What do you think?
Rate this book
An Orphan's Tale
A boy runs away from the Maimonides Home for Jewish Boys to seek out one of the home's great athletic legends. His outlook and self understanding begin an extraordinary unfolding.
268 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1976
29 people are currently reading
66 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
September 9, 2014
I was really taken with the premise of this story. Danny Ginsberg, a 12 year old , Jewish orphan wants to save the Maimonides Home for Jewish Boys and he decides the best way to do that is to find Charlie, a former orphan and get his help. The narrative is mostly driven by Danny’s diary and along his quest we meet Charlie, Murray, Irving, former residents of the home, and they are just part of this interesting cast of characters.
The story is not just about Danny trying to save the home, but about friendships, about their identities as orphans and as Jews. The ties that bind these men is really moving – they seem more like family than friends and that’s perhaps because they were each other’s families as they were growing up in the orphanage. The relationship that develops between Charlie and Danny is endearing, especially with Danny trying to help Charlie who is dyslexic read. I loved Danny and couldn’t help but root for him throughout the book.
.
I have to admit that I was left a little empty in the end, wondering what happened and what was going to happen to Danny. So for me it's three stars even though I enjoyed the writing, especially in Danny’s stories towards the end.
Thanks to Open Road Media and NetGalley
The story is not just about Danny trying to save the home, but about friendships, about their identities as orphans and as Jews. The ties that bind these men is really moving – they seem more like family than friends and that’s perhaps because they were each other’s families as they were growing up in the orphanage. The relationship that develops between Charlie and Danny is endearing, especially with Danny trying to help Charlie who is dyslexic read. I loved Danny and couldn’t help but root for him throughout the book.
.
I have to admit that I was left a little empty in the end, wondering what happened and what was going to happen to Danny. So for me it's three stars even though I enjoyed the writing, especially in Danny’s stories towards the end.
Thanks to Open Road Media and NetGalley
November 25, 2020
Twelve year old Danny Ginsberg is an orphan living at the Maimonides Home for Jewish Boys in Brooklyn. Once a thriving community there are now only 14 boys left and the home faces closure. There just aren’t enough Jewish orphans around. Danny runs away to ask former alumnus Charlie Sapisstein to save the home. That Charlie can’t do, but he takes in Danny and through Charlie’s group of friends Danny finds a family of sorts.
Much of the story is told through Danny’s diary, and we are drawn into Danny’s thoughts and hopes. But he is no ordinary orphan and shows a perception and awareness, especially of Jewish matters, that mark him out as a particularly untypical 12 year old. Through Danny, the author raises all sorts of questions about Jewish heritage and culture, and it is soon apparent that Danny is far more concerned about these things than are those around him.
An orphan story with a difference, I found the book very engaging, although it loses momentum towards the end and the ending itself jarringly abrupt. I’ve only read one other Neugeboren novel and the same thing happened – as though the author just ran out of steam by the end. However, that apart, this is an enjoyable and gentle tale. It evokes Jewish life in Brooklyn vividly and gives a real sense of atmosphere. Danny, although not totally credible as a character, being far too knowing, is nevertheless a sympathetically portrayed young boy dealing with the complexities of Jewish adult life and as a coming-of-age story the book is often moving. An unusual novel, and one I can recommend.
This novel is about friendship and the identities of the boys. It is not only intriguing but mysterious due to the boys upbringings, mistakes and successes. Decent Book, Recommend.j
Much of the story is told through Danny’s diary, and we are drawn into Danny’s thoughts and hopes. But he is no ordinary orphan and shows a perception and awareness, especially of Jewish matters, that mark him out as a particularly untypical 12 year old. Through Danny, the author raises all sorts of questions about Jewish heritage and culture, and it is soon apparent that Danny is far more concerned about these things than are those around him.
An orphan story with a difference, I found the book very engaging, although it loses momentum towards the end and the ending itself jarringly abrupt. I’ve only read one other Neugeboren novel and the same thing happened – as though the author just ran out of steam by the end. However, that apart, this is an enjoyable and gentle tale. It evokes Jewish life in Brooklyn vividly and gives a real sense of atmosphere. Danny, although not totally credible as a character, being far too knowing, is nevertheless a sympathetically portrayed young boy dealing with the complexities of Jewish adult life and as a coming-of-age story the book is often moving. An unusual novel, and one I can recommend.
This novel is about friendship and the identities of the boys. It is not only intriguing but mysterious due to the boys upbringings, mistakes and successes. Decent Book, Recommend.j
September 10, 2014
Twelve year old Danny Ginsberg is an orphan living at the Maimonides Home for Jewish Boys in Brooklyn. Once a thriving community there are now only 14 boys left and the home faces closure. There just aren’t enough Jewish orphans around. Danny runs away to ask former alumnus Charlie Sapisstein to save the home. That Charlie can’t do, but he takes in Danny and through Charlie’s group of friends Danny finds a family of sorts.
