The Golem

by Isaac Bashevis Singer, Uri Shulevitz (Illustrator)

A clay giant miraculously brought to life by a saintly rabbi saves a Jewish banker who has been falsely accused in the Prague of Emperor Rudolf II.

Genres: Fantasy, Jewish, Fiction, Classics, Mythology, Nobel Prize, Childrens

85 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1969

About the author

Isaac Bashevis Singer was a Polish American author of Jewish descent, noted for his short stories. He was one of the leading figures in the Yiddish literary movement, and received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1978.
His memoir, "A Day Of Pleasure: Stories of a Boy Growing Up in Warsaw", won the U.S. National Book Award in Children's Literature in 1970, while his collection "A Crown of Feathers and Other Stories" won the U.S. National Book Award in Fiction in 1974.

Reviews

[Kenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully told.

[LaCitty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Racconto delizioso. Singer riprende il mito del Golem, il gigante d'argilla costruito da un rabbino per proteggere uno dei membri della comunità ebraica di Praga da accuse chiaramente false e antisemite. Nonostante la brevità, è un racconto ricco di tematiche importanti: non solo quella dell'antisemitismo, della corruzione e della menzogna per interesse, ma in senso più ampio il rapporto con il diverso (ebrei vs cristiani, ma anche persone vs golem), il rapporto tra uomo e Dio, come l'umanità spesso sfidi i limiti imposti da Dio e quali conseguenze questo comporti (per fortuna non drammatiche nella storia di Singer). Infine una inaspettata storia d'amore, molto delicata.
Un piccolo gioiello.

[Fabio · Rating 3 out of 5]

E-MET
Il Golem per bambini? Non esattamente. I.B. Singer, rielaborando il mito del Rabbi Leib e dell'argilloso automa imbastisce una storia a tinte troppo forti per i più piccoli - e troppo lievi per i diversamente pargoli. Certo, ci sono spunti per far riflettere gli uni e gli altri: l'antisemitismo, la paura del diverso, la pericolosità delle perniciose menzogne (o fake news che dir si voglia, come la convinzione che gli ebrei rapissero i figli dei gentili per immolarli e utilizzarne il sangue nella preparazione delle mazzot), il desiderio di protezione, ma anche quello di integrazione e d'amore - il Golem di Singer, come alcuni dei robot di Asimov, Pinocchio e tanti altri, desidera essere umano.
Troppo profondo per un bambino? Si può sempre godere della storia in sé, è interessante e ben scritta.
Troppo superficiale per un adulto? Forse, ma il piacere della lettura non scompare - solo, si arriva a desiderare che l'Autore avesse sfruttato più a fondo il potenziale del materiale.

Met/Emet: l'equivalente golemico dell'interruttore ON/OFF. In modalità met, "morto", il Golem non è che un ammasso di argilla in forma umana; emet, "verità", lo rende operativo

Quattro stelle mancate: con questa mole e qualità di argilla, uno scrittore del calibro di Singer poteva modellare qualcosa di dimensioni epiche. Ne ha tratto una statuetta che, per quanto gradevole, lascia un po' interdetti. Un po' come questo commento, che non spiega nulla - e non porta aneddoti curiosi, come il ricorso allo stesso mito ebraico in uno degli ormai antichi primi albi di Dylan Dog (dove si aveva un mix tra Golem e Terminator. Vaghi ricordi e Internet mi dicono che il volume era il dodicesimo, settembre 1987, Killer!)

Der Golem...(oh, la sfuriata degli ultimi secondi! Grazie, Dave Lombardo) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdj8i...

E, per amor della specularità, la storia del ragazzo che voleva essere un vero pupazzo... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVHaw...

[Melki · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story of the golem who wanted to be human that moved me so much in The Alchemist's Door is written with very little emotion in Singer's retelling. He takes a just-the-facts-ma'am approach, and the golem seems more of an out-of-control Frankenstein's monster in this story. Therefore, it's hard to feel much sympathy when he is returned to a pile of clay at the end of the book.

I was also not a fan of Uri Shulevitz's illustrations.

There's gotta be a better golem book out there!

[Marisol Cano · Rating 5 out of 5]

Descubría Bashevis Singer con El mago de Lublin, una de las lecturas más emocionantes de toda mi vida. Me encanta el estilo de Bashevis, que parece bromear todo el tiempo con el lector y tomarse muy a la ligera las situaciones de sus personajes, pero de pronto, ¡bam! la cosa se pone seria y trágica. En el gólem no puede faltar esto. Los diálogos son ágiles y divertidos, creo, pero de pronto esta esa ineludible y trágica realidad: la soledad, la violencia, la falta de propósito. Me encantó y aunque lo estaba leyendo en público, si me saco varias lágrimas al final. Ni modo.

