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| Plot Summary of The Thousand Deaths of Mr. Small |
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"Charles Small, the son of Jewish parents in post World War I London, wants to be an actor. He actually has some talent, but his folks will never countenance that. They also won't let him marry the love of his life, Ivy Narwhal. The novel tells the story not only of Charles and his screechingly abusive parents (actually his father is a nice enough sort, but utterly terrorized by his mother), but the parallel fortunes of Solomon "Solly" Schwartz, a clubfooted, humpbacked little man who has a knack for advertising and other capitalist ventures. More than once Solly gives Charley's father a helping hand, and a job to Charles. But Charley Small is doomed -- by his hysterical parents, his evil sister, an uncaring world, and most of all his spineless nature. Kersh's 1950 novel leaps effortlessly back and forth through time, with the usual vast array of colorful characters, but is a real downer, however well told."
David Loftus, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of The Thousand Deaths of Mr. Small |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book?
- depressed
Time/era of story
- 1900-1920's
Romance/Romance Problems
Yes
Kind of romance:
- rekindling lost love/marriage
Life of a profession:
- businessman, small
Inside culture (main char)
- Jew
Family, struggle with
Yes
Struggle with:
- all of family
Is this an adult or child's book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Job/Profession/Status story
Yes
Ethnic/regional/gender life
Yes
Lover is
- of a different social class
Main Character
Gender
- Male
Profession/status:
- small businessman
Age:
- 20's-30's
Eccentric/Mental
Yes
Eccentric:
- obsessed
- deluded
- emotionally unstable
Ethnicity/Nationality
- British
How sensitive is this character?
- soggy whimpering jelly muffin
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- healthy but a geeky weakling
Main Adversary
Identity:
- society
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- throughout most of the book.
Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings?
- 6 (an above average amount)
Europe
Yes
European country:
- England/UK
City?
Yes
City:
- London
- dirty, grimy (like New York)
Style
Person
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- moderately detailed references to deaths
Unusual Style:
- a lot of flashback and forwards
- No single main character?
Amount of dialog
- significantly more descript than dialog
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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