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Synopsis
An unlikely friendship between an eleven-year-old Irish Catholic boy and a lonely rabbi from Prague in 1947 Brooklyn has the two opening new windows of understanding with each other but still fighting the prejudices of the day.
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Once upon a cold and luminous Saturday morning, in an urban hamlet of tenements, factories, and trolley cars on the western slopes of the borough of Brooklyn, a boy named Michael Devlin woke in the dark. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Once upon a cold and luminous Saturday morning, in an urban hamlet of tenements, factories, and trolley cars on the western slopes of the borough of Brooklyn, a boy named Michael Devlin woke in the dark. Read the first page
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
1947, Michael Devlin is eleven years old, an American-Irish boy who lives with his war-widowed mother in Brooklyn, he takes is role as alter bot seriously, but the day he braves a snow storm to fulfil his duties is the day everything changes. While on his way out of the storm a voice pleads for his help, Rabbis Judah Hirsch needs his help. That is just the beginning of what becomes a remarkable friendship and a united bond against a gang of young thugs who are in the unfortunate habit of beating up people.
The friendship between Michael and the Rabbis is beautifully related, as they seal an agreement for Michael to teach the Czechoslovakian Rabbis English and the mysteries of baseball while in return he receives instruction in Yiddish. Michael learns a lot more besides, including much of the history of the Jews in Prague, and becomes an avid student lapping up all he is taught, something which he extends to his school work.
Michael is a delightful boy, a good kid with an insatiable appetite for learning, true to his ideals. Snow in August is a charming story, at times funny, full of hope and the power of faith and of good over evil; it is also a story of what some might call magic, yet believers a miracle.
The friendship between Michael and the Rabbis is beautifully related, as they seal an agreement for Michael to teach the Czechoslovakian Rabbis English and the mysteries of baseball while in return he receives instruction in Yiddish. Michael learns a lot more besides, including much of the history of the Jews in Prague, and becomes an avid student lapping up all he is taught, something which he extends to his school work.
Michael is a delightful boy, a good kid with an insatiable appetite for learning, true to his ideals. Snow in August is a charming story, at times funny, full of hope and the power of faith and of good over evil; it is also a story of what some might call magic, yet believers a miracle.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
"Snow in August" is a beautiful book that I believe has powerful themes. One theme is that of "when good people do not act, bad people flourish." The strength of the Falcons was secured by the silence of people like Michael and his mother. This theme is reminiscent of the Holocaust when the world was silent as Hitler "cleansed" Germany and then more and more countries of Jews.
Another powerful theme in this book is that ignorance is the cause of prejudice and knowledge is the force that destroys it. This was shown by Michael who in befriending and learning from the Rabbi, dissipated his own incorrect ideas about the Jews. The problem that he and many others face is how to deal with people who aren't enlightened.
This was a beautiful work of literature and I congratulate Pete Hamill on effectively conveying such powerful and vivid themes.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
In Pete Hamill's most delightful and magical novel, eleven-year-old Michael Devlin, a young altarboy, meets Rabbi Judah Hirsch, an Orthodox rabbi who has called out to Michael as he is passing the synagogue during a terrible snowstorm in 1947. The rabbi urgently needs someone to turn on the lights for him, but it is the Sabbath, a day of rest and contemplation, and turning on the lights is considered "work." The two strike up an unusual friendship, with Michael teaching the rabbi English, and the rabbi teaching Michael Yiddish. Michael is hoping to read the "magic" books the rabbi has in his library, books about Prague, the Kabbalah, the Golem, miracles, and the secret name of God.
Michael and his widowed mother live in a section of Brooklyn where the majority population is Irish, but it includes gangs of young toughs who prey on other immigrants, especially the Jews. During British rule of Ireland, the Irish developed a code of silence, and they have brought this code and their fear of the authorities with them to Brooklyn. When Michael observes the savage beating of a Jewish storekeeper, the gang threatens Michael if he talks. Though he knows this violence is wrong-and against everything he has learned in church-he obeys the code.
