Cover Image: A Cobbler's Tale

A Cobbler's Tale

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Member Reviews

This is a great story about a very poor cobbler,living in Germany that took the opportunity to go to America for something better.He left a pregnant wife and three children and promised he would return.in a yr.
Well,things happened as they often do and it ended up being four yrs.and Russia and Germany were at War,before he returned.
His baby Anna,didn't know him his son Hymie,didn't remember him but they needed to move fast and would rekindle their relationship later.
They moved to New York to the East end ghetto, where hundreds of Jews were living,most very poor.
The Cobbler,saw his life improve,as he opened a new shop and the family moved to Long Island to end up living a wonderful life.
Along the way,many things happened, his best friend was killed by a NY gangster and his children grew up.
He encouraged many of the people from his hometown to come to America and he was there for them,to help them with places to live and helped them get jobs.
This was a really a great Historical novel about one special family that was very entertaining.
Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to Read and review "A Cobbler's Tale"by Neil Perry Gordon.

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The Cobbler, Pincus, emigrates to NYC, and meets Jakob on the ship who is on the run. They become friends and start a “ business” together. I really enjoyed this book. It was kind of predictable, but was a very pleasant reading experience.

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I am enthralled with historical novels as they bring history to life. This book gave a great story that depicted the struggles of a family left behind before the war reached them. I can only imagine how many families were torn apart and never reunited. I was not prepared for the way the story ended as I thought for sure it would end with a tragic event. I would read another book by this author.

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Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy of A Cobbler's Tale. What a great read, with great depth, as I felt invested in the lives of each character. I've suggested this book to all my book worm friends as a must read!

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A Cobbler’s Tale: A Novel by Neil Perry Gordon is an interesting look into the lives of three main characters – Pincus, Jakob, and Clara – as they navigator New York City and Poland in the early 1900s. As I read the story, I was introduced to life in a Jewish village in Krzywcza and New York City. I really found the tale to be an intriguing one as I learned more about each individual and their lives and families.

One of the features I enjoyed about A Cobbler’s Tale was that everything seemed to hold a significance. Things that might only seem to have a passing importance to the story are actually more important to the plotline than it first appears. This created for a great tale that was woven together from the first to the last page of the book.

I enjoyed the strong character of Clara who was key for keeping her family together while Pincus immigrated to America. Clara, along with Shmuel, kept the cobbler’s shop running in Krzywcza while raising the children. She also handled difficulties with grace and strength.

Warning and Potential Spoilers

There are a lot of raw details included in the story that are not normally found in books that I review for my blog. For example, there is persecution, gang warfare and violence, murder, rape, and war in general.

(a full review will appear on my Blog - A Mom's Quest to Teach - in late Nov/early December)

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In the early 1900's Pincus from Krzywcza, Poland emigrates to America for a better life for him and his family with the support of his Rabbi. Besides setting himself up in a cobbler's shop which is his trade, he also is tasked with the responsibility of establishing a Landsman Society. This support organization will help others in the Jewish community emigrate from his village as they come to New York and propel Pincus into an important person in his community, which he does not have in his home village.
He does this at a great personal cost as he leaves his family behind. The story of his life in America is well told and it centers on his friends, family and community. It tells of Pincus personal struggles as he strives to do his best but he gets into some interesting situations with his friend Jacob and his plan doesn't always go as he intended.

The other side of the story is of the family he left behind and how his wife Clara survives with the children and the upcoming WW1 before joining Pincus in America.

This is a historical fiction tale which tells of the struggles people faced when families are apart and settling into a new country. It's easy to read and I would recommend this for young adults and others who are fans of this period.

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There is much to recommend this book, the story is interesting, the characters are believable, the action is relatively fast paced. There are several insightful moments and passages scattered throughout. Readers who enjoy period, or historical, fiction should enjoy this author’s first effort at writing a fictional work.

The narrative begins aboard one of the many transatlantic passenger ships plying the Atlantic with immigrants heading to the ‘promised land’ that they believe America to be. This is the period just prior to WWI. Pincus, the protagonist, has essentially abandoned his whole family and livelihood in an effort to escape the persecution and pogroms of his ancestral homeland in southeastern Poland. Though a thoroughly meek fellow he has screwed up his courage to make the voyage with every intention of establishing a cobbler’s shop in the new world and, by the end of his first year, saving enough money to send for his pregnant wife and young children. For various reasons, and because of various people he will meet, his plan will not play out as he expects.

While Pincus can be regarded as the main character there are a host of other interesting and impactful personalities. In fact, at times Pincus himself seems to become less the focus than some other supporting characters. This makes for a more interesting story and allows the reader a broader perspective on the period - and contrasting personalities.

There is also an element of mysticism, especially toward the end of the story.

The final part of the narrative is somewhat anti-climatic. It seems a bit rushed and is not as compelling as some other parts of the book. Having said that, the author does wrap up the various elements of the story on an up beat.

The verdict; a worthy effort, a good read.

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I liked this book. It is my first book by this author. It had a good story to it. I liked the variety of characters in it. I hope to read more books by this author.

