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Among the Living: A Novel Hardcover – October 4, 2016
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A moving novel about a Holocaust survivor’s unconventional journey back to a new normal in 1940s Savannah, Georgia
In late summer 1947, thirty-one-year-old Yitzhak Goldah, a camp survivor, arrives in Savannah to live with his only remaining relatives. They are Abe and Pearl Jesler, older, childless, and an integral part of the thriving Jewish community that has been in Georgia since the founding of the colony. There, Yitzhak discovers a fractured world, where Reform and Conservative Jews live separate lives–distinctions, to him, that are meaningless given what he has been through. He further complicates things when, much to the Jeslers’ dismay, he falls in love with Eva, a young widow within the Reform community. When a woman from Yitzhak’s past suddenly appears–one who is even more shattered by the war than he is–Yitzhak must choose between a dark and tortured familiarity and the promise of a bright new life.
Set amid the backdrop of America’s postwar south, Among the Livinggrapples with questions of identity and belonging, and steps beyond the Jewish experience as it situates Yitzhak’s story within the last gasp of the Jim Crow era. That he begins to find echoes of his recent past in the lives of the black family who work for the Jeslers–an affinity he does not share with the Jeslers themselves–both surprises and convinces Yitzhak that his choices are not as clear-cut as he might think.
- Print length320 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherOther Press
- Publication dateOctober 4, 2016
- Dimensions6.3 x 1 x 9.3 inches
- ISBN-101590518039
- ISBN-13978-1590518038
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Editorial Reviews
Review
“In this amazing novel full of plot twists, Rabb examines true love, fair treatment to people of all races, how to practice honorable journalism, and what it means to be truly alive.” —Library Journal
“Rabb is an accomplished storyteller with an eye for telling detail and for dialogue.” —Kirkus
“With prose that melds grace with gravitas, full-blooded characters and a story whose joys and sorrows resonate, Rabb creates a novel that asks compelling questions…Each query confronts the reader and requires a thoughtful answer. That rare novel that demands full intellectual and emotional involvement, Among the Living resounds with power and relevance, perception and humanity.” —Richmond Times-Dispatch
"Effective and chilling." —Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“Historical fiction at its best.” —Florida Times-Union
"Rabb sublimely navigates Yitzhak's desperate search for something resembling the life he'd once known." —Atlanta Magazine
“Jonathan Rabb is one of my favorite writers, a highly gifted heart-wise storyteller if ever there was one. From its first pages, Among the Living carries you into a particular time and setting, and into the lives of people with whom you are entirely unfamiliar and holds you there with a story that will almost certainly stay with you for years to come. What a powerful, moving book.” —David McCullough, Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award–winning author, and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom
“A sensitive and well-observed journey that brings the texture and spirit of its era vividly to life. Rabb’s humanistic gaze places Among the Living among the timeless American stories about identity.”
—Geoffrey Fletcher, Academy Award-winning screenwriter of Precious
“Among the Living is a beautifully written and immensely readable love story. Jonathan Rabb has created an original and penetrating study of Judaism in the deep south and the many forms it takes.” —Alfred Uhry, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Driving Miss Daisy
“With a delicate but sure touch, Jonathan Rabb delves into questions of racial identity, religious expression, and cultural assimilation. His is a nuanced and evocative novel, no less readable for its rich complexity.” —Christina Baker Kline, best-selling author of Orphan Train
“Among the Living contains multitudes. It’s wry and moving, lyrical and direct, historical and timely, Jewish and (above all) American. It’s the best book I’ve read in a while.” —Darin Strauss, author of Half a Life, winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for Autobiography
“An insightful and evocative antidote to nostalgia about the ‘good old days’ of America’s post-World War II era.” —Mary Doria Russell, author of The Sparrow, A Thread of Grace, and Epitaph
About the Author
Product details
- Publisher : Other Press (October 4, 2016)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 320 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1590518039
- ISBN-13 : 978-1590518038
- Item Weight : 1.28 pounds
- Dimensions : 6.3 x 1 x 9.3 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #1,840,496 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #725 in Jewish Historical Fiction
- #1,380 in Jewish Literature & Fiction
- #40,855 in Literary Fiction (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

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Customer reviews
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Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers find this historical novel beautifully written and captivating, with one review noting how the author skillfully handles the psychology of Holocaust survivors. The book receives positive feedback for its readability, with one customer describing it as a "huge page turner." Customers appreciate its insightful content, with one review highlighting its philosophical and lyrical intricacies. The character development receives mixed reactions, with some customers finding them relatable while others note they could be better developed.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers praise the book's story quality, finding it a wonderful historical novel with an interesting backdrop. One customer highlights the author's skillful handling of Holocaust survivors' psychology, while another notes how it identifies struggles among various groups of people.
"...Jonathan Rabb skillfully handles the psychology of Holocaust survivors, the intra-faith tensions of post-WW2 American Jewry, and the Southern Black..." Read more
"This was an interesting story. I enjoy people history, especially when tied into real historical events...." Read more
"...as it challenges, with a beautifully written story that never shies away from the big issues. Highly recommended." Read more
"...know was how prevalent the Jewish faith was in Savannah...the history was interesting...." Read more
Customers find the book enjoyable to read, with one describing it as wonderfully rich and another noting it's a quick read.
"...His characters are sympathetic. This is a book worth reading." Read more
"This is a wonderfully rich book...." Read more
"...Overall, a decent read but not one I recommend unless you have interest in Jewish faith and unions in Savannah." Read more
"One of the better books that I have read this year. A Holocaust survivor finds himself in Savannah Georgia." Read more
Customers praise the writing quality of the book, describing it as beautifully written and readable, with one customer noting the accurate dialects and another highlighting the multilayered dialogue.