[Yasmina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Belle histoire et introduction pour les plus jeunes de ce phénomène qui nourrit la culture yiddish le Golem depuis plusieurs siècles.

Isaac Bashevis Singer - prix Nobel de la littérature en 1978.

[Giuseppe Fabrizio · Rating 5 out of 5]

La quinta stella è per la lettura di Moni Ovadia (vale ovviamente per chi audiolegge)

[Fede La Lettrice · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Forse l'amore ha più potere di un nome sacro. L'amore, una volta inciso nel cuore, non può più essere cancellato, vive per sempre"

[Logan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this for class and unfortunately the copy I was given was missing multiple pages which made reading it kind of frustrating. That's not the story's fault, though.

The only other encounters I've had with Golem media is Helene Wecker's The Golem and the Jinni and the silent film The Golem released in 1929. (I think there's also a Supernatural episode with a golem but I'm not going to blindly believe in the accuracy of their portrayal). I find stories of the Golem really interesting, but I didn't like this one as much as I could've. It felt a little all over the place and I actually prefer the silent film adaptation of The Golem, which is surprising because I didn't expect to enjoy the film at all - I'm not a huge movie person and silent films are really hard for me to watch. I was also a bit bothered by how rude the Golem was, because I've never seen him portrayed that way elsewhere, but I don't know much about the Golem.

I have to read Wiesel's version of this story for class as well. I'm enjoying learning more about the Golem legend.

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Compared to the many other versions of the Golem I've read this one is definitely one of the better versions. I. B. Singer is a great writer and a great children's writer at that. I took his additions to the Golem story well. My biggest issue with this remix of the myth is that the Golem is somewhat sentient. I think this undermines the original narrative a bit, but I don't think it's that big a deal. I enjoyed this book overall and recommend it as a modern introduction to the Golem myth.

[Manuel · Rating 5 out of 5]

No entiendo cómo fui capaz de ponerle solo tres estrellas a esta historia tan buena la primera vez que la leí.

[Lena]

Illustrationer av Johan Egerkrans.

[André Cordeiro · Rating 3 out of 5]

O máximo que eu sabia sobre Golem era por meio de filmes e jogos de fantasia medieval. Uma criatura gigante, às vezes de pedra, outras de barro, que aparece no meio da aventura e os heróis precisam lutar (ou então, é um aliado dos heróis). O que eu não sabia até a leitura desse livro é que a origem do Golem está na tradição mística do judaísmo, a cabala.

A história do livro se passa em Praga, no século XVI, e conta a história de Rabi Leib, que “sumona” um Golem para salvar um judeu da comunidade que está sofrendo uma grande injustiça. Pelo o que pesquisei, esta é uma lenda famosa, de tradição oral, e que o escritor Isaac Bashevis Singer (Prêmio Nobel de Literatura de 1978) reconta, dramatizando os personagens e dando vida às cenas. O livro é curto e de fácil leitura. Apenas um detalhe, legal dizer que esse Golem, o original do folclore judaíco, é feito de barro.

Em um dado momento, o Golem começa a ganhar consciência, tem vontades próprias e começa a assustar a população de Praga. Isso imediatamente me lembrou do monstro de Frankenstein. Acredito que é bem possível que a lenda do Golem tenha inspirado Mary Shelley a criar sua clássica obra. Não apenas “Frankenstein”, mas o Golem, por ter essa natureza de um “ser artificial”, que nasce com o propósito inicial de servir o seu criador, guarda consigo a essência da ideia que provavelmente culminou no “robô” – que vem da ficção e se torna real no nosso mundo pela tecnologia. Disso reflito no poder das lendas, dos mitos e das histórias que sobrevivem por séculos: elas instigam a imaginação humana e transformam a realidade.

[Bożek · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tłumaczenie angielskie - takie sobie, tłumaczenie polskie - olabożku.

[Anastasja Kostic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ovo je jedna jednina priča koju bi ama baš svako morao da pročita za života.

[Amy T. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick, simple read about the legend of the golem, a magical clay human-like creature which protected the Jewish people in Prague from persecution in the 1500s. I read this after reading Sweep by Jonathan Auxier, which was my introduction to this mythical creature.

