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We look to the best books as examples that fulfill both the basic commandments of writing—entertain, educate, persuade—and the subtle slights of hand that stir something basic within the reader. Henry Roth’s novel/memoir, Call It Sleep, is an example of a book which deserves, perhaps even demands, the title of “classic.” Penned in 1934, Mr. Roth’s only novel was not enthusiastically received until its reissue in 1964, a time when the racial, familial, and societal struggles he describes were likely more relevant to the general reader. Alfred Kazin has called the work, “The most profound novel of Jewish life that I have ever read by an American.” Though that is sweeping praise, it is perhaps too exclusive. Call It Sleep is a thoroughly American book, one which details both the struggles faced by the immigrant throughout the nation’s history and the personal trials that are the torment of every school-aged child. It is novel of hope and despair, of the search for a better life, of the need for independence and tradition. The novel details a few years in the life of young David Schearl, the son of a doting mother and borderline-abusive father, immigrants who are assured of nothing but struggle, hardship, and the self-questioning which unite and divide in alternate.
Approximate Word count = 717
Approximate Pages = 2.9
(250 words per page double spaced)
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