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{{short description|1988 children's time slip novel by Jane Yolen}}
{{Unreferenced|date=March 2010}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2012}}
⚫ '''''The Devil's Arithmetic''''' is an ] written by American author ] in 1988. The book is about a ] girl, Hannah, who lives in ]. During a ], Hannah is transported back in time to ] in 1942, during ], and she is sent to a ]. She learns the importance of knowing about the past.
{{About|the novel|the TV movie|The Devil's Arithmetic (film)}}
{{Infobox book
⚫ | name = The Devil's Arithmetic
| image = The Devil's Arithmetic.jpeg
| author = ]
| country = ]
| genre = ], ], ]
| publisher = Viking
| isbn = 0-670-81027-4
| pub_date = 1988
}}
⚫ '''''The Devil's Arithmetic''''' is a ] ] novel written by American author ] and published in 1988. The book is about Hannah Stern, a ] girl who lives in ], and is sent back in time to experience ]. During a ], Hannah is transported back in time to 1941 ], during ], where she is sent to a ] and learns the importance of knowing about the past.


== Background ==
''The Devil's Arithmetic'' won the ] (in the category for ]) in 1989, was nominated for the ] in 1988, and ] starring ] and ] in 1999.
Author Jane Yolen, who is ], noted that she had considered writing about the Holocaust for some time, but was overwhelmed. She was convinced to pursue the subject by an editor of hers at the time, who was a ] wife.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Yolen|first=Jane|title=Devil's Arithmetic, The – Jane Yolen|url=https://www.janeyolen.com/the-devils-arithmetic/|access-date=2020-12-18|language=en-US}}</ref> ''The Devil's Arithmetic'' is the author's first book that deals explicitly with Jewish themes.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last=Yolen|first=Jane|date=1989–1990|title=Speech Delivered at the Sydney Taylor Book Awards|journal=Judaica Librarianship|volume=5|issue=1|pages=52}}</ref>


While writing the novel, Yolen spent a week at an ] private school; when she explained to students about her forthcoming work, one student asked if Yolen had made up the events of the novel, based on the real story of the Holocaust.<ref name=":2" />
==1942, Poland==
===Summary===
Hannah Stern is a Jewish girl; she lives in the late 20th century. She is bored by her relatives' stories about the past, and she is not looking forward to the Passover Seder. When Hannah symbolically opens the door for the prophet ], she is transported back in time to the year 1941, during World War II, to Poland. At that time and place, the people believe she is Chaya Abramowicz, who is recovering from ], the disease that killed her parents. The strange remarks she makes about the future and her inability to recognize her "aunt" Gitl and "uncle" Shmuel are blamed on the fever. Then, at her uncle's wedding, the ] come to transport the entire population of the village to a concentration camp, which is in the area of Donavin, and only Hannah knows the horrors they will face: starvation, mistreatment, forced labor, and finally execution. She struggles to survive at the camps, with the help of a girl named Rivka. At the concentration camp, Gitl, Hannah, Shmuel, and a few other men try to escape. They are caught and shot (With the exception of Gitl, Hannah, and Yitzchak). Yitzchak escapes while Hannah and Gitl return to their barracks. Later, when Rivka is about to be sent to be sent to the incinerator because she wasn't working, Hannah takes her place. She goes to the incinerator where she is killed, but wakes up at her family's Seder. When she recounts her experience to her aunt, the aunt reveals that when she was in the concentration camps, she was called Rivka and was saved by a girl named Chaya Abramowicz. Speculation has been drawn on the fact that, because Chaya (Hannah) was actually in control of herself in this assumed dream, if she had not saved Rivka's life, she might not have come back to the seder, and her aunt, to America.


==Citations== ==Plot==
Hannah Stern is a Jewish preteen girl living in the present day. She is bored by her relative's stories about the past, is not looking forward to the ], and is tired of her religion. When Hannah symbolically opens the door for the prophet ], she is transported back in time to a ] on the ]/] border in 1942, during ].<ref name=":2" /> Hannah is not immediately aware of the time period.
Yolen, Jane. ''The Devil's Arithmetic''. New York: Scholastic, 2000. Print.


At that time and place, the people believe she is Chaya Abramowicz, who is recovering from ], the fever that killed Chaya's parents a few months ago. The strange remarks Hannah/Chaya makes about the future and her inability to recognize Chaya's aunt Gitl and uncle Shmuel are blamed on the fever.
⚫ {{DEFAULTSORT:Devils Arithmetic, The}}
⚫ ]
⚫ ]
⚫ ]
]
]
]


At Uncle Shmuel's wedding, the ] come to transport the entire population of the village to a ] near Donavin, and only Hannah knows all the terrors they will face: starvation, mistreatment, forced labor, and finally execution.
]

⚫ ]
Hannah and the other women are stripped, shaved, and tattooed with a number. Hannah and the other women are forced to dig trenches in the camp. Hannah struggles to survive at the camp, with the help of a girl named Rivka. Uncle Shmuel and some other men try to escape; the men are caught and then shot as everyone watches. Fayge, who was going to be married to Shmuel, is killed because she runs to Shmuel when he is about to be shot with the men that were caught. Yitzchak escapes and lives in the forest with the partisans, fighting the Germans.
]

Later, when Hannah, Rivka, Esther, and Shifre are working, a guard overhears them talking instead of working. Shifre tries to reassure the guard they have been working, but he takes them anyway and leaves Hannah by herself. As the three are about to leave, Hannah takes Rivka's place by putting on her ]. Since the guards don't know their faces, this goes unnoticed by the officer. The girls are led to the gas chamber. She is then transported back to her family's Seder. Aunt Eva calls her over. Hannah looks at Aunt Eva's number; it is the same as Rivka's. Hannah (when she was Chaya) was really the girl she was named after, Rivka was Aunt Eva, and Rivka's brother, Wolfe, was Grandpa Will. (Aunt Eva said that they changed their names when they got to America.)

The epilogue at the end of the novel reveals that when the camp was liberated, the survivors were Gitl (weighing a mere {{convert|73|lb|kg|disp=sqbr}}), Yitzchak, Rivka, and Leye (a worker in the camp) and her baby. Gitl and Yitzchak immigrate to Israel where Yitzchak becomes a politician while Gitl organizes a rescue mission that is dedicated to salvaging the lives of young survivors and locating family members. The organization is named after Chaya, her niece that died a hero.

== Themes ==
Hannah experiences a ] to experience the past. The novel employs ] as a plot device and both a method for remembering and for the reader to more deeply feel the story. Yolen believed children would be more likely to engage with the past if the novel featured a contemporary child who went back in time and experienced history themselves.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=An Experimental Act |url=https://www.spectacle.org/396/scifi/exper.html |access-date=2020-12-18 |website=www.spectacle.org}}</ref>
== Reception ==
''The Devil's Arithmetic'' received a ] from Kirkus, which called it "a triumphantly moving book".<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/jane-yolen/the-devils-arithmetic/|title=THE DEVIL'S ARITHMETIC {{!}} Kirkus Reviews|language=en}}</ref> '']'' called the book "brave and powerful".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-670-81027-7|access-date=2020-12-18|website=www.publishersweekly.com|title=Children's Book Review: The Devil's Arithmetic by Jane Yolen, Author Viking Books $16.99 (170p) ISBN 978-0-670-81027-7}}</ref>

In '']'', Cynthia Samuels said that Yolen's use of the time travel convention was brought to "a new and ambitious level".<ref>{{Cite news|last=Samuels|first=Cynthia|date=1988-11-13|title=CHILDREN'S BOOKS; HANNAH LEARNS TO REMEMBER (Published 1988)|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/11/13/books/children-s-books-hannah-learns-to-remember.html|access-date=2020-12-18|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

''The Devil's Arithmetic'' was nominated for the ] in 1988<ref>{{cite web |date=May 18, 2003 |title=(Awards & Nominations) |url=http://janeyolen.com/awards/ |access-date=April 29, 2012 |publisher=Jane Yolen}}</ref> and won the ] (in the ] category) in 1989.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Past Winners |url=https://www.jewishbookcouncil.org/awards/national-jewish-book-awards/past-winners?category=30737 |access-date=2020-01-20 |website=Jewish Book Council |language=en}}</ref> The script for the television movie was also nominated for a ].<ref name=":0" />

== Adaptations ==
The novel was adapted into a 1999 ] television ], starring ] and ].<ref name=":0">{{cite web|date=April 15, 2000|title=Year 2000 Nebula Nominations (Press Release)|url=http://www.sfwa.org/members/nebula/NEBPub1.doc|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20121201233816/http://www.sfwa.org/members/nebula/NEBPub1.doc|archive-date=December 1, 2012|access-date=February 21, 2011|publisher=SFWA (Science Fiction Writers of America) }}</ref>

== Further reading ==

* Weil, E. (1993). "The Door to Lilith's Cave: Memory and Imagination in Jane Yolen's Holocaust Novels." '']''. 5(2), 90.

==References==
{{Portal|Children and Young Adult Literature}}
{{reflist}}

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Latest revision as of 16:36, 29 December 2024

1988 children's time slip novel by Jane Yolen

This article is about the novel. For the TV movie, see The Devil's Arithmetic (film).
The Devil's Arithmetic
AuthorJane Yolen
GenreScience fiction, fantasy, time slip
PublisherViking
Publication date1988
Publication placeUnited States of America
ISBN0-670-81027-4

The Devil's Arithmetic is a historical fiction time slip novel written by American author Jane Yolen and published in 1988. The book is about Hannah Stern, a Jewish girl who lives in New Rochelle, New York, and is sent back in time to experience the Holocaust. During a Passover Seder, Hannah is transported back in time to 1941 Poland, during World War II, where she is sent to a concentration camp and learns the importance of knowing about the past.

Background

Author Jane Yolen, who is Jewish, noted that she had considered writing about the Holocaust for some time, but was overwhelmed. She was convinced to pursue the subject by an editor of hers at the time, who was a Rabbi's wife. The Devil's Arithmetic is the author's first book that deals explicitly with Jewish themes.

While writing the novel, Yolen spent a week at an Indianapolis private school; when she explained to students about her forthcoming work, one student asked if Yolen had made up the events of the novel, based on the real story of the Holocaust.

Plot

Hannah Stern is a Jewish preteen girl living in the present day. She is bored by her relative's stories about the past, is not looking forward to the Passover Seder, and is tired of her religion. When Hannah symbolically opens the door for the prophet Elijah, she is transported back in time to a shtetl on the Polish/German border in 1942, during World War II. Hannah is not immediately aware of the time period.

At that time and place, the people believe she is Chaya Abramowicz, who is recovering from cholera, the fever that killed Chaya's parents a few months ago. The strange remarks Hannah/Chaya makes about the future and her inability to recognize Chaya's aunt Gitl and uncle Shmuel are blamed on the fever.

At Uncle Shmuel's wedding, the Nazis come to transport the entire population of the village to a death camp near Donavin, and only Hannah knows all the terrors they will face: starvation, mistreatment, forced labor, and finally execution.

Hannah and the other women are stripped, shaved, and tattooed with a number. Hannah and the other women are forced to dig trenches in the camp. Hannah struggles to survive at the camp, with the help of a girl named Rivka. Uncle Shmuel and some other men try to escape; the men are caught and then shot as everyone watches. Fayge, who was going to be married to Shmuel, is killed because she runs to Shmuel when he is about to be shot with the men that were caught. Yitzchak escapes and lives in the forest with the partisans, fighting the Germans.

Later, when Hannah, Rivka, Esther, and Shifre are working, a guard overhears them talking instead of working. Shifre tries to reassure the guard they have been working, but he takes them anyway and leaves Hannah by herself. As the three are about to leave, Hannah takes Rivka's place by putting on her babushka. Since the guards don't know their faces, this goes unnoticed by the officer. The girls are led to the gas chamber. She is then transported back to her family's Seder. Aunt Eva calls her over. Hannah looks at Aunt Eva's number; it is the same as Rivka's. Hannah (when she was Chaya) was really the girl she was named after, Rivka was Aunt Eva, and Rivka's brother, Wolfe, was Grandpa Will. (Aunt Eva said that they changed their names when they got to America.)

The epilogue at the end of the novel reveals that when the camp was liberated, the survivors were Gitl (weighing a mere 73 pounds ), Yitzchak, Rivka, and Leye (a worker in the camp) and her baby. Gitl and Yitzchak immigrate to Israel where Yitzchak becomes a politician while Gitl organizes a rescue mission that is dedicated to salvaging the lives of young survivors and locating family members. The organization is named after Chaya, her niece that died a hero.

Themes

Hannah experiences a time slip to experience the past. The novel employs time travel as a plot device and both a method for remembering and for the reader to more deeply feel the story. Yolen believed children would be more likely to engage with the past if the novel featured a contemporary child who went back in time and experienced history themselves.

Reception

The Devil's Arithmetic received a starred review from Kirkus, which called it "a triumphantly moving book". Publishers Weekly called the book "brave and powerful".

In The New York Times, Cynthia Samuels said that Yolen's use of the time travel convention was brought to "a new and ambitious level".

The Devil's Arithmetic was nominated for the Nebula award for best novella in 1988 and won the National Jewish Book Award (in the children's literature category) in 1989. The script for the television movie was also nominated for a Nebula Award.

Adaptations

The novel was adapted into a 1999 Showtime television film with the same title, starring Kirsten Dunst and Brittany Murphy.

Further reading

References

  1. Yolen, Jane. "Devil's Arithmetic, The – Jane Yolen". Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  2. ^ Yolen, Jane (1989–1990). "Speech Delivered at the Sydney Taylor Book Awards". Judaica Librarianship. 5 (1): 52.
  3. "An Experimental Act". www.spectacle.org. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  4. THE DEVIL'S ARITHMETIC | Kirkus Reviews.
  5. "Children's Book Review: The Devil's Arithmetic by Jane Yolen, Author Viking Books $16.99 (170p) ISBN 978-0-670-81027-7". www.publishersweekly.com. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  6. Samuels, Cynthia (November 13, 1988). "CHILDREN'S BOOKS; HANNAH LEARNS TO REMEMBER (Published 1988)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  7. "(Awards & Nominations)". Jane Yolen. May 18, 2003. Retrieved April 29, 2012.
  8. "Past Winners". Jewish Book Council. Retrieved January 20, 2020.
  9. ^ "Year 2000 Nebula Nominations (Press Release)". SFWA (Science Fiction Writers of America). April 15, 2000. Archived from the original on December 1, 2012. Retrieved February 21, 2011.
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