The novel is a morality tale, with a good deal of teaching done by the rabbi--about the past history of the Jews, about Judaism itself, and the mysticism of the Kabbalah--illustrating the misunderstandings of Michael and his friends about a religion which is alien to them, but Hamill goes to considerable lengths to keep the novel from being preachy. Since Michael is only eleven, he carefully limits the point of view to what an eleven-year-old would think and feel. One of the major connections Michael makes with the rabbi is through baseball, which he teaches the rabbi, and as they commiserate about the hitting slump of Jackie Robinson, newly signed by the Dodgers, Michael, identifies with Robinson--someone who has had to ignore hatred and survive taunts.
When the hatred and ignorance shown by the thugs in the neighborhood affect Michael, his mother, and the rabbi even more personally, the story reaches a crisis. Here Hamill abandons the vigorous realism he has shown so far and connects the plot with the mysticism of the Kabbalah and the legend of the Golem of Prague. Warm and affecting, without being maudlin, the novel is Hamill's most personal story, filled with the color and life of postwar Brooklyn at the same time that it is realistic about its prejudices and limitations. Mary Whipple
Michael and his widowed mother live in a section of Brooklyn where the majority population is Irish, but it includes gangs of young toughs who prey on other immigrants, especially the Jews. During British rule of Ireland, the Irish developed a code of silence, and they have brought this code and their fear of the authorities with them to Brooklyn. When Michael observes the savage beating of a Jewish storekeeper, the gang threatens Michael if he talks. Though he knows this violence is wrong-and against everything he has learned in church-he obeys the code.
The novel is a morality tale, with a good deal of teaching done by the rabbi--about the past history of the Jews, about Judaism itself, and the mysticism of the Kabbalah--illustrating the misunderstandings of Michael and his friends about a religion which is alien to them, but Hamill goes to considerable lengths to keep the novel from being preachy. Since Michael is only eleven, he carefully limits the point of view to what an eleven-year-old would think and feel. One of the major connections Michael makes with the rabbi is through baseball, which he teaches the rabbi, and as they commiserate about the hitting slump of Jackie Robinson, newly signed by the Dodgers, Michael, identifies with Robinson--someone who has had to ignore hatred and survive taunts.
When the hatred and ignorance shown by the thugs in the neighborhood affect Michael, his mother, and the rabbi even more personally, the story reaches a crisis. Here Hamill abandons the vigorous realism he has shown so far and connects the plot with the mysticism of the Kabbalah and the legend of the Golem of Prague. Warm and affecting, without being maudlin, the novel is Hamill's most personal story, filled with the color and life of postwar Brooklyn at the same time that it is realistic about its prejudices and limitations. Mary Whipple
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A great book for the first 4/5's.
The begining of this book is fantastic. I love the way Hamill makes you a part of all that goes on in 1947 Brooklyn. Unfortunately the ending is extremely disapointing. Read more
Published on 5 Aug 1999
A unique, one-of-a-kind read
I must admit, I have never read anything such as "snow in August", and perhaps that is the main reason I enjoyed it so much. Read more
Published on 29 July 1999
not for realism freaks
Despite all the wonderful parts of the book, the ending left me wondering if Hamill wants us to believe that running away from a problem or invoking a mystical superman is a... Read more
Published on 13 July 1999
It was a very enjoyable read.
It deserved five stars because of the way it was written, mixing mysticism and reality. Pete Hamill did his homework.
Published on 26 Jun 1999
A fantastic book! A must-read!
I loved Snow in August; it's one of those books that makes you think. I enjoyed reading about the simply days back in the 1940's when kids could be kids, and could just wonder;... Read more
Published on 7 April 1999
All things considered, wish I hadn't
Mostly enjoyed the first 3/4 of the book, but wound up VERY disappointed in where the author took the lead character. Read more
Published on 16 Feb 1999
Pages of engrossing drama and beautiful imagery.
This book quickly engages the reader with the promise of its heroes and the beauty of its imagery. The feeling that you were actually there, watching, will come back to haunt you... Read more
Published on 12 Feb 1999
a valuable addition to my small, but select, library
It has been a long time since I read a contemporary book this good. The payoff was excellent and very satisfying! Read more
Published on 12 Feb 1999
This book made my heart sing!
This is the kind of book that will lift your spirits and remind you that miracles do happen -especially those created by friendship and loyalty. Read more
Published on 6 Feb 1999
Michael befriends a rabbi, and then battles anti-semitism
I really liked how a kid that was non-Jew created something only a Famous Rabbi could make. The plot has a lot going on, which makes the book really wonderful.
Published on 2 Feb 1999
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