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A Stone for Danny Fisher
As a teenager, Danny Fisher had all he ever wanted — a dog, a grown-up summer job, flirtatious relationships with older women — and a talent for ruthless boxing that quickly made him a star in the amateur sporting world. But when Danny's family falls on hard times, moving from their comfortable home in Brooklyn to Manhattan's squalid Lower East Side, he is forced to leave his carefree childhood behind. Facing poverty and daily encounters with his violent, anti-Semitic neighbors, Danny must fight both inside and outside the ring just to survive. As his boxing becomes legendary in the city's seedy underworld, packed with wiseguys and loose women, everyone seems to want a hand in Danny's success. Robbins's colorful, fast-talking characters evoke the rough streets of Depression-era New York City. Ronnie, a prostitute ashamed of how far she's fallen and desperately in need of friendship; Sam, a slick bookie who wants to profit from Danny's boxing talent; and Nellie, a beautiful but lonely girl who refuses to believe Danny is beyond redemption — each of whom has a different vision of Danny's future — will help steer his rocky course. Gritty, compelling, and groundbreaking for its time, A Stone for Danny Fisher is a tale of ambition, hope, and violence set in a distinct and dangerous period of American history. A classic, sexy bestseller by Harold Robbins, reintroduced to a whole new generation of readers.
386 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1952
127 people are currently reading
1718 people want to read
About the author
Harold Robbins
319 books437 followersBorn as Harold Rubin in New York City, he later claimed to be a Jewish orphan who had been raised in a Catholic boys home. In reality he was the son of well-educated Russian and Polish immigrants. He was reared by his pharmacist father and stepmother in Brooklyn.
His first book, Never Love a Stranger (1948), caused controversy with its graphic sexuality. Publisher Pat Knopf reportedly bought Never Love a Stranger because "it was the first time he had ever read a book where on one page you'd have tears and on the next page you'd have a hard-on".
His 1952 novel, A Stone for Danny Fisher, was adapted into a 1958 motion picture King Creole, which starred Elvis Presley.
He would become arguably the world's bestselling author, publishing over 20 books which were translated into 32 languages and sold over 750 million copies. Among his best-known books is The Carpetbaggers, loosely based on the life of Howard Hughes, taking the reader from New York to California, from the prosperity of the aeronautical industry to the glamour of Hollywood.
His first book, Never Love a Stranger (1948), caused controversy with its graphic sexuality. Publisher Pat Knopf reportedly bought Never Love a Stranger because "it was the first time he had ever read a book where on one page you'd have tears and on the next page you'd have a hard-on".
His 1952 novel, A Stone for Danny Fisher, was adapted into a 1958 motion picture King Creole, which starred Elvis Presley.
He would become arguably the world's bestselling author, publishing over 20 books which were translated into 32 languages and sold over 750 million copies. Among his best-known books is The Carpetbaggers, loosely based on the life of Howard Hughes, taking the reader from New York to California, from the prosperity of the aeronautical industry to the glamour of Hollywood.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 158 reviews
November 28, 2021
My dad told me that this was the first novel that my mom read shortly after they were married 59 years ago (she wasn't an avid reader up to that point.) I could see how it appealed to her, especially the ending.
Unfortunately, Mom, I've read better. Why?
1. I love a good character-driven novel, but I just couldn't connect with any of them in this book! Author Harold Robbins introduces his main character, Danny Fisher, who stole my heart as a youngster, but as he grew into his later teenage years as well as into manhood, he really annoyed me with his disrespectful attitude, selfishness and arrogance. He lost any redeeming qualities he had as a boy for me;
2. Why did Robbins have to make all the female characters so needy? When Nellie and Ronnie were first introduced, they seemed to have the potential for showing some spunk, but as they interacted with Danny throughout the novel, they both turned into sniveling sops with no backbone;
3. Some parts in this story should have made me gush torrents of tears, but sorry, nothing here!;
4. Danny Fisher's musings in the Epilogue were at times philosophical, but some felt cringeworthy corny; and,
5. Mom wasn't privy to the audiobook, but I found that the narrator's enactment of a woman crying, especially Nellie, really grated on my nerves!
