Entertaining, Attention-Holding Historical Fiction!

Neil Perry Gordon’s A Cobbler’s Tale,,his debut novel, is a very interesting and generally well-written tale of a Jewish immigrant’s story of survival from Eastern Europe to NYC’s Lower East Side during the early 1900s.

A summary of the book’s plot can be found in the NetGalley description above as well as the Amazon and GoodReads descriptions, So my review won’t repeat what is already done well. Instead, I’ll focus on the reasons why I’d recommend A Cobbler’s Tale to historical fiction fans, and particularly those interested in the Jewish immigrant experience.. These reasons are as follows:

...Gordon effectively tells his tale in a manner that combines a wealth of interesting information about Jewish lore and the Jewish experience along with a good amount of gripping action scenes. This combination enables the reader to turn the pages at a fast pace in order to find out what happens next;

...Gordon, albeit somewhat loosely, bases his fictional story of the Potasznik family experiences on the real-world experiences of his great grandparents, which adds authenticity to the plot, and

...The action scenes are entertaining and fun but you have to be willing to suspend some disbelief.

Having said the above, while I enjoyed A Cobbler’s Tale and would recommend it, the two areas In which I was a little disappointed — which resulted in in my deducting one star from my overall rating — pertained to :

...the main characters, and particularly the secondary characters, not being as richly developed as I would have liked — although they were certainly serviceable enough to relate to them and keep the plot interesting; and

....the ease and simplicity with which the main characters resolved some of the challenges that seemed insurmountable created some credibility issues for me.

#A Cobbler’s Tale #NetGalley

Pincus Potasznik leaves the village of Krzywcza in 1910 to pave the way for his family to have a better life. On the voyage across the Atlantic, he meets Jakob Adler from Warsaw. Together the two immigrants work hard to start up Pincus’ cobbler shop, and along with Jakob’s illegal activities they are actually able to make a living.

Pincus vows to bring his family to America within a year but he waits four years before rescuing his family from Europe during World War 1.
I felt a lot of sympathy for Clara being left behind and having to take of her children while wondering when and if her husband would come for them.

I just couldn't fathom how naive Pincus was in terms of what was happening in his shop and there were many times I wanted to shake him. Especially the way he was towards those Jews from his village when they too emigrated to America.

I didn't know going into this book that this was part of the author's personal history which added an extra appeal to me. The writing style was excellent.
Thank you to Netgalley and BooksGoSocial for the opportunity to read this fantastic book for an honest review.

There are many reasons for why people have immigrated to the United States over the years. A Cobbler's Tale explores one such reason: fleeing from war in the former Austro-Hungarian Empire. Pincus Potasznik leaves the village of Krzywcza to pave the way for his family to have a better life. Not just because of the atrocities of war, but because as Jews they are a marked people.

On the ship to America, he meets Jakob who becomes intertwined with his success, yet it is all driven by a seedy underworld.

After years, he finally braves the voyage to collect his wife and children while World War I is on their doorstep.

Like many good historical fiction selections, this one paints the story of life during that time for a specific group of people. There is also a bit of mysticism as Pincus' son Moshe learns he is able to sense dire events as well as provide comfort to others.

As much as I enjoyed the delving into historical times, I was very intrigued about the ancient Jewish mysticism, known as the Kabbalah. I consider that the sign of an excellent work of fiction when you not only learn in the process of reading but have a desire to learn more.

This is a fantastic tale. The audio version was also well done. Highly suggest both for purchases by libraries and classrooms.

I enjoyed this book and the story. It is relatively fast-paced which I love and the characters are developed. It is a little shallow and one-dimensional at times, but I believe a reader can get past that and see more. The historical aspects are great and interesting - especially for those interested specifically in Jewish history. There are lots of details throughout that draw a reader in. I look forward to reading the author's next book that was released earlier this year.

I love the cover for this book. A well-written historical novel-although the story is not a new one, it is thought-provoking and moving. Recommended.

For more reviews and bookish posts please visit: http://www.ManofLaBook.com

A Cobbler’s Tale : Jewish Immigrants Story of Survival, from Eastern Europe to New York’s Lower East Side by Neil Perry Gordon is a historical-fiction book based on the experiences of the author’s family. This is Mr. Gordon’s first novel.

A Jewish cobbler named Pincus Potasznick is leaving his kids and pregnant wife to try and make it in America. The year is 1910, antisemitism is prominent but the Jews of Europe still feel safe, except those who can see the writing on the wall.

On the voyage across the Atlantic, Pincus meets Jakob Adler from Warsaw. Together the two immigrants work hard to start up Pincus’ cobbler shop, and along with Jakob’s illegal activities they are actually able to make a living. Pincus, however, has to get his family out of Europe as World War I rages on.

I have to admit that I don’t know much about the European Jews before World War II, or the exodus from Poland around the turn of the 20th Century. After all, there were plenty of Jews in Poland for the Nazis to murder.

A Cobbler’s Tale : Jewish Immigrants Story of Survival, from Eastern Europe to New York’s Lower East Side by Neil Perry Gordon is an easy to read, almost YA, entertaining book. The author keeps the reader interested from chapter to chapter (most very short).

I thought the last part of the book could have been edited out. It really didn’t add anything to the story and just made the book longer, while keeping the main story which the reader was following on the sidelines.

