Prayers for the Living

by Alan Cheuse, Tova Mirvis (Foreword)

Prayers for the Living is a novel both grand in its vision and loving in its familiarity. Presented in a series of conversations between grandmother Minnie Bloch and her companions, Alan Cheuse, National Public Radio commentator on All Things Considered, unfolds a layered family portrait of three generations of the Bloch family, whose members are collapsing under everyday burdens and brutal betrayals. Her son Manny is a renowned, almost legendary rabbi. Respected by his congregants and surrounded by family, no one suspects that he yearns for a life of greater personal glory, but when an oracular bird delivers what Manny believes to be a message from his deceased father, he abandons his congregation in pursuit of a life in business and his entire life spirals out of control.

As Manny's fortunes rise in the corporate realm, he falls deeper into an affair with a congregant, a Holocaust survivor, his wife sinks deeper into alcoholism and depression and his daughter, traumatized by a sexual scandal at college, makes Manny the target of a plot to shatter his newly-found empire. The devoted family matriarch, Minnie, observes and recounts the tragic downfall of her family, unable to save them from themselves.

Genres: Fiction, Jewish

392 pages, ebook

First published February 16, 2015

About the author

American writer and critic.
For more than two decades, Alan Cheuse has served as NPRs voice of books. He is the author of three novels, including The Grandmothers Club and The Light Possessed, several collections of short stories, and a pair of novellas recently published in The Fires. He is also the editor of Seeing Ourselves: Great Early American Short Stories and co-editor of Writers Workshop in a Book. Stories and co-editor of Writers Workshop in a Book."
Forthcoming in March, 2015, the novel
Prayers for the Living...
Born in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, Cheuse grew up in a Jewish family, the son of a Russian immigrant father and a mother of Russian and Romanian descent

Reviews

[Elyse Walters · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grandma...Minnie Bloch, is having a conversation with her friend---(two jewish Bubbies- grandmothers), shmoozing together over coffee. Minnie is going to tell her friend
'everything' about the accident on Yom Kippur ...when her son, Manny - The Rabbi - fell-
She has a long story to tell...so she better 'hold her horses'.

It's Yom Kippur, The Jewish High Holiday. Everyone is a little cranky to begin
with from being hungry. Manny is about to walk to the Temple to lead his congregation
in prayer for the day...
You can feel the tension in the house in the morning. The daughter, Sarah, is being sarcastic. His wife, Mady, just threw up in the toilet bowl, and Minnie doesn't know what to do with
herself without cooking in the kitchen. ( it's 'Fast Day')
Manny, is a man with three woman- mother- wife-daughter- whom he understands as much as he understands cars --
'Not Much'
There is a 4th women in Manny's life -- A Holocaust survivor... A member of the congregation,
whom he is having an affair with.
Many is also business partners with his brother, Mordecai. ....
For many years... Manny has felt like he is a man living mostly for other people including his dead father.
Manny falls from the pulpit ... In front of his entire congregation. He soon steps down as Rabbi-
with ambitious plans of making more money.
His part- time business job becomes full time. He's very successful working for a International Corporation....yet at the same time so many other things in his life are falls apart....with his
family, and his spiritual faith.

This story turned out to be a little closer to home for me personally than I had any idea it would be. My first cousin, Born Michael..( later changed his name to Moses), - one of the Rabbi's in our daughter's Bat Mitvah- stepped down as the active Rabbi of a congregation in Los Angeles, to practice Law. His family suffered. He got divorced. Their only daughter felt abandoned...
He later re-married. ( got divorce again). Basically - many of us were worried about my cousin
when he fell into depression.

What's so beautiful about "A Prayer For The Living"...is Minnie... 'Her voice' ... She isn't asking God to look after her dead husband...she is requesting he - or she- please look after
her family that *IS LIVING*! ( Jewish Law values the living)
Minnie a Jewish Grandmother ... who loves her family more than life
Itself... and is a damn great storyteller ... "A Connoisseur Conversationalist"... a wise woman
to boot!

A Mother's Prayer:
"Since I cannot stand up in the synagogue or temple to pray I make this silent requests of You,
God, whoever You are, wherever You are --a burning bush, a naked back, a cry in the night,
a great big white, flapping, winged bird. Whoever. Whatever. Dear God. Please keep my children
from harm, my one child actually, the rabbi, and his child."

Thank You to FIG TREE BOOKS publishing, Edelweiss, and the wonderful - heartfelt author,
Alan Cheuse, for the opportunity to read this book.

[Brenda Schneider · Rating 4 out of 5]

Drew me in at the start and kept me until the end. Really enjoyed the story. I was a pleasure to read. I received the book through goodreads for an honest review.

[Kathryn in FL · Rating 3 out of 5]

Author Alan Cheuse proves that he is capable writing about tough subjects. He incorporates a number of themes: Loss of Innocence; The Impact of Betrayal; The Allure of Money; and Money Can't Buy Happiness are intricately interwoven among the four members of the Bloch family, headed by a former Rabbi, Manny Bloch who becomes the uber businessman with great successes. Cheuse also exerts mastery of symbolism as it relates to death and the circle of life. This story is not only a story of the lack of fulfillment even those who are successful find but is a look into the minds of several people impacted by harsh experiences.

The rabbi's tragic childhood and his rise to success and ultimately his fall are all narrated by his mother, Minnie Bloch as she relays his story to various friends and to his mistress and ultimately his daughter, who played a role in unmasking him to the world. Her narration is clear and believable as a Jewish Grandmother. Cheuse writing is strong through Minnie, whose observations are exacting and at times melodic though very serious as this she comments to Manny's mistress, a holocaust survivor "...not like the killer in Europe, those who gave you your numbers, they were like lovers and mothers to a dream of murder, nursing it at all cost..." Her voice is strong and at times generous towards her only son, at one point stating that his deceased father, whom he hears speaking through birds at pivotal life points, encouraged him to make some of his life altering choices.

Unfortunately, Minnie is very verbose and so overly descriptive that the reader wonders how long it will take to hear her story. We also wonder why she doesn't share the details with only one person but that it takes years for her to tell based on the various settings and the decline of her health. The mysteries unraveled very slowly and I at times became frustrated. This book was originally published under a different name, "The Grandmothers' Club: A Novel" back in 1995, which apparently didn't win a lot of readers. Likewise, I suspect that one reader/reviewer prior to today’s date either failed to completely read this book or heavily skimmed as the review is full of erroneous statements. Midway, I was tempted stop but I felt obligated to finish out of respect to the author and readers alike. This book needed to be on a diet, it could have lost 100 pages and still kept the authenticity and key points viable to a comprehensive story.

I gave three stars because although the author is talented and incorporated multiple themes and symbols into the story, it was tiresome. It appears from the foreword that Cheuse aspires to the literary success of people such as Chekhov, Joyce, Hemingway, Woolf, Malamud and Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It is always wonderful to admire the most talented; however, I, myself do not see this story as accomplishing this goal.

I would recommend this to those who like the use of symbolism and immigrant tales. I wished I had enjoyed it more.

Although billing is given to Tova Mirvis, she did not participate in the authorship of manuscript but only in the foreword. This use of her name gives the book added allure, which is in my opinion is a dishonest means to sell more books.

Thank you to Amazon Vine for providing this book in exchange for an honest review. 3/15

[B · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. Minnie, the mother of Manny, is the eccentric narrator. Her sincerity in wanting to change her families fate, but ultimately being a powerless onlooker, is a central theme of the story.

The narrative begins as a two way conversation between Minnie and her friend Mrs. Pinksker. After the first section, that style ends, the rest of the book is Minnie discussing family drama with no interaction with her listeners. I felt that back and forth discussion style was very natural and suited the book well. I was disappointed when it abruptly ended.

Prayers for the Living becomes a real page turner towards the end while detailing Manny's downfall. This is a tragic story you will appreciate.

I won this book through Goodreads first reads giveaway.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won this book in a goodreads.com giveaway...thank you.
I found "Prayers for the Living" to be a wonderful book. A grandmother and her family well it grabbed me from the first page and I still occasionally think about it. The characters are wonderful and the narrative writing style is terrific. This book is now being passed among my family and everyone who reads it loves it. I highly recommend.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this story and like the idea of it being told by the mother/grandmother but honestly it just felt weird to hear about the sex/intimate scenes described by her about her own son. That said it is a great story and appreciate the publisher providing a free copy through a Goodreads giveaway for an honest review.

[Erika Dreifus · Rating 5 out of 5]

At Fig Tree Books, where I'm Media Editor, we've all long admired Alan Cheuse's NPR book reviews. But as soon as I joined the Company, I had the opportunity read this remarkable book, which will be our inaugural release. I hope that all of you will do the same!

[Melody · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book, which I won and was a first reader. I liked the use of narrative, it make the book stand out among other things I've read lately.

[Ellyn Kaschak · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good, engaging story of a particular genre. Enjoyable

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story sucked me in and I loved every minute I spent reading it!

[Pennie · Rating 5 out of 5]

An accomplished author 'Alan Cheuse' is not new to the publishing world of both fiction and non fiction. He has been described as "The Voice of Books" on National radio and has been reading to America every week on NPR. He writes poetry, essays, short stories, and novels.

'Prayers for the Living' is not its first publication and has stood the test of time for a few decades. First published in the 1980's, a novel nicely represented throughout three generations of the 'Block' family through conversations between a grandmother 'Minnie Block' and her companions. The pages fill scenes of betrayal, scandal, revenge, and tragedy.

