"The Magic Barrel" by Bernard Malamud

Bernard Malamud's The Magic Barrel, a collection of thirteen short stories about the lives of Jewish immigrants in America following World War II, is a humorous and poignant take on the human relationships. Though the stories can stand alone and be read in any order, it is best to read them as they appear, beginning with The First Seven Years and ending with The Magic Barrel. Reading in this fashion allows one to see the transition of Malamud's overarching theme; the stories toward the beginning of the book end somewhat ambiguously, with the characters teetering between sadness and loneliness, and redemption and fulfillment. The stories toward the back of the book end ironically, full of existential angst and despair, as the characters experience a catharsis that may or may not be pointless. Ultimately, the book's view can be summed up by a line from one of the book's longer stories, The Lady of the Lake: "...Freeman feared this moment, partly because of all he hungered for from life, and partly because of the uncountable obstacles existing between strangers, may the word forever perish."

Though ultimately the stories end in a downtrodden fashion, it is not to say they are not funny. The stories abound with what can only be called "Jewish humor"...the dialogue reads like something Woody Allen might have written and published in The New Yorker. To some the characters may seem more like caricatures, but the epiphanic moment each one experiences at the end gives them a human quality, as they realize they are alone and no longer want to be, or that they are pushing people away unknowingly. That all of the main characters are Jewish, an insulated group of people if there ever was one, helps Malamud's theme sink in.

The book was purchased used at Mojo's Books and Music for a staggering $2.99. It's a travesty that a book as great as this is reduced to wallowing in the bargain bin, and I suggest you all go out and buy it immediately.

Best Stories: All are fantastic, but the ones that stand out the most are Angel Levine, Behold the Key, Take Pity, The Prison, The Last Mohican, The Loan, and The Magic Barrel.