Much of the story is told through Danny’s diary, and we are drawn into Danny’s thoughts and hopes. But he is no ordinary orphan and shows a perception and awareness, especially of Jewish matters, that mark him out as a particularly untypical 12 year old. Through Danny, the author raises all sorts of questions about Jewish heritage and culture, and it is soon apparent that Danny is far more concerned about these things than are those around him.
An orphan story with a difference, I found the book very engaging, although it loses momentum towards the end and the ending itself jarringly abrupt. I’ve only read one other Neugeboren novel and the same thing happened – as though the author just ran out of steam by the end. However, that apart, this is an enjoyable and gentle tale. It evokes Jewish life in Brooklyn vividly and gives a real sense of atmosphere. Danny, although not totally credible as a character, being far too knowing, is nevertheless a sympathetically portrayed young boy dealing with the complexities of Jewish adult life and as a coming-of-age story the book is often moving. An unusual novel, and one I can recommend.
Much of the story is told through Danny’s diary, and we are drawn into Danny’s thoughts and hopes. But he is no ordinary orphan and shows a perception and awareness, especially of Jewish matters, that mark him out as a particularly untypical 12 year old. Through Danny, the author raises all sorts of questions about Jewish heritage and culture, and it is soon apparent that Danny is far more concerned about these things than are those around him.
An orphan story with a difference, I found the book very engaging, although it loses momentum towards the end and the ending itself jarringly abrupt. I’ve only read one other Neugeboren novel and the same thing happened – as though the author just ran out of steam by the end. However, that apart, this is an enjoyable and gentle tale. It evokes Jewish life in Brooklyn vividly and gives a real sense of atmosphere. Danny, although not totally credible as a character, being far too knowing, is nevertheless a sympathetically portrayed young boy dealing with the complexities of Jewish adult life and as a coming-of-age story the book is often moving. An unusual novel, and one I can recommend.
July 8, 2014
Thank you to NetGalley and Open Road Integrated Media for providing me with an Advanced Readers Copy of An Orphan’s Tale by A. J. Betts.
Below is my unbiased opinion.
Danny Ginsberg is a precocious twelve year old who resides at The Maimonides Home For Jewish Boys in Brooklyn, New York. Danny is an” endangered species”, aka Jewish Orphan. Learning that the Home will be closing due to the lack of Jewish Orphans and funding, Danny decides to run away. His plan is to find alum of the orphanage that may be able to help save the Home from closure. What follows is Danny’s journey as he meets several men who resided in the orphanage decades ago.
I enjoyed the extended collection of characters and the plot of this coming of age novel. However, there was an abundance of Jewish words, terms and content that was confusing at times. Tighter editing was also needed, as different characters points of view occurred simultaneously in paragraphs.
Below is my unbiased opinion.
Danny Ginsberg is a precocious twelve year old who resides at The Maimonides Home For Jewish Boys in Brooklyn, New York. Danny is an” endangered species”, aka Jewish Orphan. Learning that the Home will be closing due to the lack of Jewish Orphans and funding, Danny decides to run away. His plan is to find alum of the orphanage that may be able to help save the Home from closure. What follows is Danny’s journey as he meets several men who resided in the orphanage decades ago.
I enjoyed the extended collection of characters and the plot of this coming of age novel. However, there was an abundance of Jewish words, terms and content that was confusing at times. Tighter editing was also needed, as different characters points of view occurred simultaneously in paragraphs.
August 28, 2014
Danny is an orphan. He lives in Maimonides Home for Jewish Boys. Danny' 12 years old decides to run away to find a former orphan. He wants to save the home from being closed. Will Danny find help?
This novel is about friendship and the identities of the boys. It is not only intriguing but mysterious due to the boys upbringings, mistakes and successes.
Disclaimer: I received a digital galley of this book free from the publisher from NetGalley. I was not obliged to write a favourable review, or even any review at all. The opinions expressed are strictly my own.
This novel is about friendship and the identities of the boys. It is not only intriguing but mysterious due to the boys upbringings, mistakes and successes.
Disclaimer: I received a digital galley of this book free from the publisher from NetGalley. I was not obliged to write a favourable review, or even any review at all. The opinions expressed are strictly my own.
July 21, 2014
Being brought up in a |Jewish boys home in Brooklyn and one of the residents who is 13 years old runs away looking for his friend Sol who would always come and visit the boys in the holidays but hasn't been back and has disappeared. Its a story of intrigue and mystery centered around the memories of the boys, their upbringing, failures, mistakes and successes.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews