Up from Orchard Street

By: Eleanor Widmer

Narrated by: Lorna Raver

Length: 15 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's summary

Three generations of Roths live together in a crowded tenement flat. Long-widowed Manya is the family's head and its heart. She's renowned throughout the neighborhood for her cooking, and every noontime the front room of the flat turns into Manya's private restaurant. But Manya is no soft touch, except, perhaps, where her granddaughter Elka is concerned. Precocious Elka is her closest companion and confidante. Through Elka's eyes we come to know the fascinating characters who move in and out of the Roths' lives. Money may have been short, but opinions were not, and their tart tongues and lively humor abound. In this riveting story lies the heart of the American immigrant experience: a novel at once wise, funny, poignant, anguishing, exultant, and bursting with love.

©2005 Eleanor Widmer (P)2005 Blackstone Audiobooks

Critic reviews

• 2005 Audie Award Nominee, Solo Narration (Female)

"Poignant snapshot of a long-lost era and place....[This] first novel offers pungent, nostalgic vignettes of Jewish life on Manhattan's Lower East Side." (Kirkus Reviews)

Good and not so good

I am glad I bought this, but am also glad I didn't pay full price for it (bought it during the $4.95 sale.)

I liked the historical detail of life in the tenements of New York for the Jewish immigrants. I learned some interesting things about that life in the first half of the 20th century (did you know that people could run a restaurant out of a second-floor walk-up apartment?)

I would have liked it better if the author had been better about conveying time frames... it was hard to keep track of the passage of time. There was a GREAT deal of detail in some places; sometimes MUCH more than was needed.

Overall, I liked the book. The character development was reasonable and, in general, brutally honest. They had both charm and flaws, as well as depth. The narrator did a good job and, after the initial "getting used to it" period, I had no trouble following the characters.

How about hiring a dialect coach?

The story is pleasant enough, although not terribly original. But the Yiddish words were butchered!!! This incompetence was a real distraction that made listening painful for about a third of the performance. Would it have been so difficult to find someone to guide the reader? I'd have done it for free.

Interesting snapshot into another time and life

What did you like best about Up from Orchard Street? What did you like least?

The author provides a peek into a world far removed from middle class America in the 21st century. It is worth listening to for the keen insight it provdes into life inside NewYork tenements through the eyes of a young girl. The story moves slowly, however, and I would have enjoyed it much more if it were considerably shorter.

My Life

Could not believe it, I still smell the sour pickles,nuts and dried fruits.The urine in the stairwells,my mother would hit the steps to scare the rats & the drunkes.I remeber my mother shoveling coal in some tenaments. Then we would get slippers in the lower eastside for 5 cents put them on the pushcart and sell for 20cents if we could get it. Classified as non-fiction for me. I remeber mom!To Life!

A delightful book

This is a charming and heart-warming book. The characters are beautifully portrayed by the reader and her accented dialogue adds to the pleasure of the book. My background is very different from the NYC Jewish culture and yet I could relate so well to the family. I loved the characters and I really hope that there will be a sequel.

Addicting

This was the first audio book I downloaded, and I couldn't stop listening. A great book and narrated wonderfuly. Highly recommended.

More than a Memoir

I bought this book, started it and then put it aside for more than a year. Why? I guess it started out to be one of those "heartwarming" coming-of-age books and I wasn't in the mood. I came back to it by accident and was drawn in by the horrors and wonders of life in New York's Lower East Side just before WWII. The dialogue is convincing, the narration is wonderful and the emergence of the character of the mother, Lil, is astonishing.
The author died at the age of 80 just after finishing the final revisions of this book - her first novel. It is a shame that there won't be a second.

Wonderful wonderful!

Where does Up from Orchard Street rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

At the top!

What was one of the most memorable moments of Up from Orchard Street?

The entire book was memorable. But the author's relationship with her Bubbie is the most heartwarming of all.

What about Lorna Raver’s performance did you like?

LOVED the accents. I have selected this for my book club and have encouraged my friends to listen to the book to get the full effect.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I laughed at the author's comments, reflections, the discussions on sex and infidelity. I cried for the heartbreak of their living situation and their health problems. No spoilers here.

Any additional comments?

This is one of the best books I have read in a long, long time. It was so real, so believable. I wish Ms. Widmer had written more books for all of us to enjoy.

Engaging Story and Great Narrator

This book was highly engaging. I thought I wasn't going to like it, but after about 40 minutes it started to get really good. I loved the characters and the narrator did an awesome job of turning them to life. The best part was that it was based on the author's true life story. Its well worth the time and credit spent.

Loved Every Second

That narrator was excellent, accents just like I remembered growing up in NY. I highly recommend this audiobook.