Mercy of a Rude Stream

The Complete Novels

By: Henry Roth

Narrated by: Christopher Kipiniak

Length: 61 hrs

Publisher's summary

This "landmark of the American literary century" (Boston Globe) is finally published as one volume, appearing with a brilliant new introduction. Sixty years after the publication of his great modernist masterpiece, Call It Sleep, Henry Roth, a retired waterfowl farmer already in his late eighties, shocked the literary world with the announcement that he had written a second novel. It was called, he reported, Mercy of a Rude Stream, the title inspired by Shakespeare, and it followed the travails of one Ira Stigman, whose family had just moved to New York's Jewish Harlem in that "ominous summer of 1914". "It is like hearing that... J. D. Salinger is preparing a sequel to The Catcher in the Rye," the New York Times Book Review pronounced, while Vanity Fair extolled Roth's new work as "the literary comeback of the century." Even more astonishing was that Roth had not just written a second novel but a total of four chronologically linked works, all part of Mercy of a Rude Stream.

As the story unfolds, we follow the turbulent odyssey of Ira, along with his extended Jewish family, friends, and lovers, from the outbreak of World War I through his fateful decision to move into the Greenwich Village apartment of his muse and older lover, the seductive but ultimately tragic NYU professor Edith Welles. Set in both the fractured world of Jewish Harlem and the bohemian maelstrom of the Village, Mercy of a Rude Stream echoes Nabokov in its portrayal of sexual deviance, and offers a harrowing and relentless family drama amid a grand panorama of New York City in the 1910s and Roaring 20s.

©2014 Joshua Ferris. Mercy of a Rude Stream, Volume I: A Star Shines Over Mt. Morris Park 1994 Henry Roth. Mercy of a Rude Stream, Volume II: A Diving Rock on the Hudson 1995 Henry Roth. Mercy of a Rude Stream, Volume III: From Bondage 1996 The Estate of Henry Roth. Mercy of a Rude Stream, Volume IV: Requiem for Harlem 1998 The Literary Estate of Henry Roth. Editor's Afterword 1998 Robert Weil. (P)2014 Audible Inc.

Amazing performance, an opus of a book

The reason I gave this five stars is twofold. The narrator does an amazing job of acting out each character so that the story line is easy to follow and keeps the listener engaged.
The second reason is that Henry Roth painted a picture not only of his family and life in details, but also a graphic detail of life in NYC at time (early 1900’s) from a poor Jewish immigrant viewpoint.
Henry Roth is a cousin of mine. His mother was my grandmother’s sister. I feel so many parts of my family history came to light and I keep referring to our family tree to understand the family structure. I learned so many stories I had never known or heard. I am recommending my cousins and family members listen to it as well and I will gift a copy to anyone interested.
I’m only half way through it, and each day I look forward to hearing more.
I recommend it to anyone interested in NYC history, Jewish immigrant life, and especially our cousins in the diaspora. I wish I had met Henry when he was alive.
Bravo to the narration. It’s like the old days of listening to stories on the radio and modern binge-watching.

Call it sleep?

Listening to this very long audiobook has been an unsettling journey. Everything I thought I knew about Henry Roth from my days in college and Call It Sleep had to revised. No spoilers, so I won't say a word about the plot, but it was a shock. Oh, and don't listen to the introduction before you listen to the entire book.
The narrator gets some of the Yiddish wrong, and a bit off when reading the female characters in the novel, but all in all, a good listening experience.
I tried reading the trilogy several times since it came out, but never made it past the first 60 pages. Listening to it was very redeeming.

Get over yourself!

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

People who like self-involved whiners.

What was most disappointing about Henry Roth’s story?

This book truly put me off listening for so long that I've accrued 7 credits! The main character in this book would have been a huge waste of space on earth. I couldn't even finish it so I do hope that it had something redeemable in the end.

What about Christopher Kipiniak’s performance did you like?

He made me hate the character.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

Nope.

Any additional comments?

I really hope I am just stupid and didn't get the point of this book. If someone says it is great, or even good, then he isn't telling the emperor that he is buck-naked.