FIVE STAR REVIEW
Remember that song “This is the song that never ends, it goes on and on my friends…” A Cobbler’s Tale is the book version- this is the “story that never ends”. And even though the drama goes on and on my friends- you will enjoy everything about this book.
I listened to this book as an audiobook with Audible. I had only listened to a few audiobooks prior to this one, and I had never used Audible, but I found that it’s so easy and enjoyable to listen to a book with the Audible app. Compared to the other books that I listened to, A Cobbler’s Tale is great as an audiobook. The chapters are short, it’s told for the most part in a linear fashion, and something exciting is always happening, so it’s easy to listen, stop and then start right back in with the plot. The narrator of the book was also easy to listen to and he captured the accents of the various characters as well as their personalities.
The cover of the book gives a vivid view of one of the main settings of the book, the lower East side in New York City, in the early 1900’s. This street, crowded with people and pushcarts is where Pincus Potasznik, a second-generation Jewish cobbler, born in a small shtetl in the province of Galicia, part of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire finds himself. About 500,000 Jewish people lived in this section of New York, immigrants from eastern Europe.
The book details Pincus’ reasons for coming to America, his perilous ship journey to New York, his efforts to establish himself as a cobbler in the lower East side and his journey back to his home to bring his wife and children to America. But, so much more happens and it’s all thrilling and entertaining. The author is a born storyteller and readers will be captivated by all the colorful characters and the dangers, schemes and plots that abound. We also get a good look at the Jewish culture of the times.
Many thanks to the author for the audiobook. This is my honest review.