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Rahel Admasu

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The Fixer

by Bernard Malamud

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Rahel Admasu said: " Bernard Malamud’s The Fixer is a novel about one man’s struggle against injustice. Set in Russia during the height of anti-Semitism, this novel follows Yavok Bok’s fight to cling to the truth despite all odds. Originally from a stetl outside of Kiev, Bernard Malamud’s The Fixer is a novel about one man’s struggle against injustice. Set in Russia during the height of anti-Semitism, this novel follows Yavok Bok’s fight to cling to the truth despite all odds. Originally from a stetl outside of Kiev, Yavok gathers his few belongings and migrates to Kiev, Russia to escape his past. Embarassed by his inability to produce a child and his wife’s infidelity, Yakov sets out to change his life’s path. He aspires to travel the world and learn from all that it has to offer; however, he is disappointed to learn that life away from home is not all easy. In Kiev, he struggles to find work before he happens across Nikolai Maximovitch Lebedev, a wealthy member of the anti-Semitic Black Hundreds Society. Out of desperation, Yakov begins working for him while residing in an anti- Jewish living area. While illegally residing in the anti- Jewish community, Yakov temporarily aids a hasidic Jew. When a young Russian boy is found drained of his blood, the Jewish community is automatically blamed for strategically murdering the boy in a sort of hate crime. It is at this point that Yakov is accused of murdering the young boy he had encountered after members of the Secret Police identify him as a Jew wrongfully living in that area. While imprisoned, Yavok begins his struggle to cling to his innocence--his truth--in spite of the guards’ coercions, manipulations, and abuses.
The Fixer is a compelling novel about the strength of the human spirit and its ability to overcome injustices. As the reader is taken on Yakov’s journey through the author’s purposeful manipulation of time through dreams, flashbacks, and lapses in consciousness. During his time in captivity, Yakov is continually faced with new obstacles to overcome. It is not until he learns that forgiveness and acceptance of his past will liberate him that he finally finds peace. As he finally walks to his trial in the novel’s closing pages, Yakov has reached a state of serenity as he accepts that he has effortlessly become a part history that he had tried so hard to evade.
Originally disinterested by the novel’s slow pace, my perception was altered as I learned that it was all part of the author’s message. I was able to enjoy this novel as a story of the power of courage, determination, and human resilience. Having recently read Albert Camus’ The Stranger, I was able to draw many parallels between the two novels’ common themes of injustice, confinement, and the general indifference of the universe. To experience a alternate interpretation of a similar theory, I would suggest reading The Stranger to those who enjoyed The Fixer. To those that specifically enjoyed the novel’s realism based on historical account, I would suggest Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand--the biography of a prisoner of war held captive for two and a half years at a Japanese internment camp--as a novel comparable to The Fixer. ...more "

May 23, 2012 10:41PM · see review