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The Cobbler’s Tale begins in a small Jewish community in Galacia, in 1910 it was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. (Today it is in Poland.) Pincus Potasznik, is a second generation cobbler (cobblers repaired, cleaned and made shoes and boots) with a shop inherited from his father, his wife Clara, pregnant, and three children. He is Jewish in a time and place where life is hard and sometimes dangerous for Jews. 1910 is a time of massive emigration from Eastern Europe to America. The first point of settlement was often the Lower East Side area of New York City.

Everyone said things were going to get worse for Jews. His neighbors said Pincus, “go to America, the streets are paved with gold, no body starves, their are no pograms”. After getting up the courage to talk to his Rabbi who encourages him to go he gets up the nerve to tell his wife he is moving to America. The plan is he will, as many men have done, set up housekeeping and start a shop and then after a year come back for her and the children. They will be supported by income from the cobbler shop and he will send money back.

After following his trip to the port, he will meet a man who will be his “partner” in settling in NYC. His friend, with a shady past going to America under a false name, makes a very important connection to what turns out to be a powerful Jewish gangster.

Gordon does a great job taking us along on steerage to America. Everyone is worried about the Ellis Island interview. The friend of Pincus was given the card of a man that helps new arrivals. Every chapter has an exciting turn. We meet crooked Irish cops, gangsters and a beautiful Irish singer who will play a big part in the story.

Four years go by, the NYC cobbler shop is doing well and Pincus sends home money. There is a lot of drama back in Poland and in NYC. Then war breaks out and Pincus knows he must go get his family. So he and his friend head back. After a very emotional reunion and a turmoil filled prelude they are in the way to NYC. But this time they are traveling first class. It was interesting to learn immigrants in first class did not have to go through the interview process on Ellis Island. An official would come on board the ship and do all the paperwork there.

There is just a lot of great detail, cliffhanger turns, fascinating characters in The Cobbler’s Tale.

An immigrant Jew needed help getting a job, a place to live and much more. A very big aid in this were landsmanshaftn organizations whose members all came originally from one particular area. Pincus, with the help of another man from his village, sets up an organization designed for new arrivals from his area. Eventually it has over 300 members. Founding this society gave him a high standing back in his village and in NYC. Any kind of a problem you went to the head of your landsmanshaftn for help.

Gordon does a great job bringing to reality life in the Lower East Side of New York City.

I really enjoyed this book a lot. For those considering this book for young adults there is an R rated near rape seen. Aside from this, this would be very readable by young adults.

For a historical treatment of the NYC Jewish immigrant experience I highly recommend World of Our Fathers The Journey of the East European Jews to America and the Life they Found and Made by Irving Howe.

My bottom line. The Cobbler’s Tale is a first rate historical novel about the Jewish immigrant experience in New York City. The characters are very well developed, you can easily transport your self to the Lower East Side in 1914 through the very elegant prose of Gordon.

Neil Perry Gordon grew up in the village of Monsey, a suburb of New York City, and still lives today not far from his childhood home. His joy of art and fiction writing was kindled during his education at the Green Meadow Waldorf School. He has written two trade books, The Designer’s Coach and An Architect’s Guide to Engineered Shading Solutions. Both books, as well as many trade articles, have been well received and have affirmed Neil’s expertise in the window covering industry. A Cobbler’s Tale is Neil’s first novel and is based loosely on the story of his great-grandparents’ immigration to the Lower East Side...

Mel u

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This is one of those books that I looked so forward to reading based upon the description and the book cover, but the story did not live up to it. I won’t go over what the story is about, the description is very accurate, but what the description doesn’t say is that the story is very superficial, shallow and some of the situations were so farfetched and unbelievable.
The story did not draw me in to care for any of the characters, I don’t want to give any spoilers but I specifically didn’t care for Pincus. Several times I came close to not finishing the book, I kept hoping for it to get better, that didn’t happen. I did find the ending well done, it wrapped up the story and let you know how the characters lives continued. The best I can do on this one is 2**’s.
I do believe this could have been an awesome depiction of a family saga, unfortunately it fell short.
I was given the opportunity to receive this book from Neil Perry Gordon through NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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Story of an immigrant to the US from Eastern Europe. Very similar to other books I have read as to their need to immigrate and the harsh reality of the boat ride across the Atlantic. What was different was the way Pincus settled in on the Lower East Side of NYC and his "friends" way of doing business. Interesting how he rescued his family during WWI.
This could be the story of many people whose grandparents (or great grandparents) came from Eastern Europe to escape anti-Semitism. My father was born on the Lower East Side of NYC about the time that Pincus arrived as his family had left Poland for a better life in the US. I especially liked the descriptions of coming into Ellis Island and what one had to go thru to be processed and allowed to enter America.
Pincus had it a little easier than many people as he came with a trade and was able to quickly set up a shop; at times it almost seemed too easy. I wasn't familiar with Lansman Societies but that seemed to be the way to help many immigrants from one's home area to get adjusted to living in America.
The story goes back and forth between Pincus in America,his family still living in Eastern Europe and how they all cope.
The writing was easy to read and follow. The author did a great job of "painting" a picture of what life was like during the time period and had good character descriptions. At times I thought the story dragged on but overall I enjoyed the story.

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I enjoyed this book albeit it held a dark story. None the less I was riveted to it, waiting for the next installment in the remarkable Jewish migration to the USA. For anyone who has Eastern European links this is a must read - and to anyone who has experienced migration I say the same.

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