The Certificate

Last updated
The Certificate
Certificate book.jpg
The Certificate book cover
Author Isaac Bashevis Singer
CountryUnited States
LanguageYiddish
Publication date
1992
Media typePrint

The Certificate is a novel by Isaac Bashevis Singer, published in English in 1992 (published in Yiddish in 1967). David Bendinger, a poor, young Yiddish writer wishes to emigrate to Palestine from Poland, and because married couples are given preference, he tries to arrange for a marriage certificate to be purchased for him by a wealthy woman whose fiancee lives in Palestine. The narrative deals with the abject poverty of David, as well as his Jewish heritage, and details the rise of both Communism and Zionism.

Reception

Kirkus Reviews gave a positive review, describing the book as being made with "gusto and panache" and called it "a triumph". [1] Publishers Weekly likewise gave a positive review, describing the book as "welcome addition to [Singer]'s oeuvre". [2] Christopher Lehmann-Haupt, writing for the New York Times, gave a mixed review, writing "In the end you follow David Bendinger's adventures only halfway engaged...a certain detachment in Singer's prose always keeps you at arm's length." [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isaac Bashevis Singer</span> Jewish American author (1903–1991)

Isaac Bashevis Singer was a Polish-born Jewish-American novelist, short-story writer, memoirist, essayist, and translator. Some of his works were adapted for the theater. He wrote and published first in Yiddish and later translated his own works into English with the help of editors and collaborators. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1978. A leading figure in the Yiddish literary movement, he was awarded two U.S. National Book Awards, one in Children's Literature for his memoir A Day of Pleasure: Stories of a Boy Growing Up in Warsaw (1970) and one in Fiction for his collection A Crown of Feathers and Other Stories (1974).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Israel Joshua Singer</span> Polish-Jewish novelist

Israel Joshua Singer was a Polish-Jewish novelist who wrote in Yiddish.

Christopher Lehmann-Haupt was an American journalist, editor of the New York Times Book Review, critic, and novelist, based in New York City. He served as senior Daily Book Reviewer from 1969 to 1995.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yiddish literature</span> Genre of written material

Yiddish literature encompasses all those belles-lettres written in Yiddish, the language of Ashkenazic Jewry which is related to Middle High German. The history of Yiddish, with its roots in central Europe and locus for centuries in Eastern Europe, is evident in its literature.

Scandal is a 1986 novel by the Japanese author Shūsaku Endō. Endō was a Japanese Catholic writer whose works, among other things, covered various aspects of the Japanese Catholic experience. He was furthermore a member of the Japanese literary establishment, accounting for the importance of PEN meetings in the work. Aging in Japan was also addressed via commentary on the medical problems suffered by an elderly man.

<i>The Russia House</i> Book by John le Carré

The Russia House is a spy novel by British writer John le Carré published in 1989. The title refers to the nickname given to the portion of the British Secret Intelligence Service that was devoted to spying on the Soviet Union. A film based on the novel was released in 1990 starring Sean Connery and Michelle Pfeiffer, and directed by Fred Schepisi. The BBC produced a radio play starring Tom Baker.

<i>Enemies, A Love Story</i> 1972 novel by Isaac Bashevis Singer

Enemies, A Love Story is a novel by Isaac Bashevis Singer first published serially in the Jewish Daily Forward on February 11, 1966. The English translation was published in 1972.

<i>Brothers</i> (Goldman novel)

Brothers is a thriller novel by William Goldman. It is the sequel to his 1974 novel Marathon Man and is Goldman's final novel.

<i>The Haj</i> (novel) 1984 novel by Leon Uris

The Haj is a novel published in 1984 by American author Leon Uris that tells the story of the birth of Israel from the viewpoint of a Palestinian Arab.

Kathryn Harrison is an American author. She has published seven novels, two memoirs, two collections of personal essays, a travelogue, two biographies, and a book of true crime. She reviews regularly for The New York Times Book Review. Her personal essays have been included in many anthologies and have appeared in Bookforum, Harper's Magazine, More Magazine, The New Yorker, O, The Oprah Magazine, and Vogue, Salon, and Nerve.

Hinde Ester Singer Kreytman, known in English as Esther Kreitman, was a Yiddish-language novelist and short story writer. She was born in Biłgoraj, Vistula Land to a rabbinic Jewish family. Her younger brothers Israel Joshua Singer and Isaac Bashevis Singer subsequently became writers.

<i>The Family Moskat</i> Novel by Isaac Bashevis Singer

The Family Moskat is a novel written by Isaac Bashevis Singer, originally written in Yiddish. It was Singer's first book published in English.

<i>Satan in Goray</i> Novel by Isaac Bashevis Singer

Satan in Goray is a novel by Isaac Bashevis Singer. It was originally published between January and September 1933 in installments in the Yiddish literary magazine Globus in Poland and in 1935 it was printed as a book. It was Singer's first published novel.

Isaac in America: A Journey With Isaac Bashevis Singer is a 1986 documentary made by director Amram Nowak and producer Kirk Simon. It was broadcast on the PBS series American Masters.

The Miracle Game is a Czech novel by Josef Škvorecký published in 1972 by Sixty Eight Publishers in Toronto, Canada. It was translated into English in 1990 by Paul Wilson, and according to The Times is Skvorecky's masterpiece. It was his response to Prague Spring events of 1968 Czechoslovakia. and contains unflattering references to real people, Future Czech President Václav Havel becomes "the world-famous playwright Hejl", the writer Bohumil Hrabal appears as the "gifted non-party novelist Nabal".

<i>A Crown of Feathers and Other Stories</i> Short stories by Isaac Bashevis Singer

A Crown of Feathers and Other Stories is a 1973 book of short stories written by Isaac Bashevis Singer. It shared the 1974 National Book Award for Fiction with Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon. The twenty-four (24) stories in this collection were translated from Yiddish by Singer, Laurie Colwin, and others.

Laurence Shames is an American writer.

<i>Wildlife</i> (novel) 1990 novel by American author Richard Ford

Wildlife is the fourth novel by American author Richard Ford. It was first published in 1990.

<i>The Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys</i>

The Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys is a 1987 book written by Doris Kearns Goodwin and published by Simon & Schuster. It covers two Boston Irish families, the Kennedys and the Fitzgeralds, from John F. Fitzgerald's baptism to John Fitzgerald Kennedy's inauguration. Upon its release, the book's insightfulness and detail were generally praised by several publications. However, in 2002, The Weekly Standard determined that the book plagiarised three other books, which were subject to criticism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1978 Nobel Prize in Literature</span> Award

The 1978 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to the Polish-born American Jewish writer Isaac Bashevis Singer (1902–1991) "for his impassioned narrative art which, with roots in a Polish-Jewish cultural tradition, brings universal human conditions to life." He wrote prolifically in Yiddish and later translated his own works into English with the help of editors and collaborators.

References

  1. "THE CERTIFICATE | Kirkus Reviews". Kirkus Reviews . 1 September 1992. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
  2. "The Certificate by Isaac Bashevis Singer". Publishers Weekly . 1992. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
  3. Lehmann-Haupt, Christopher (7 December 1992). "Books of The Times; On Becoming a Writer and a Man". New York Times . Retrieved 6 February 2024.