The Assistant

E381997

The Assistant is a 1957 novel by Bernard Malamud that explores themes of guilt, redemption, and immigrant life in mid-20th-century America through the relationship between a Jewish shopkeeper and his troubled assistant.

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All labels observed (1)

Label Occurrences
The Assistant canonical 2

Statements (39)

Predicate Object
instanceOf novel
author Bernard Malamud
centralRelationship relationship between a Jewish shopkeeper and his assistant
countryOfOrigin United States of America
surface form: United States
depicts Jewish immigrant life in America
struggles of small shopkeepers
explores assimilation and cultural preservation
atonement for wrongdoing
conflict between ethical ideals and personal desire
poverty and economic hardship
featuresCharacter Frank Alpine
Helen Bober
Ida Bober
Morris Bober
followsWorkOfAuthor The Natural
genre literary fiction
novel of immigrant life
hasApproximateLength about 250–300 pages
hasCriticalReception critically acclaimed
hasForm prose
hasISBN 9780374504844
hasNarrativePerspective third-person narration
hasReputation one of Bernard Malamud's major works
hasTargetAudience adult readers
includedIn 20th-century American literature canon
language English
literaryMovement postwar American literature
mainTheme Jewish identity
guilt
immigrant experience
moral responsibility
redemption
protagonist Frank Alpine
Morris Bober
publicationYear 1957
publisher Farrar, Straus and Giroux
surface form: Farrar, Straus and Cudahy
settingCity New York City
settingCountry United States of America
surface form: United States
settingPeriod mid-20th-century America

Referenced by (2)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Bernard Malamud notableWork The Assistant