[Emmy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy reading tales of European Jewish culture (pre-WWII). So, when I found this at a used book shop, I was more than happy to check it out. Throughout my read-through, I kept thinking of the book Gimpel the Fool and Other Stories, which I read and rated last year about this time, and was shocked at the time of this review to learn that both of these books were by the same author! In both cases, I loved the writing style, but I personally found this story to be much better.

It follows the classic plot of "What happens when you disobey". In this case, our hero, a rabbi, is given the secret to creating a golem to save one of the townspeople from a corrupt nobleman. However, he is also given strict instructions to never let anyone know about the golem, and to destroy it when it's job is done. Well, as you might guess, he doesn't....and then things get interesting.

[Torzilla · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is a story about Jews being persecuted in Prague and the Golem that is sent to help these people in their time of need.

The themes explored in this novel are extremely deep – perhaps too deep for young children – and include: what it means to be human, greed, and preserving the peace.

The author’s style was typical for a more “mature” tale, though I found the characterization of Christians a bit insulting.

I suppose this could be a good tale to help promote tolerance among younger children. Overall, I was not impressed with this tale. Do not suggest reading this to younger children.

[Avery Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved this book. The setting was very interesting because I never thought that many Jews lived in Prague. Also, I loved that the book made the milieu very dark and gloomy in Bohemia which is such an artistic area. Overall, the book was just so insanely good! It was just so exciting when Rabbi Leib created the Golem and it created so much suspense to see what kind of a man Rabbi Leib was. It would show that Rabbi Leib was a man of either selfishness or a man of the world. Also I liked that the author used a capricious way of writing which made it so you could never predict what would happen next.

[Cecilia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this up to get a better background on the story of the Golem of Prague. I'm sure there are better ways to get it. This version presents all Jews as angelic and only having good intentions, while all gentiles are evil and nefarious, or at the very least cowardly, corruptible and lazy. This isn't how I like my legends. I wouldn't recommend this, but if anyone has a better suggestion on a better Golem story, I'm all ears.

For those who have read Kavalier & Clay, fun fact! The Golem of Prague's name is Joseph.

[Julieann Wielga · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is really a novelette or a short story. Since reading SNOW in AUGUST, I have been wondering the origin of the idea of a GOLEM. IS there more that one story? Do they appear at different times in history?
Where do they stand in the story-telling, analyzing culture of the Jewish People? This one version of a Golem Story. I was made vaguely uncomfortable by the the recounting of the Christians in mid 1500's killing Christian babies to be able to create blame for the Jews, but then I think that was the point. The illustrations are by Mark Podwell and they add much to the book.

[Jitka Č. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tuhle knížku jsem přelouskala během čekání na otevření dětského oddělení v naší knihovně. Je tenoučká a zabrala mi necelých 40 minut. I za tak krátkou dobu mě ale stihla v některých pasážích nudit a několik věcí mi opravdu vadilo. Především to, jak byli všichni židé vyobrazováni jako ztělesnění dokonalosti, zatímco kterákoli další postava byla buď zkažená, líná nebo zkrátka jinak "špatná". I tak ale zůstávám u dvou hvězdiček - "It was OK."

[Bettie]

Description: A clay giant miraculously brought to life by a saintly rabbi saves a Jewish banker who has been falsely accused in the Prague of Emperor Rudolf II.

To contrast with The Golem

4* Yentl
WL The Golem

[BJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

No strong reflections on this book, which isn't a good sign. Overall, an engaging story that touches on what it means to be human, obedience, sacrifice--topics that should elicit a response but...maybe because it's a book meant for older children?

[Scott Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an easy to read children's story centered on the mythical Jewish creature that has occasionally resurfaces in modern horror - the Golem. In this case, the mud monster takes on a life of its own but ultimately is able to be tamed through love and care. A great morality tale.

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a fast, fun, and fascinating read. Although it is a children's book, I think it quite fitting for an adult. A good overview of the legend of The Golem, a creature made of clay that predates Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Absolutely recommended!

[Sara-Iris e Periplo Review]

E’ un piacevole racconto per ragazzi della tradizione ebraica.
In poche pagine c’è tutto, religione, natura umana, amore, tragedia e pure mistero.
Il finale è magico e dolce. Molto gradevole anche la scrittura, semplice e con l’andamento della fiaba.

[Kara · Rating 2 out of 5]

It starts off as a standard Golem story, but halfway through switched genres to the old Mad Scientist – Unnatural Monster – Beautiful Daughter trope.

[Kama · Rating 2 out of 5]

Short story for children, full of morals.

[Lise · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Golem story for kids.