Observations through the eyes of Minnie explore a dark path of family members and her son 'Manny' who leaves his life as a rabbi to follow in pursuit with a career in business. This incidentally leads to be a successful venture for him but there are many ups and down that make a profound imprint in his life. (No spoilers)

An extremely deep and detailed reading, one of which portrays a tragic ruin that Minnie witnesses but is unable to control. Strong poetic consequences with high emotional surroundings follow -
Quote:
"Some dark night warm with cirrus clouds, flavored with citrus winds, he and the greased child had sipped mint tea together, and spoke in the language of the dream songs."

The backdrop is visually stimulating in your minds eye as imagination leaps forth. A smoothly written dialogue that reads a harboring message. I thoroughly enjoyed it and give it a 5 star review.

[Susanna Natti · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is, as the back cover blurb says, a tour de force in writing. Alan Cheuse somehow manages to combine seamlessly the speaking voice, deliciously cadenced, of a Jewish immigrant mother/grandmother AND her inner thoughts, which are expressed without an accent and even poetically while still allowing the reader to understand that both these differently expressed voices are authentic. The plot itself is simple: son of immigrants rises spectacularly and then suffers a devastating downfall because of his relationships within his family. I rated this 4 stars instead of 5 because I recommend it for reading with a caveat: it took me about one third of the way into the book before I understood how Minnie Bloch's two "voices" worked (my fault - in looking back, I see that she did offer an explanation of how it was that she could "see" what was happening to her family without actually witnessing it) and then I found the telegraphed downfall so sad and disturbing that I needed breaks from reading it. The last 50 or so pages redeemed it all. These criticisms are based on my own emotional reaction to the book - maybe my star rating should rise because of that - Alan Cheuse engaged my discomfort.

[SundayAtDusk · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story was first published almost 30 years ago, under the title The Grandmothers' Club: A Novel, and was 30 pages less than the ARC of Prayers for the Living: A Novel. (The extra pages in this edition may mean author Alan Cheuse added more to his story, or it's just formatted differently.) According to the preface of this book, Mr. Cheuse got the idea of writing the story after reading about the suicide of Eli Black, a rabbi turned businessman who killed himself in 1975, during a financial scandal involving his company's banana plantations. Eli Black became Manny Bloch in this novel, and it is his mother Minnie Bloch who tells the story. She is the "all-knowing, all forgiving mother confessor--the archetypical overseeing female, from whom all life flows", as the author describes her in the preface.

What that translates into is that Minnie Bloch knows things about her son's life and the lives of others that no human mother could possibly know. That starts seeming a bit weird, too, when she discusses intimate details about her son's love life, including his private times with his mistress, a Holocaust survivor. Thus, it's best from the start to see mother and grandmother Minnie as both a real character in the story and an omniscient narrator. The way she tells the story is in very old-fashioned Jewish grandmother talk, which will please some readers to no end and probably highly aggravate others. I personally love the talk, and I'm not sure why either, since I did not grow up listening to the constant conversations of older Jewish women, as Mr. Cheuse said he did as a child growing up in New Jersey. All I can figure is I often heard the talk on television as a child and internalized it.

The story itself is about Rabbi Bloch being able to solve the problems of those who belong to his synagogue, but not being able to do the same for his own family. His wife has a drinking problem and his daughter is alienated. He is also being drawn more and more into his brother-in-law's business, which eventually leads him to give up his life as a rabbi and become a highly successful businessman. Becoming a businessman does not make him a better husband or father. Yet, in many ways Manny Bloch is highly likable. What motivates him the most throughout his entire life is the death of his father, something he witnessed at the age of eight. With no father and no son, he is a man surrounded by women; two he can't seem to help or make happy, and one who would do anything in the world to help him and make him happy. That latter one is of course his mother, the teller of this sad, epic tale of mothers, fathers, sons and daughters.

(Note: I received a free ARC of this book from Amazon Vine.)

[Peacejanz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book from Goodreads. It is a delightful stream of consciousness from a good Jewish mother. Of course, her son and her daughter-in-law and her granddaughter and her son's "girlfriend/mistress" never give her enough attention or listen to her but what does she care. She is just the mother of the famous rabbi who wants to be in business but who has a great congregation. What can she do? The author is book reviewer for NPR and his prose is beautiful. It is as if Manny the rabbi or his mother were sitting in my living room telling me about their troubles.

[Brittany Fritz · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was hard to get through. It was from the thoughts and perspective of the grandmother through the entire store and her "thoughts" kept jumping between the story (the past) and what she was currently doing (the present). Hard to keep up with.

[Connie · Rating 4 out of 5]

FTC Disclosure: I received this book free from Goodreads hoping I would review it.