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12th out of 22 books
—
6 voters
The Fifth Servant
Whoever saves a single life saves the entire world . . .
In 1592, as the Catholic Church and the Protestants battle for control of the soul of Europe, Prague is a relatively safe harbor in the religious storm. Ruled by Emperor Rudolph II, the city is a refuge for Jews who live within the gated walls of its ghetto. But their lives are jeopardized when a young Christian girl...more
In 1592, as the Catholic Church and the Protestants battle for control of the soul of Europe, Prague is a relatively safe harbor in the religious storm. Ruled by Emperor Rudolph II, the city is a refuge for Jews who live within the gated walls of its ghetto. But their lives are jeopardized when a young Christian girl...more
Hardcover, 400 pages
Published
January 26th 2010
by William Morrow
(first published 2010)
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The constant tension between Jews and non-Jews was palpable in 16th century Prague. The Jews were an easy target for derision in a populace where they were vastly outnumbered and forced to live in a walled ghetto. Emperor Rudolph II attempted to keep the peace in his city by tolerating the often despised Jews and masking his envy of their intellect and scientific knowledge as well as his need for their financial sustenance within the Empire. But the Catholic Church’s battle for control against t...more
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The greatest strength of Wishnia’s mystery set in 16th century Prague is its erudition. Filled with heavily detailed descriptions of life in the Jewish quarter, woven through with Talmudic arguments, Yiddish and Hebrew, Jewish law and custom, it is an education in itself. That dedication to research is also its greatest weakness. At times I lost the train of the plot or the vividness of the characters amidst the plenty. I would have preferred a more organic blending of necessary background into...more
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Set in Prague in 1592, The Fifth Servant, is a page-turner of an education. The book, though fiction, is filled with so many factual events, people and places to qualify as a text book, albeit one that is a joy to read. Dr. Wishnia has indeed done his research. I am not Jewish by either faith or ethnicity, so the fact that I found the book fascinating would only be magnified for Jewish readers. There are many humorous and/or quirky parts - mostly dialogue - to keep the reader from feeling she is...more
This story is an historical Jewish crime drama. I don't think that I've read a story with that descriptor before! The story is very dense with many different characters, some do not seem all that important to the telling of the story. It took a while to get into the flow of the novel. I read this as an e pub book. I think an actual book may have been better as I could have looked up all the Jewish words and phrasing more easily in the glosery. Once I did get into the story I liked it. I felt lik...more
The Fifth Servant (William Morrow 2010) is the story of Benyamin Ben-Akiva, a young Polish Talmudic scholar who follows his wife to her hometown of Prague in 1592. Ruled by Emperor Rudolph II, Prague is a relatively safe refuge for Jews, who live within the gated walls of the city’s ghetto. On the eve of Passover, the body of a young Christian girl is found in a Jewish shop. Her throat has been cut, and blood is everywhere. The shopkeeper and his family are arrested, charged with blood libel, th...more
Only at the outset was it slow to keep my attention - while I was enthralled by the imagery Wishnia provided, I was put off by the modernization of the dialogue. And although Wishnia includes an author's note clarifying his reasons for bringing 16th century conversations to a more contemporary approach, I did (only initially) struggle with it. I much prefer historical fiction to be representative (or as closely as it can be, or maybe even how it is imagined it would be) to the actual speech patt...more
I'm really torn on how to review this book. Because on one hand, I think it was absolutely brilliant although at times I felt as if the author was writing for a specific audience and, while I'm on the fringed edge of that audience, there were parts I just couldn't grasp, and on the other hand I found that the mystery was more of a distraction then anything else.
I think the best way to review The Fifth Servant is to look at it two ways; first, as a murder mystery and second, as a historical novel...more
I think the best way to review The Fifth Servant is to look at it two ways; first, as a murder mystery and second, as a historical novel...more
I realized as I approached the end of this book--basically a murder mystery set in sixteenth century Prague--that I couldn't really figure out "who dunnit?" The story is very complicated and riddled with vocabulary in Yiddish, Czech, German and Hebrew. (Vey iz mir, I did not realize there was a glossary at the end of the book until I was done. Oy!) The fascinating parts of the book, to me, dealt with the relationships between Catholics and Protestants, Christians and Jews, Jews and Jews (traditi...more
If anyone had told me previously that I'd be thoroughly engrossed by a mystery involving a Jewish shammes (or sexton of a synogogue) in 16th Century Prague, I'd probably have been skeptical. However, as the old saying goes, you should never assume, because you know what happens when you do.
Which is to say that THE FIFTH SERVANT by Kenneth Wishnia is every bit as engrossing as any modern detective story I've ever read.
The protagonist, Benjamin Ben-Akiva, is a new Talmudic scholar who's come to Pr...more
Which is to say that THE FIFTH SERVANT by Kenneth Wishnia is every bit as engrossing as any modern detective story I've ever read.
The protagonist, Benjamin Ben-Akiva, is a new Talmudic scholar who's come to Pr...more
Another entry into the Jewish historical mystery/ 'police' procedural genre. I read this book mostly because David Liss blurbed the back cover and I am a big fan of his historical fiction.
