On the Shore
It is 1917, and Shmuel Levinson, the son of Jewish immigrants living on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, does not want to become a rabbi despite his father’s plans. So intense is the pressure Shmuel feels that, at age 16, he lies about his age and enlists in the Navy as Sam Lord to help in the war effort. He leaves behind his younger sister, Dev, who is smart and sassy, and his parents, struggling, barely able to make ends meet and still very much feeling like outsiders.
Shmuel also leaves behind much of his orthodox Jewish upbringing as he learns to survive in a non-Jewish world. While his father mourns his disappearance as a death, and his mother’s brother, Uncle Gershon, who is well off and “has connections,” fails in his efforts to find him, Sam becomes a dedicated soldier and a strong, independent man. When he returns eight years later, an experienced, worldly young man, the question is: is this Sam Lord? Or Shmuel Levinson?
In alternating chapters, Epstein gives us a rare glimpse into a multi-generational immigrant community rarely written about—and does it with grace, sensitivity and lyricism. Her characters are recognizable and vividly drawn. While we feel the pain and anger at the Levinsons’ loss of their son, we root for Dev when she decides to become a scientist rather than to assume the expected role of orthodox wife and mother. We see Uncle Gershon and Aunt Yetta flourish in their community while being thrust into the women’s movement when one of their daughters chooses a different path than her observant sister. What Epstein has done in this beautiful novel is to capture a time and place, and a community undergoing revolutionary change. This is a must read for anyone interested in the American Jewish experience and an absolute necessity for people who want to understand immigrant communities.
