The Certificate - Misplaced Pages

Novel by Isaac Bashevis Singer For the album by Duncan Mighty, see The Certificate (album).

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The Certificate
The Certificate book cover
Author	Isaac Bashevis Singer
Language	Yiddish
Publication date	1992
Publication place	United States
Media type	Print

The Certificate is a novel by Isaac Bashevis Singer, published in English in 1992 (published in Yiddish in 1967). David Bendinger, a poor, young Yiddish writer wishes to emigrate to Palestine from Poland, and because married couples are given preference, he tries to arrange for a marriage certificate to be purchased for him by a wealthy woman whose fiancee lives in Palestine. The narrative deals with the abject poverty of David, as well as his Jewish heritage, and details the rise of both Communism and Zionism.

Reception

Kirkus Reviews gave a positive review, describing the book as being made with "gusto and panache" and called it "a triumph". Publishers Weekly likewise gave a positive review, describing the book as "welcome addition to 's oeuvre". Christopher Lehmann-Haupt, writing for the New York Times, gave a mixed review, writing "In the end you follow David Bendinger's adventures only halfway engaged...a certain detachment in Singer's prose always keeps you at arm's length."

References

"THE CERTIFICATE | Kirkus Reviews". Kirkus Reviews. 1 September 1992. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
"The Certificate by Isaac Bashevis Singer". Publishers Weekly. 1992. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
Lehmann-Haupt, Christopher (7 December 1992). "Books of The Times; On Becoming a Writer and a Man". New York Times. Retrieved 6 February 2024.

v t e Works by Isaac Bashevis Singer
Novels	The Family Moskat (1950) Satan in Goray (1955) The Magician of Lublin (1960) The Slave (1962) The Manor (1967) The Estate (1969) The Golem (1969) The Wicked City (1972) Enemies, A Love Story (1972) Shosha (1978) The Penitent (1983) The Certificate (1992) Meshugah (1994) Shadows on the Hudson (1997)
Short stories	"Gimpel the Fool" (1956) Zlateh the Goat and Other Stories (1966) A Crown of Feathers and Other Stories (1973) "The Reencounter" (1983)
Non-fiction	A Day of Pleasure (1969) Rencontre au Sommet (1998)
Plays	Yentl (1975)
Works adapted into films	The Magician of Lublin (1979) Yentl (1983) Enemies, A Love Story (1989) Love Comes Lately (2007)
Works adapted into operas	Fool's Paradise (1994)

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