I wasn't disappointed. Where Liss introduces a less-than-completely observant (in the religious sense) private investigator, Wishnia's 'detective' is a shammes who is studying to become a rabbi. As a result, Jewish religious beliefs figure much more prominently in the story.
Set in Prague in the 16th century, Be...more
I wasn't disappointed. Where Liss introduces a less-than-completely observant (in the religious sense) private investigator, Wishnia's 'detective' is a shammes who is studying to become a rabbi. As a result, Jewish religious beliefs figure much more prominently in the story.
Set in Prague in the 16th century, Be...more
The Fifth Servant is a mystery set in 17th century Prague. Second book I have read this year with that setting, but this one is oh so different from the other. A small girl's body is found with her throat slit in the shop of a Jewish merchant. The little girl was a Christian and the grisly discovery threatens to set the ghetto ablaze. A newly arrived Polish Jew is given three days to solve the mystery of who really murdered the child.
This is a very well-written book and the characters are varied...more
This is a very well-written book and the characters are varied...more
“The Fifth Servant” by Kenneth Wishnia is a fictional mystery set in 1592 at Jewish Ghetto in the city of Prague. The book is rich with Jewish culture and the tensions between Jews and Christians.
Benyamin Ben Akivah is a shamash, the caretaker of a temple, and new to the Jewish community. Benyamin is not only a scholar but a proud Jew with a temper which he finds difficult to control. When a Christian girl’s body is found in the ghetto just before Passover Benyamin must prove to the Christian co...more
Benyamin Ben Akivah is a shamash, the caretaker of a temple, and new to the Jewish community. Benyamin is not only a scholar but a proud Jew with a temper which he finds difficult to control. When a Christian girl’s body is found in the ghetto just before Passover Benyamin must prove to the Christian co...more
My review for the AP:
"The Fifth Servant" (William Morrow, 387 pages, $25.99), by Kenneth Wishnia: Days before Easter in Prague in 1592, a Christian girl is murdered and her body, drained of blood, is dumped in a Jewish shop on the eve of Passover. The death rekindles Christian beliefs that Jews sacrifice humans for blood to use in making matzo for the holiday.
To save the shopkeeper and his family and prevent Christian riots from looting and burning the Jewish ghetto, a rabbinic student must fi...more
"The Fifth Servant" (William Morrow, 387 pages, $25.99), by Kenneth Wishnia: Days before Easter in Prague in 1592, a Christian girl is murdered and her body, drained of blood, is dumped in a Jewish shop on the eve of Passover. The death rekindles Christian beliefs that Jews sacrifice humans for blood to use in making matzo for the holiday.
To save the shopkeeper and his family and prevent Christian riots from looting and burning the Jewish ghetto, a rabbinic student must fi...more
I think if you come to The Fifth Servant expecting a murder mystery you will likely be disappointed, not because there isn't a crime to be solved but because the investigation seems less important than the characterization and the discussion of religious ideas and exploration of the novel's fascinating historical setting.
As a historical novel, Wishnia crafts something that really gives a strong flavor of its setting and left me feeling better informed and keen to learn more. It is not an easy re...more
As a historical novel, Wishnia crafts something that really gives a strong flavor of its setting and left me feeling better informed and keen to learn more. It is not an easy re...more
Sara Paretsky is right -- this book IS extraordinary! Wishnia has vividly recreated the Jewish ghetto in Prague during Emperor Rudolph II's rule and the crushing oppression of its occupants. Against all odds, a new "shammes" must solve the murder of a little Christian girl in three days to avert disastrous consequences for the Jewish population. (Weirdly enough, the word "shammes" means servant but sounds very much like "shamus," our slang word for private investigator.) The story unfolds with u...more
Here's a book that combines some of my favorite things - history, detailed information about a relatively unfamiliar culture, a basis in folklore, and a mystery. The Fifth Servant is a wonderful and playful book based in part on the legend of Rabbi Loew's creation of the Golem that saved the ghetto of Prague. It's a legend that never fails to delight me and this book goes on my list of favorites based on it, including He, She, and It by Marge Piercy and The Golem by Issac Bashevis Singer. All ar...more
The Fifth Servant is one of those books that just tries to accomplish too much. The book jacket will tell you that the setting is 16th century Prague, and a Christian girl is found dead in a Jewish shop, leading to an accusation of blood libel. I needed the jacket for this information, for the way it was told within the story was completely confusing and misleading. The author tries to follow too many plot lines and tangents: the "mystery" plot line of who killed the girl and why; the Jewish per...more
I liked this boook. The story is quite interesting as it reveals the sturggles of the Jews in 16th century Prague. The core story is of the death of a young Christian girl that is blamed on the Jews and the Jews attempts to prove otherewise. During the course of the story some somewhat experimental techniques are used by the Jewish "detective" to determine how the girl was killed and what possibly happeneded to her. The setting is of great interest to me as we were in Prague last year. I checked...more
