September 26, 2000
English “Snow in August”
Pete Hamill’s novel, Snow in August, was a story which I believe most, if not all, readers can relate to. That is one characteristic that made the novel interesting to read. The story begins with an eleven-year-old Irish Catholic boy named Michael Devlin reading his Captain Marvel comic books, which reminded me of myself when I was a younger boy reading X-Men before falling asleep in bed. It was easy for me to relate to Michael because he had lost his father and only had his mother to raise him. One Saturday morning, Michael was on his way to an early mass at Sacred Heart, where he served as an altar boy, and he heart someone calling for help. It was Judah Hirsch, a rabbi at the local synagogue. He had asked Michael if he could help him turn on the lights and gas stove in his room below the synagogue. Michael was very scared but overcame his fear and entered into broken down synagogue and help Rabbi Hirsch. This is where their relationship began. Soon after Michael agrees to teach the Rabbi English, just as Judah will teach him Yiddish and the Kabbalah. I believe one reason why Michael helped the Rabbi was because subconsciously, he was looking for a male figure to look up to; someone with whom he can bond with. The Rabbi also is looking for someone since the great void came to his life when his wife died during the Holocaust. This made me feel great sorrow for Michael and the Rabbi. But made me see that soon they would be feeding off each other. Judah will feed off Michael’s young energized spirit, and Michael would learn and gain wisdom from Judah.