So, to make a long story short, this American "classic" didn't really work for me.
Warning: This book was published in 1952. It contains offensive language (i.e. racist, ethnic and sexist), as well as graphic physical violence.
Unfortunately, Mom, I've read better. Why?
1. I love a good character-driven novel, but I just couldn't connect with any of them in this book! Author Harold Robbins introduces his main character, Danny Fisher, who stole my heart as a youngster, but as he grew into his later teenage years as well as into manhood, he really annoyed me with his disrespectful attitude, selfishness and arrogance. He lost any redeeming qualities he had as a boy for me;
2. Why did Robbins have to make all the female characters so needy? When Nellie and Ronnie were first introduced, they seemed to have the potential for showing some spunk, but as they interacted with Danny throughout the novel, they both turned into sniveling sops with no backbone;
3. Some parts in this story should have made me gush torrents of tears, but sorry, nothing here!;
4. Danny Fisher's musings in the Epilogue were at times philosophical, but some felt cringeworthy corny; and,
5. Mom wasn't privy to the audiobook, but I found that the narrator's enactment of a woman crying, especially Nellie, really grated on my nerves!
So, to make a long story short, this American "classic" didn't really work for me.
Warning: This book was published in 1952. It contains offensive language (i.e. racist, ethnic and sexist), as well as graphic physical violence.
July 12, 2022
This was more compelling read than I thought it would be. It was very readable and easy to flew through. Can see why it's a classic although it's not a new favorite
July 29, 2012
I've read A Stone for Danny Fisher several times over decades. When I was a kid growing up in Danny's Brooklyn I enjoyed the references to places and things and people I knew. I also enjoyed the sexy parts, though they were done more by inference and euphemism than the explicit language we're used to today. Still, any adult and most teenagers knew what was being described.
The book is narrated by Danny himself from beyond the grave, as it opens with his family gathered at his gravesite, and so there is no doubt as to his end, only how he got there. The stone in the title refers to the Jewish practice of placing a common stone atop the grave of someone departed, as a sort of way of registering that you have been there, and a sort of remembrance. Thus the stone of the title is the remembrance of Danny's life.
The book affected me greatly as a kid, because the happiness of Danny's childhood from the time his family moves into their new house in a new subdivision in East Flatbush when Danny was 8 to the time when his family lost the house and they moved to the Lower East Side at the age of 15 has always stuck with me as warning of how suddenly a happy and stable life can be shredded into despair.
Danny's beloved dog dies as soon as his family moves and his childhood dies along with it. From that point, Danny finds hate and love, and kindness and meanness. Plenty of meanness. He finds himself torn between loyalty and betrayal, his own and others, throughout the rest of the novel.
The characters are well drawn and vivid. Danny spends his short adult life dreaming of returning to the little Brooklyn house where he knew happiness, and he does. Almost. That quest, and its consequences, brings the novel very close to the "tragedy of a common man" that Miller attempted in "Death of a Salesman." I think Robbins was more successful.
I picked this up recently for the first time in several years because I wanted to re-read a particular section. I didn't want to re-read the whole thing, since it is, at heart, a disturbing and depressing story; but the story grabbed me again and compelled me to read it to the very end, rather like a violent event that you don't want to see, but you cannot look away. At the end, there were tears in my eyes. Once again.
The book is narrated by Danny himself from beyond the grave, as it opens with his family gathered at his gravesite, and so there is no doubt as to his end, only how he got there. The stone in the title refers to the Jewish practice of placing a common stone atop the grave of someone departed, as a sort of way of registering that you have been there, and a sort of remembrance. Thus the stone of the title is the remembrance of Danny's life.
The book affected me greatly as a kid, because the happiness of Danny's childhood from the time his family moves into their new house in a new subdivision in East Flatbush when Danny was 8 to the time when his family lost the house and they moved to the Lower East Side at the age of 15 has always stuck with me as warning of how suddenly a happy and stable life can be shredded into despair.
