''Job'' () is a 1930 novel by the

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

n writer Joseph Roth. It has the subtitle "The Story of a Simple Man" ("Roman eines einfachen Mannes"). It tells the story of an

orthodox Jew Orthodox Judaism is a collective term for the traditionalist branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as literally revealed by God on Mount Sinai and faithfully tran ...

whose faith is weakened when he moves from Tsarist Russia to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. The story is based on the

Book of Job The Book of Job (), or simply Job, is a book found in the Ketuvim ("Writings") section of the Hebrew Bible and the first of the Poetic Books in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. The language of the Book of Job, combining post-Babylonia ...

Reception

When the English translation of the book was reviewed in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' in 1931, the reviewer compared it to the author's previous works: "Roth's development as a novelist has shown a gradual abandonment of problem and political themes such as filled ''Rechts und Links''. ''Flucht Ohne Ende'' (''Flight Without End'') contains evidence of a growing inner life ... Im ic''Job'', finally, he seems to admit that literature must follow upon, not lead, social change; and consequently he has turned his eyes inward upon his spiritual self, and backward upon tradition. He has written a work of the type that literary chroniclers like to call pure." The critic wrote about the book's relation to its source material: "It is the old, familiar

book of Job The Book of Job (), or simply Job, is a book found in the Ketuvim ("Writings") section of the Hebrew Bible and the first of the Poetic Books in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. The language of the Book of Job, combining post-Babylonia ...

, reworked in modern symbols. As with other great legends, the drama is weakened by modernization, but the lyrical quality of the prose and the innate wisdom of the author help us to forget that." The review ended: "there seldom has appeared a book in which each word is burdened so heavily with music and meaning. For its tenderness and beauty alone, ''Job'' deserves a wide audience." Harriet Porter of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' reviewed the book in 2000: "Roth captures essential truths about faith, hope and despair within his reworking of a Biblical story. His writing is rich without being dense, and has a fable-like directness." The composer Erich Zeisl began work on an

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

based on the novel. It was completed by the Polish composer Jan Duszynski and produced as '' Zeisls Hiob'' in Munich in 2014.

References

External links

at Projekt Gutenberg-DE 1930 German-language novels 1930 Austrian novels Book of Job German-language novels Novels by Joseph Roth Novels set in New York (state) Novels set in the Russian Empire Novels based on the Bible Novels adapted into operas {{1930s-novel-stub

Reception

See also

References

External links