Call It Sleep Audiobook By Henry Roth cover art

Call It Sleep

A Novel

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Call It Sleep

By: Henry Roth
Narrated by: George Guidall
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Lauded as the most profound novel of Jewish life ever written by an American, Call It Sleep seamlessly weaves together the searing pains and subtle joys of immigrant life in New York’s Lower East Side. It is the story of David Schearl, a dangerously imaginative little boy who arrives from Eastern Europe in 1907. Shock by shock, he is exposed to the blows - and occasional pleasures - of life in the crowded tenements.

©1962 Henry Roth (P)1994 Recorded Books, LLC Classics Coming of Age Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Jewish Heritage Literary Fiction
Powerful Immigrant Perspective • Psychological Exploration • Masterful Reading • Touching Story • Unforgettable Narrative
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Excellent narrator who captured the Yiddish and the Hebrew perfectly.
I would highly recommend this modernist story which seems so autobiographical!

Great book

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While Roth's stream of consciousness style is not my favorite... the novel is powerful both as an immigrant perspective, and as a psychological exploration of young David's experiences growing up in a violent world. But what really made it for me was the masterful reading... handing numerous dialects and the sing-song rhythms of the Torah reading with unmatched skill. Apparently the author consulted with them to get the pronunciations correct and it shows.

Masterful Reading

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Fabulous story and narration. Guidall is unsurpassed in expressing the various voices of characters and Yiddish and Hebrew accents.

Brilliant

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could have read all of this book since there are times it does go into long strange almost incoherent dialog BUT to hear Guidall read it kept me hooked. He did a magnificent job with the accents and pronunciations of the Yiddish dialect.
If people had been able to listen to the performance when it came out in 1935 (?), it most certainly would be one of the greatest masterpieces of American literature, IMO/

masterful reading by George Guidall...i doubt I...

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This is an amazing book that will touch your heart in a way very few books do. It has haunted me for years - this is the second time I am listening to the audiobook. The reader George Guidall is a master and brings the characters to life.

An unforgettable book.

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i read this book in the 1960's. it had been written and released in the 1930's to good reviews but little readership. those of us who were in our 20's in the 1960's have never forgotten it...incredibly well written, painfully living the world of the child in a strange land, that of an immigrant child and of childhood itself. i was spellbound listening to george guidall's amazing reading. this is a classic american novel.

brilliant

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Some of the rants were a bit hard to listen to. I think I would have preferred to read this book.

The story gives a strong indication of what life was like for a Jewish immigrant.

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Would you try another book from Henry Roth and/or George Guidall?

No more Henry Roth. Yes to George Guidall as I love his voice.

What was most disappointing about Henry Roth’s story?

It promised to give me a look into the life of a jewish child immigrant living in New York. It didn"t. The story is full of half thoughts and sentences which I could not understand. More than half of the book is about "Mama, oh, oh, oh".

Which character – as performed by George Guidall – was your favorite?

The rabbi.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

No.

Any additional comments?

No.

nothing there

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The best thing I can say about this book is that the narrator did a wonderful job. Aside from that, I had trouble making sense of anything. The point of the story was hard to discern, and the constant gibberish of the main characters internal thoughts became both mind-numbing and completely nonsensical. I’m not sure why I even finish this book.

Mind-numbing and nonsensical

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