Danny's beloved dog dies as soon as his family moves and his childhood dies along with it. From that point, Danny finds hate and love, and kindness and meanness. Plenty of meanness. He finds himself torn between loyalty and betrayal, his own and others, throughout the rest of the novel.
The characters are well drawn and vivid. Danny spends his short adult life dreaming of returning to the little Brooklyn house where he knew happiness, and he does. Almost. That quest, and its consequences, brings the novel very close to the "tragedy of a common man" that Miller attempted in "Death of a Salesman." I think Robbins was more successful.
I picked this up recently for the first time in several years because I wanted to re-read a particular section. I didn't want to re-read the whole thing, since it is, at heart, a disturbing and depressing story; but the story grabbed me again and compelled me to read it to the very end, rather like a violent event that you don't want to see, but you cannot look away. At the end, there were tears in my eyes. Once again.
July 12, 2022
"A Stone For Danny Fisher, Robbins' 1951 novel, is widely considered his best. It is a portrait of a young Jewish kid in depression-era New York who grows up to be a street tough, a boxer with an undefeated record, and gets mixed up with the rackets and hoods. It is the story of his love affair with an Italian girl who stuck with him through thick and thin. It's a story of poverty and welfare. It's a story about a whore with a heart of gold. It's a boxing story about a young kid on his way to make it big and the hoods who are sponsoring him.
The first part is a typical coming of age story about a kid in a new neighborhood, about a first kiss, about finding a stray dog, about watching the neighbor girl through the window. The story doesn't really get moving until the family has to move to the lower east side tenements and Danny becomes a neighborhood tough. From there, the story just explodes. The boxing sequences are terrific. You feel as if you are right there ringside watching the action.
Robbins incorporates a lot of different themes in this book about growing up, about corruption, about desperation, about family relations, and about trust. It's one of those books that tell a character's life history, not just a particular episode.
At almost five hundred pages, it weighs in as a heavyweight contender, but it's a book you just devour.
The first part is a typical coming of age story about a kid in a new neighborhood, about a first kiss, about finding a stray dog, about watching the neighbor girl through the window. The story doesn't really get moving until the family has to move to the lower east side tenements and Danny becomes a neighborhood tough. From there, the story just explodes. The boxing sequences are terrific. You feel as if you are right there ringside watching the action.
Robbins incorporates a lot of different themes in this book about growing up, about corruption, about desperation, about family relations, and about trust. It's one of those books that tell a character's life history, not just a particular episode.
At almost five hundred pages, it weighs in as a heavyweight contender, but it's a book you just devour.
January 26, 2013
I don't know how many times I've read this book over the years. I first read it when very young so I guess that has made it special because it affected me more than either the writing or the story ought to deserve. Not that it isn't a well told tale by a writer who knew how to tell a story. Harold Robbins wrote several huge best sellers and was looked down on by most of the high-brow critics; he's not alone in that. But this tale, like 'Of Human Bondage' has a place in my heart because the characters spoke to me and showed me the power of writing when I was young and impressionable. I have just finished it again and still enjoyed it.
Of its time it was a five star read and remains so for me today. There was an Elvis film adaptation that didn't do the story justice.
Of its time it was a five star read and remains so for me today. There was an Elvis film adaptation that didn't do the story justice.
October 12, 2019
I read it years ago,and remember it as a powerful,gut-wrenching story.This one too,is set in depression era New York,and the protagonist has to endure a lot of suffering.Even the title is a spoiler,as the story opens,he is already dead.It's not a feel good book,I didn't find it easy to read again,after many years.But it leaves a lasting impact,and packs quite a punch.
July 28, 2013
I had no idea what to expect when I picked this up in audio from the library. I read a few of Harold Robbins' more commercial, salacious novels from the late seventies, yet hadn't thought of him in years. But this novel is an entirely different animal: this is 1950s cinéma vérité with a heavy dose of Robbins melodrama thrown in for good measure.
