{"product_id":"the-brothers-ashkenazi-a-novel","title":"The Brothers Ashkenazi: A Novel","description":"\u003cp\u003eIn the Polish city of Lodz  the brothers Ashkenazi grew up very differently in talent and in temperament. Max  the firstborn  is fiercely intelligent and conniving  determined to succeed financially by any means necessary. Slower-witted Jacob is strong  handsome  and charming but without great purpose in life. While Max is driven by ambition and greed to be more successful than his brother  Jacob is drawn to easy living and decadence. As waves of industrialism and capitalism flood the city  the brothers and their families are torn apart by the clashing impulses of old piety and new skepticism  traditional ways and burgeoning appetites  and the hatred that grows between faiths  citizens  and classes. Despite all attempts to control their destinies  the brothers are caught up by forces of history  love  and fate  which shape and  ultimately  break them. First published in 1936  The Brothers Ashkenazi quickly became a best seller as a sprawling family saga. Breaking away from the introspective shtetl tales of classic nineteenth-century writers  I. J. Singer brought to Yiddish literature the multilayered plots  large casts of characters  and narrative sweep of the traditional European novel. Walking alongside such masters as Zola  Flaubert  and Tolstoy  I . J. Singers premodernist social novel stands as a masterpiece of storytelling.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44949665906741,"sku":"ByrdShop_1590512901","price":61.7,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9781590512906.jpg?v=1770085977","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/the-brothers-ashkenazi-a-novel","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}