Tracy Sallows and David Chandler. The transitions between readers are smooth and add interest to the presentation. Recommended for moderate to large audio fiction collections; a necessary purchase for all Jewish libraries with literature collections.-I. Pour-El, Des Moines Area Community Coll., Boone, IA Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

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