A Stone For Danny Fisher is a brutal coming-of-age story covering both The Great Depression and WWII eras. Danny Fisher is a sensitive, likable Jewish boy who, when his family falls on hard times, discovers that he not only has a natural talent for fighting but also for the clever manipulation of everyone close to him. But Danny is too clever for his own good, and has a serious tragic flaw that always propels his happiness just out of his reach.
There were moments that I had to stop listening to this story because it became too intense, too real. As a late baby boomer, I had grandparents who struggled through the Depression, but they were reluctant (or unable) to communicate the true horror of it to me. Robbins made me want to immediately convert all my money to cash or gold and stuff it inside my mattress. Several reviewers compare it to The Jungle, but A Stone For Danny Fisher has a stylistic point of view that The Jungle--with its empahsis on social polemic--lacks. It's much more than a period piece. It's an endless roller coaster ride of jubilation, discontent, and despair. And I mean that in a good way.
Robbins could have easily trimmed this book by a good 100 pages. It feels relentless, sometimes exhausting. And the use of the second person at the beginning...well, I found it annoying. In fact the entire conceit of Danny making observations from beyond the grave is too heavy-handed for my taste. But even with its flaws, I recommend it highly for fans of good writing, noir fiction, and early 20th century NYC.
A Stone For Danny Fisher is a brutal coming-of-age story covering both The Great Depression and WWII eras. Danny Fisher is a sensitive, likable Jewish boy who, when his family falls on hard times, discovers that he not only has a natural talent for fighting but also for the clever manipulation of everyone close to him. But Danny is too clever for his own good, and has a serious tragic flaw that always propels his happiness just out of his reach.
There were moments that I had to stop listening to this story because it became too intense, too real. As a late baby boomer, I had grandparents who struggled through the Depression, but they were reluctant (or unable) to communicate the true horror of it to me. Robbins made me want to immediately convert all my money to cash or gold and stuff it inside my mattress. Several reviewers compare it to The Jungle, but A Stone For Danny Fisher has a stylistic point of view that The Jungle--with its empahsis on social polemic--lacks. It's much more than a period piece. It's an endless roller coaster ride of jubilation, discontent, and despair. And I mean that in a good way.
Robbins could have easily trimmed this book by a good 100 pages. It feels relentless, sometimes exhausting. And the use of the second person at the beginning...well, I found it annoying. In fact the entire conceit of Danny making observations from beyond the grave is too heavy-handed for my taste. But even with its flaws, I recommend it highly for fans of good writing, noir fiction, and early 20th century NYC.
May 14, 2015
“A Stone for Danny Fisher” is a book of great importance for me. I was 14, who never really loved to read and it was the first time when while reading I started to coexist with the characters, I still remember their faces, even though the book had not a single illustration in it. I discovered totally new world for me, which was born from those words and lines and my thoughts and impressions and this chemistry was very strong.
I consider myself rich, because this world I discovered at 14, since then is always there for me and I am grateful for this connection, which started from this particular piece.
As for now, I don’t know if my feelings for this book would be the same if I reread it..I prefer to leave it untouched on the shelf.
Totally recommend it to everyone and wish you to see the faces of the characters in this book about Danny Fisher.
I consider myself rich, because this world I discovered at 14, since then is always there for me and I am grateful for this connection, which started from this particular piece.
As for now, I don’t know if my feelings for this book would be the same if I reread it..I prefer to leave it untouched on the shelf.
Totally recommend it to everyone and wish you to see the faces of the characters in this book about Danny Fisher.
March 29, 2010
I have to admit that I was a big Harold Robins fan in my 20's. I really liked most of his books. They are all Pulp Fiction & very risque for thier day. A Stone for Danny Fisher stands out tho. I recently reread this & it was as powerful now as it was. Not too much pulp fiction stands the test of time, but this one does.
September 28, 2018
What a book! I remember reading this book when I was in college and being consumed by it. It left a deep impact on me. So when I found it on Kindle, I could not help but buy and read it all over again. Forty-plus years later I could not put the book down, until I finished the last page. I found myself tearing up once more when Danny loses his beloved dog Rexie. I found myself experiencing anguish all over again at the blows that life deals this talented boxer. Danny could have gone on to become a celebrated boxer but instead has to constantly fight poverty. Set in the age of the Great Depression, the story delivers an emotional punch in the gut after all these years!
July 28, 2011
I read this in high school back when God was a boy! My high school had a huge population of Jewish kids and this was the big book everybody who read was reading at the time!
I did not figure out the stone part in the title until Schindlers List!
I do remember it being a page turner to me. Probably because next to Peyton Place,it was the most grown up fiction I had read.
I did not figure out the stone part in the title until Schindlers List!
I do remember it being a page turner to me. Probably because next to Peyton Place,it was the most grown up fiction I had read.
July 23, 2011
C1951. FWFTB: boxing, amateur, poverty, survive, Depression. I have read many Robbins’ books and this was anotherone that I managed to get my hands on via a Charity shop. This is not like the later novels in that there are no gratuitous sex scenes – just some good writing.This is not the happiest book in the world bearing in mind that The title of the book comes from the Jewish tradition of placing a stone on a grave. I suppose Mr Robbins background at Universal Pictures made it a dead cert that this book would be made into a film called “King Creole” starring Elvis Presley.
Interestingly, the Wall Street Journal stated that"Robbins's books are packed with action, sustained by a strong narrative drive, and given vitality by his own colorful life."
Recommended but not if you are having a bad day. FCN: Danny Fisher (poor boy making good by means of his talent for boxing), Sam Goetlib (mentor, coach and backer)
Interestingly, the Wall Street Journal stated that"Robbins's books are packed with action, sustained by a strong narrative drive, and given vitality by his own colorful life."
Recommended but not if you are having a bad day. FCN: Danny Fisher (poor boy making good by means of his talent for boxing), Sam Goetlib (mentor, coach and backer)
February 7, 2016
Audiobook. My tolerance for melodrama is less than when I first read this book in high school apparently! But I still enjoyed listening to this again. I loved most of the characters except Danny's wife Nellie. OMG, what a whiner! She was forever crying, worried, or about to faint dead away. I could have done without her.
December 5, 2016
At first, I really kind of liked this book. After while though, I didn't like it so much. I can't really put my finger on it. Sometimes that writers prose bothered me. For example he would kept saying I smiled sardonically or I did this impatiently or whatever. It sounded forced. Also I didn't really sympathize with any of the characters.
February 27, 2012
It was a fascinating and compelling story with an unexpected twist (at least it was for me). I would have never even thought about reading this if my 63 year old mother said it was one of her favorite books when she was my age. It's not my favorite book but it's definitely on the top of my list.
November 22, 2013
I first encountered Harold Robbins on the shelves of people for whom I was babysitting. I devoured whatever I found, figuring I finally was going to learn something practical, realistic, and useful about sex. I was mistaken.
August 3, 2019
Danny Fisher lives in a world where the men are below average intelligence and the women are needy, dependent, mentally sub-par, weak and sickly. Even a female infant dies because she catches a cold - from her mother, of course. This happens after a male doctor tells the family over the phone that they will be fine if they take their medication.
Later on, a trained nurse who is looking at blood samples on glass plates in a medical surrounding will be pushed aside by a condescending, emotionally distant male doctor, who must know better. Nonetheless, the world, which is not run well at all in this story, is controlled by these barely subsisting men.
Having said that, I suppose in 1951 in the United States this sexually nuanced book must’ve caused quite a ruckus.
It is so interesting to note that in 1951, the year this book was published, the fact of the genocide overseas during the war was not even mentioned because not enough awareness existed. I have to believe that in certain circles nobody even considered it for a minute as they were struggling for the next meal, and they were so uneducated that they could not figure a real way up and out.
I would like to think at the end of the book when the author gets introspective and shares his own philosophies, that what he is really telling us is that he has nothing in common with the characters he created.
On that hunch, and on that hunch alone, I gave this book 3 stars.My mother, who survived the Holocaust and came to North America, and loved romantic novels, thought this book was trash.
Later on, a trained nurse who is looking at blood samples on glass plates in a medical surrounding will be pushed aside by a condescending, emotionally distant male doctor, who must know better. Nonetheless, the world, which is not run well at all in this story, is controlled by these barely subsisting men.
Having said that, I suppose in 1951 in the United States this sexually nuanced book must’ve caused quite a ruckus.
It is so interesting to note that in 1951, the year this book was published, the fact of the genocide overseas during the war was not even mentioned because not enough awareness existed. I have to believe that in certain circles nobody even considered it for a minute as they were struggling for the next meal, and they were so uneducated that they could not figure a real way up and out.
I would like to think at the end of the book when the author gets introspective and shares his own philosophies, that what he is really telling us is that he has nothing in common with the characters he created.
On that hunch, and on that hunch alone, I gave this book 3 stars.My mother, who survived the Holocaust and came to North America, and loved romantic novels, thought this book was trash.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 1, 2011
I found this to be a real page-turner not because there was any larger-than-life heroes or earth-shattering catastrophe's going on: just normal people going about their day-to-day duties, written in such a way that you could not wait to see what was going to happen next. Set between the years 1925 to 1944, the story tells of the hardship of growing up and surviving in New York during the depression era leading up to WW2. Crime, racketeering, black marketeering, gangs and poverty - all woven intricately into the story.
Written in 1952, a movie called called King Creole starring Elvis Presley was made in 1958. Having watched several snippets of the movie on YouTube I would say the movie is based loosely on the book!
Regardless of it's age I really enjoyed the book though I personally did not enjoy the ending.
Written in 1952, a movie called called King Creole starring Elvis Presley was made in 1958. Having watched several snippets of the movie on YouTube I would say the movie is based loosely on the book!
Regardless of it's age I really enjoyed the book though I personally did not enjoy the ending.
June 24, 2013
I am not a huge fan of Harold Robbins. But when I heard someone say two books of Harold Robbins were par excellence; I couldn’t resist picking up one among them, “A Stone for Danny Fisher”. A few pages into the book, the tale takes quick turns and has one completely glued in. It is so heartrending you can’t stop tears gushing out. The last few pages play on the emotions so much; I for one just couldn’t carry on. I had to take adequate breaks to simmer down my emotions. The story is all about a sensational amateur boxer Danny Fisher, who gets bitterly involved with the underworld mafia. Amidst all this, how he battles his souring relationships with his family and miserable poverty is totally worth a read. A tragic story that lends a different perspective of the world we live in! I gave four stars, which I feel, the book truly deserves. .
October 4, 2016
I needed this break from the heavy stuff that I have been reading lately. I did have my misgivings when I started the book since Harold Robbins is mostly associated with fiction of the pulp risque sort. However, the book was a nice read; a classic tale of grit, ambition, survival during the Great Depression and WWII periods in USA.
Danny is the affable endearing guy; who is swept off by the turn in his family's circumstances; spiraling towards poverty. While he dabbles in the mean seedy crooked underworld to make ends meet, he remains essentially the sweet regular guy who dotes on his girl and aspires to regain the love of his estranged father.
Never a dull moment; it is a story which is timeless in appeal.
Danny is the affable endearing guy; who is swept off by the turn in his family's circumstances; spiraling towards poverty. While he dabbles in the mean seedy crooked underworld to make ends meet, he remains essentially the sweet regular guy who dotes on his girl and aspires to regain the love of his estranged father.
Never a dull moment; it is a story which is timeless in appeal.
September 11, 2007
A bit melodramatic. The grinding poverty and the rackets of the Lower East Side again. Danny Fisher can't catch a break. Boxing, gambling, business, family and friends all fail him. He turns pretty much unsympathetically bad towards the end, but he has a change of heart for the better at the last minute, but by that time it's too late. Jews and Catholics, life and death, but mostly money. If there's a moral here I can't make it out. Makes the whole world seem evil and unforgiving. Yet it was comulsively readable in that trashy bestseller way.
September 9, 2013
I blush to think how many Harold Robbins books I read 30 years ago. They were all pretty racy, to say the least. I remember this one being the best of the bunch. It actually was a very compelling story.
March 9, 2010
I like Harold Robbins... He writes the best trash ever.
July 2, 2015
I was disappointed. I read this many yrs ago and loved it. Now not so much!!
December 9, 2020
A timeless classic that makes you turn inwardly and assess your soul.
July 13, 2023
This is my favourite book of all. I remember crying my eyes out.
July 17, 2021
3.5 Stars. It didn't bore me and kept me very interested throughout the book, so what's not to like? The book is almost like Russian Literature in the fatalistic realistic sense (though this isn't high-brow lit). I put this in the "Realistic Fiction / Literary Realism" genre.
April 17, 2015
3.5 stars. This is a good coming-of-age-and-beyond story. In the right hands, the story could become a movie that eclipses the book. (I think there might already be a movie, but I don't know how good it is.) Although ASFDF was easy to read, I wouldn't classify it as a beach book. The story line is too dark, and Danny's predicaments and behavior are too frustrating.
I confess that I had trouble relating to or caring about Danny much. Perhaps 20-something men would have an easier time of it.
I enjoyed some of the Yiddish and period slang. I also liked getting the perspective of a boy repeatedly adjusting to new life situations. I only wish he had learned more from them.
I know the dog symbolizes something--security, home, or whatever. You can discuss that with your book club. What other symbols did you notice? What about the stone?
The author bookended the main story with the philosophical and theological musings of posthumous Danny Fisher. I had trouble reconciling that Danny Fisher with the one seen in the rest of the book. Perhaps the disconnect is its own theological lesson.
I confess that I had trouble relating to or caring about Danny much. Perhaps 20-something men would have an easier time of it.
I enjoyed some of the Yiddish and period slang. I also liked getting the perspective of a boy repeatedly adjusting to new life situations. I only wish he had learned more from them.
I know the dog symbolizes something--security, home, or whatever. You can discuss that with your book club. What other symbols did you notice? What about the stone?
The author bookended the main story with the philosophical and theological musings of posthumous Danny Fisher. I had trouble reconciling that Danny Fisher with the one seen in the rest of the book. Perhaps the disconnect is its own theological lesson.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 7, 2015
I thought the initial part of the book was quite blah. There were too many stereotypes, and it seemed like a run-of-the-mill book. It was only after around half way point that the book picked up and got some depth. It's an interesting story line (almost Bollywood-ish, with a villain (Maxie) who has zero justification for being a villain. He's simply a bad guy and that's about it) and had enough to keep me going back to the book. But it was also a bit too dramatic.
It showcases the life of a badly affected nuclear family during the Great Depression. I liked how it zoomed into the greater issue and showed it in a very relatable way.
I particularly liked how the book ended, especially the lastest line, a quote by Thomas Campbell - "To live in the hearts we leave behind is not to die."
It was a good one time read, but nothing out of the ordinary.
It showcases the life of a badly affected nuclear family during the Great Depression. I liked how it zoomed into the greater issue and showed it in a very relatable way.
I particularly liked how the book ended, especially the lastest line, a quote by Thomas Campbell - "To live in the hearts we leave behind is not to die."
It was a good one time read, but nothing out of the ordinary.
June 16, 2016
Harold Robbins has a reputation for writing "trash" and "smut" and he did write some books that may be labelled as such, but he also wrote some great books, with good storiess, believable characters with quite a lot of depth, novels that keep you turning the pages not because there's a lot of action but because you really care about the charcters. "A Stone for Danny Fisher" is one of those books. Perhaps not his best, but certainly a good read. Recommended.
Trivia: The Elvis movie King Creole was loosely based on this book, although the setting was changed from New York to New Orleans and Danny Fisher is a singer (what else) in the movie instead of a boxer as in the book.
(Review from August 2012)
Trivia: The Elvis movie King Creole was loosely based on this book, although the setting was changed from New York to New Orleans and Danny Fisher is a singer (what else) in the movie instead of a boxer as in the book.
(Review from August 2012)
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