The book gave me some good insight about the treatment of Jews in the early 1900s, while telling an interesting tale, with a few twists to boot. The author wrote that this story is partly based on his family’s experiences, which makes the book take on more meaning than usual.

Thanks to netgalley for an early copy in return for an honest review What a fantastic book loved every page it's a very poignant story can highly recommend this book to family and friends

An interesting historical read. This book is about a Jewish Family emigrating to America. The historical details make it a fascinating read.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

....Sitting down to write this review one sentence was stuck in my head: it was just so incredibly good! Not my most creative review but it's my opinion of A Cobbler's Tale in a nutshell. A book so good it has elements that will appeal to people with a preference for books set in more modern times as well as readers who prefer the historical angle of books more than others. The fact that the people in A Cobbler's Tale were real, did have to survive a horrifyingly scary time in their lives and are part of the authors personal history added an extra appeal to reading it for me. The writing style was excellent; you could feel the authors connection to the story through the way he brought it to life

Pincus Potasznik is a Jewish cobbler living in Galicia. In 1910, he receives an opportunity to travel to New York and set up a landsman society through his rabbi. Pincus decides to travel to New York making the decision to leave his pregnant wife Clara and their children at home and return for them later. On the voyage to New York, Pincus does not fare well, but with the help of Jakob Adler, her makes it. Jakob befriends Pincus and they decide to help one another after landing. However, Jakob is running from an accidental murder of a Warsaw crime boss and has fallen right into the Jewish gangs of New York with boss Leo Gorpatsch. On the boat over Pincus also has his palm read and receives a warning to bring his oldest son over within the year. With the help of Jakob's connections and Pincus' skills, they set up a cobbler shop which also fronts as a way for Jakob to collect payment for Gorspatsch. Soon Pincus is so busy with his shop and Landsman Society that he can't imagine finding time to go home to retrieve his family. Back in Galicia, four years have passed. Clara has had her baby and the children have grown. She has kept her home and the cobbler shop running. War has broken out near Galicia. Pincus and Jakob plan to rescue the family while delivering a package overseas for Gorspatsch. This opens up a whole new world of trouble for everyone, but also a world of hope.


A Cobbler's Tale combines an immigrant's story along with the suspense of the Jewish Mafia, World War I and mysticism. The story focuses on Pincus, but the point of view bounces between Pincus, Jakob and Clara giving a rounded to view to the immigrant experience and the time Clara was left in Galicia. I was surprised at the reach of the Jewish Mafia. Pincus and Jakob might not have survived their first years with same ease if it were not for Gorspatsch, although it would have saved them a world of heartache later. PIncus' journey closely reflected that of a Jewish immigrant at the time and was loosely based on the author's grandparents. The writing easily conveyed the living conditions and the feeling of community within the Lower East Side. I felt a lot of sympathy for Clara's character, left to raise children, run a shop and survive in a war zone without knowing when Pincus would come back for her and the children. Her strength and courage shone as Clara protected her children and helped her community. Jakob's character was very interesting, always seeming to find trouble and falling in with the gangs, despite his friendship with Pincus, he tends to cause trouble for him over and over. There was a layer of added suspense and mystery with PIncus' oldest son, Moshe and his talent of foreseeing grim events. Known as a tzaddik, Moshe's talent can help his family, but is sought out by others. Incorporating this mysticism creates an exciting and dangerous ending that pulls together Pincus' journey. Overall, A Cobbler's Tale has a lot going on and offers an action packed historical journey of a Jewish immigrant with a touch of magic.


This book was received for free in return for an honest review.

The Cobbler’s Tale: A Novel by Neil Perry Gordon

I would recommend this story as Young Adult novel, with a caveat for one or two events which are not told in too much detail. As such, I may have given the book three stars rather than two.

The main characters, a Jewish family who lives during WWI in Europe and then immigrates to America, are simple people living simple lives. They always manage to come out on top effortlessly. Though many events occur, the author doesn’t create any sense of drama, tension or real struggle. There is also a lack of a central climax and resolution.

In Chapter 88, the final one, you get a synopsis of the entire book as told by Moshe, the son of the main character, Pincus. If you just read this, I feel, there is no real pull to go through the entire story.

First, thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book. What a great story! It's about a Jewish family, their home country and their immigration to the US. A very entertaining book., easy to read, with lots of details about Jewish history and life in the new world. I love history novels and highly recommend it to others readers. Congratulations to the author.

In 1910, cobbler Pincus Potasznik leaves his family to find a better life in America. On the way, he meets Jakob Adler, a young criminal running from his past. The two Jewish men bond and begin a business in the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York. Although Pincus vows to bring his family to America within a year, he waits four years before he risks rescuing his family from Europe during World War 1.

I really liked this book. It offers a quick historical overview of two Jewish men's experiences immigrating to America, and I appreciated learning more about this time period in our country's history. The writing is engaging, and it flows well. I'm recommending this book to other readers who value Jewish history, stories of early immigration to America, and family dynamics. I would have given it 5 stars, but contains some disturbing violence and sexual content.

Feedback was left on Goodreads,Twitter and Amazon.
I finished book last week,it was excellent.
The cobbler who left for America a pauper was able to return for his family.4 yrs.later & take them to America,during the War & to a new life.
Would highly recommend and thank Netgalley and publisher for opportunity to read and review.