"...I found the book to be absorbing and thought-provoking. Rabb writing is elegant but readable. His characters are sympathetic...." Read more
"...rare novel that rewards as much as it challenges, with a beautifully written story that never shies away from the big issues. Highly recommended." Read more
"I loved this book for its characters, its color, its voice...." Read more
"Among the Living is a lovely, subtle novel telling the vivid and gripping story of a less-known aspect of Savannah...." Read more
Customers find the book insightful and captivating, with one review highlighting its philosophical and lyrical intricacies.
"...I found the book to be absorbing and thought-provoking. Rabb writing is elegant but readable. His characters are sympathetic...." Read more
"...of power and prejudice for several different groups of people were so engaging! The last line of the book is a perfect image of its theme...." Read more
"Among the Living is a lovely, subtle novel telling the vivid and gripping story of a less-known aspect of Savannah...." Read more
"Book very well written with continuing interest and questions of outcomes. Interesting and varied characters...." Read more
Customers praise the book's vivid imagery, with one noting how it captures Savannah's 1940s atmosphere, while another appreciates how the characters provide a colorful backdrop to the story.
"...The people around him gave a backdrop, African americans, issues with unions and a love interest rounded out the story." Read more
"...The last line of the book is a perfect image of its theme. We'll be thinking about this story for a long time." Read more
"Among the Living is a lovely, subtle novel telling the vivid and gripping story of a less-known aspect of Savannah...." Read more
"...and each with its own tension as to outcome, and a great picture of life in post-war Savannah of the 1940s-- these elements make Among the Living a..." Read more
Customers have mixed opinions about the character development in the book, with some finding them relatable while others point out issues with vague descriptions and unclear dialogue.
"...The main characters are all good people, struggling with their inner demons. I found the book to be absorbing and thought-provoking...." Read more
"...The book would have needed to be longer and the character m could have been better developed." Read more
"I loved this book for its characters, its color, its voice...." Read more
"...Interesting and varied characters. Disappointed that ending was unrealistic in wrapping things up so neatly." Read more
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on June 20, 2017"Among the Living" has several threads intertwined in one excellent read. Jonathan Rabb skillfully handles the psychology of Holocaust survivors, the intra-faith tensions of post-WW2 American Jewry, and the Southern Black experience, without ever being heavy-handed or condescending. The main characters are all good people, struggling with their inner demons.
I found the book to be absorbing and thought-provoking. Rabb writing is elegant but readable. His characters are sympathetic.
This is a book worth reading.
- Reviewed in the United States on June 20, 2020This was an interesting story. I enjoy people history, especially when tied into real historical events. The assimilation of Ike into the Jewish community in Savannah during the 1940s showed the perseverance of this man having to put the horrors of, what we now know as the, Holocaust behind him. The people around him gave a backdrop, African americans, issues with unions and a love interest rounded out the story.
- Reviewed in the United States on December 14, 2016This is a wonderfully rich book. Having lived in the south for the last 30 years, I was surprised to discover so many layers of the culture that were new to me. And I also found the book to be fearless in the way it dealt with a man who has survived the worst of the Second World War and then must confront a different kind of racism in America. I was with Ike Goldah every step of the way as he found his way back to the living - through love and friendship and a newfound purpose. Among the Living is that rare novel that rewards as much as it challenges, with a beautifully written story that never shies away from the big issues. Highly recommended.
- Reviewed in the United States on November 19, 2018Maybe I'm confused by this because I didn't read it through at one time but I struggled to "get" the internal conflicts even though the book lays out the external conversations as well as "Ike's" thought. I didn't really feel it had an "ending" but that's maybe because of my confusion. One thing I did not know was how prevalent the Jewish faith was in Savannah...the history was interesting. Overall, a decent read but not one I recommend unless you have interest in Jewish faith and unions in Savannah.
- Reviewed in the United States on August 14, 2018I loved this book for its characters, its color, its voice. The complex structures of power and prejudice for several different groups of people were so engaging! The last line of the book is a perfect image of its theme. We'll be thinking about this story for a long time.
- Reviewed in the United States on November 3, 2016Among the Living is a lovely, subtle novel telling the vivid and gripping story of a less-known aspect of Savannah. Rabb has always been a master of dramatic tension, and in this novel he builds an intricate cat's cradle of character relationships. Any vibration in any one part of the string (or character's path) creates vibrations in all the others. Savannah is, and was, a close-knit community, an assembly of its component communities -- Jewish, African American, Caucasian, all dealing with the weight of history. The legacies of slavery and the holocaust haunt this book, but (spoiler alert!?!) the ultimate message Among the Living is one of hope.
- Reviewed in the United States on November 24, 2016Book very well written with continuing interest and questions of outcomes. Interesting and varied characters. Disappointed that ending was unrealistic in wrapping things up so neatly.
- Reviewed in the United States on February 21, 2020I loved this story…taking place right after WWII in the Jewish community of Savannah, Georgia. I could not put it down…the themes of southern slavery, love after the war between a German death camp survivor and a southern Jew, the conservative and protective southern ways in the Jewish world in the South and racketeering that targeted the Jews after the war-it’s all there. Very thought-provoking, satisfying and suspenseful! Thank you, Jonathan Rabb!
Top reviews from other countries
- Alexander P.Reviewed in Canada on January 12, 2017
2.0 out of 5 stars it's really a very ordinary and largely unsuccessful attempt at a best seller.
Despite its historical interest--not a lot of fiction delves into Jewish politics in the pre-civil-rights American South--this novel suffers from a creaky plot, crudely drawn characters, and a pedestrian "literary" style. Marketed as an important literary work, it's really a very ordinary and largely unsuccessful attempt at a best seller.