The Fifth Servant by Kenneth Wishnia is a complex historical fiction murder mystery, taking place in 1592 in Prague where Jews take refuge within the gated walls of a ghetto in one of the few places they are actually allowed to live. All that may be forced to change when the body of a young Christian girl with her throat slashed is found in a Jewish shop on the eve of Passover. The shopkeeper and his family are arrested, but more is at stake than just their freedom as the Christians may use this...more
Set in 16th-century Prague, Benyamin Ben-Akiva a Jewish sexton and his mentor, the legendary Rabbi Loew, investigate the murder of a young Christian girl. They are given three days to produce a culprit or the entire Jewish community will be destroyed. Benyamin faces his task with aplomb and his grounding in the Talmud. In spite of the lurid possibilities, the story is well-told for the first half of the book. At that point, however, the exceptionally detailed description of the torture of a youn...more
The Fifth Servant – Kenneth Wishnia
4 stars
In 1592, Benyamin Ben-Akiva is a newcomer to Prague. He is employed as the fifth shames (servant) of the reformist Rabbi Judah Loew. The book opens at a time of religious celebration; Good Friday through Easter for the Christian majority and Passover in the Jewish ghetto. “And spring is open season on Jews. Holy Week and Eastertide were especially risky, and a gambling man would say that we were long overdue for old-fashioned Jew-hatred.” A Christian chi...more
4 stars
In 1592, Benyamin Ben-Akiva is a newcomer to Prague. He is employed as the fifth shames (servant) of the reformist Rabbi Judah Loew. The book opens at a time of religious celebration; Good Friday through Easter for the Christian majority and Passover in the Jewish ghetto. “And spring is open season on Jews. Holy Week and Eastertide were especially risky, and a gambling man would say that we were long overdue for old-fashioned Jew-hatred.” A Christian chi...more
Annotation: When a christian child is found dead inside the business of a Jewish merchant, the city of Prague becomes an even more deadly place for the Jewish people to live. Set during the sixteenth-century Inquisition, sexton Benyamin Ben-Akiva, his rabbinic mentor and a cast of unlikely allies must solve the murder before the anger and blood lust of the city destroy and innocent man and the Jewish Ghetto in which they live.
This is a smart, historically detailed mystery that will keep you gue...more
This is a smart, historically detailed mystery that will keep you gue...more
When I first read the description of Kenneth Wishnia's novel, The Fifth Servant, I knew I had to read it. Set in late 16th century Prague during the inquisition when Catholics and Protestants are battling for control, the Jewish people in the ghetto are going about their lives, hoping attention is not turned on them. When the body of a young Christian girl is found on the floor of a Jewish businessman's shop, however, all eyes focus on the Jewish community and what is perceived as their Jew-magi...more
Ultimately, I loved the descriptions of Prague, and I thought this was very well researched. I was sorry when it was over, so I must have come to like the characters. I am sorry to say it was not the best-written book I have read -- still wanted to take my red pen to it. I think I don't like first person narratives, and that may have been part of the problem. There were a few too many characters; by the end I lost track of some of them and their motivations. I never fully grasped the conspiracy...more
Although I thought the story took place in an interesting locale, the mystery itself was fairly light. The history and the triangle between the Jewish, the protestant and Catholic communities was intersting. The main characheter appeared smart and it would have nice he was a more of the focus in the book. The author continued to shift focus. On the whole the book was lieable.
I really tried with this book, liked the characters and all that, but I completely lost track of what was going on. Maybe there were too many sub-plots or something, and it kept jumping around from one set of people to another. But I have no idea of what happened in this book. I made it to the end, but I'm completely lost here.
It is 1692 in Prague. The Protestants and Catholics are fighting for power. The Jews live in the ghetto precariously as they are deemed necessary by higher ups,and hated by all. Prejudice and superstition run rampant. Then different Rabbi's and their congregations cannot even get a long to unite.
A Christian girl is brutally murdered just before Passover and the Jews are blamed. The murder must be solved before the entire ghetto is burned to the ground or they are expelled entirely.
This book is...more
A Christian girl is brutally murdered just before Passover and the Jews are blamed. The murder must be solved before the entire ghetto is burned to the ground or they are expelled entirely.
This book is...more
Fascinating look at 16th century Judaism through the eyes of shammes, or synagogue sexton Benyamin Ben-Akiva who has three days to find the murderer of a young Christian girl found dead in the Jewish ghetto of Prague. Full of history, intrigue and humor. I hope that author Kenneth Wishnia plans to write more mysteries featuring Benyamin Ben-Akiva.
The mystery part of the story becomes lost in the tumult of the 16th century and the conflict that the Roman Catholic Church had with the Jews. It is an interesting look at the history of this conflict as well as how it may have played out in a story. I did get a bit lost at times with references to the Talmud and the intricasies of rabbinical study. If you enjoy a detailed look at a slice of history this is the book for you. If you want a page turning mystery this is not it.
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A pseudonym used by K.J.A. Wishnia.
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