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Cover of Call It Sleep by Henry Roth

Call It Sleep

  • 544 pages · about 9 hours
  • First published 1934
  • 55 editions

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1 About this book

Call It Sleep is a 1934 novel by Henry Roth. The book is about a young boy growing up in the Jewish immigrant ghetto of New York's Lower East Side in the early 20th century.

Although it earned acclaim, the book sold poorly and was out of print for close to 30 years. It received a second life when it was reviewed by literary critic Irving Howe on the front page of The New York Times Book Review on October 25, 1964. Its paperback edition, published by Avon, sold over 1 million copies. The novel was included on Time's 2005 list of the 100 best English-language novels written since 1923.

Summary adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Good for readers who want: a coming-of-age story and a long read.

  • Immigrants
  • Immigrants in fiction
  • Family life
  • Coming of age
  • Jewish people
  • Boys
  • Jewish families
  • New york

2 About Henry Roth

1906–1995

Henry Roth (February 8, 1906 – October 13, 1995) was an American novelist and short story writer who found success later in life after his 1934 novel Call It Sleep was reissued in paperback in 1964.

Bio adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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